Osu! Man, am I glad I started this thread. Some really great opinions and insights shared here. Sonik really gets what I mean when he says what I'm saying is the direction Kyokushin has now taken is more towards the marketing aspects and away from the Spiritual aspects. I think that is what Soshu Shigeru Oyama meant in that interview when he said the Kyokushin of old was alot stronger spiritually than today.
Sosai Mas Oyama had a very good student named Mr. Akio Fijihira. Fujihira is one of my original Sempai and he was the direct Kohai to my Sensei, Kenji Kurosaki. Fujihira was not a big man, rather small even for Japanese standards, but he trained twice or three times as hard as all the other students. His nickname was the "Little Oyama" because of his strong spirit and willingness to train so hard. While Fujihira was still training under Sosai Oyama, he was also a Professional Japanese Kickboxer at the same time. His ring name in Kickboxing was Noboru Osawa and he became Japan's first Bamtamweight Kickboxing Champion. He was also one of the 3 Kyokushin students who went to fight Thai champions in Thailand in 1964. Fujihira won his match by a K.O. from his punching techniques.
My point in mentioning Fujihira to that even though he was training & fighting in Japanese Kickboxing, he never lost his perspective as a Kyokushin Karate-ka and he fought with Mas Oyama's blessing. I'm sure the strong spirit he cultivated in Kyokushin Karate carried over into his Kickboxing career. Emphasis has now changed. Nowadays, a fighter is mostly concerned with the technical or physical aspects and loses sight of the big picture in the long run. I really think that was what Sosai Oyama meant when he said that the "professional side of Karate destroys Karate" or something to that effect. The spirit of challenge against other Karate & fighting styles has always been important in Kyokushin. I think it even helps in the development of the style, keeping it practical and combat effective. But, trainees should never lose sight of the spiritual aspects.
My old Sensei once said, "I place my priority on the Spiritual side always", and he had the most sucessful Kickboxing Dojo in Japanese history. I hope Kyokushin can be preserved for future generations to upgrade the quality of student's lives. It is really up to the individual Instructors and whats important to them. Osu!
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