"The ultimate aim of Karate lies not in victory or defeat, but in the perfection of the character of its participants" -Gichin Funakoshi, recognised as the founder of Japanese karate

Karate is a martial art,a method of unifying the body and spirit and of making human life at once broader and deeper. "Karate" is a combination of two Japanese words, "Kara" meaning empty or open and "Te" , meaning hand, and is therefore used to describe a style of unarmed combat.

The origins of karate are to be found in India (525 AD). The credit is given to a Buddhist priest named Bohdidharma. He studied the attacking techniques of animals and insects and the forces of nature, and, combining these with a special breathing technique, he created the basis for a legendary system of weaponless fighting and mental concentration. He created in China the Shao-Lin temple in the province of Honan and in that monastery he instructed other monks in his particular style of unarmed combat.

The system developed at the temple gradually spread throughout Asia, to Okinawa, Korea and Mongolia. By 1130 AD, aspects of this system had even been incorporated into the military disciplines of geographically and culturally isolated Japan. Various regionally and family-based styles and schools evolved, one of these being the Kempo style of Okinawa.

By 1901, Kempo was being taught openly in Okinawa, and in 1916, was demonstrated in Japan by master Gichin Funakoshi. There, under the name of Karate, practical applications of the system were further refined and united with the Zen-based philosophy of the Japanese disciplines. The popularity of karate as both a martial art and a sport spread quickly in Japan and beyond, contributing to the development of diverse systems and schools.

Kyokushin Karate was founded by Masutatsu (Mas) Oyama, known as Sosai (founder). Mas Oyama was born in South Korea in 1923. He began his martial arts study at the age of nine, when he was in China. He later moved to Japan to train as an aviator, and studied boxing and Judo. He studied karate under Gichin Funakoshi, and achieved the rank of 4th dan, to go with the same grade in judo. After the war, he studied under So Nei Chu, who was himself a student of Chojun Miyagi, the founder of Goju Karate.

So Nei Chu encouraged Mas Oyama to undertake a mountain retreat to strengthen his technical skills and temper his spirit. Over 2 periods, totalling almost 3 years, Mas Oyama trained full time in solitude.

On his return to civilisation, Mas Oyama began demonstrating his power by fighting bulls barehanded. He also embarked on a yearlong trip to the US, taking on all comers. The vast majority of these were defeated with one punch! A fight never lasted more than three minutes, and most hardly lasted more than a few seconds. His fighting principle was simple: if he got through to you, that was it. If he hit you, you broke. If you blocked a rib punch, you arm was broken or dislocated. If you didn't block, your rib was broken. He became known as the Godhand, a living manifestation of the Japanese warriors' maxim "Ichi geki, Hissatsu" or "One strike, certain death".

In 1953, Mas Oyama opened his first "Dojo", a grass lot in Tokyo. By 1957 there were real facilities and 700 members, despite the high dropout rate due to the intensity of training.

Mas Oyama's karate was evolving by taking the best of other styles that they saw from the practitioners who came to train with Oyama. It was not solely restricted to classical karate, and included grabs, throws, and groin attacks.

The current World Headquarters were officially opened in June 1964, where the name Kyokushin, meaning "Ultimate truth", was adopted. From that point forward, Kyokushin continued to spread to more than 120 countries around the world, and registered members exceed 10 million, making it one of the largest martial arts organisations in the world.

Sosai Masutatsu Oyama passed away due to lung cancer, at the age of 70 in 1994. Since his death, the Kyokushin Organisation has fragmented into a number of separate organisations.

Honbu Karate Club is affiliated with the organisation led by Shokei Matsui, who carries the title Kancho (director). Matsui Kancho is a two-time All Japan Kyokushin Champion, and won the 1987 World Tournament (held every 4 years).

Kyokushin Karate is characterised by requiring of its participants, strenuous training, conditioning and realistic contact while sparring. Kyokushin karate-ka believe this contact is necessary in order to fully appreciate the resiliency of the human body and spirit and to prepare for any serious confrontation.

The word "OSU" and the phrase osu no seidhin" (perseverance under pressure) succinctly summarise the essence of Kyokushin philosophy.

Today there are two Branches affiliated with Matsui Kancho in NZ. One is headquartered at Honbu Karate Club, and the Branch Chief is McCallum Shihan. Click here for a list of clubs in this Branch.