Kyokushin (極真) is a style of karate originating in Japan. It is a full-contact style of stand-up fighting and is rooted in a philosophy of self-improvement, discipline, and hard training.
Kumite is one of the three main sections of karate training, along with kata and kihon. Kumite is the part of karate in which a person trains against an adversary.
Andreas "Andy" Hug was a Swiss karateka and kickboxer who competed in the heavyweight division. Considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight kickboxers of all time, Hug was renowned for his ability to execute numerous kicking techniques rarely seen in high-level competition. Although he was usually smaller than his opponents, standing at 1.80 m and being barely a heavyweight, weighing around 98.0 kg in his prime, he made up for his lack of size with his tremendous athleticism and speed. A southpaw, his trademark kicks included the axe kick and the "Hug Tornado", a low spinning heel kick targeting his opponents' thighs.
Katsuaki Satō is the founder and director of Satojuku Karate, also known as Odo karate. The Satojuku honbu (headquarters) is located in Tachikawa, Japan.
Masutatsu Ōyama, more commonly known as Mas Oyama, was a South Korean karate master who founded Kyokushin Karate, considered the first and most influential style of full contact karate. Oyama was an ethnic Korean; he was born Choi Yeong-eui and spent most of his life in Japan. He acquired Japanese citizenship in 1968.
The 100-man kumite is an extreme test of physical and mental endurance in Kyokushin karate. Kumite is a form of sparring, one of the three main sections of karate training, and involves simulated combat against an opponent. The 100-man kumite consists of 100 rounds of kumite, each between one-and-a-half and two minutes in length. Normally, the karate practitioner undergoing the test will have to face similarly or higher-ranked opponents, and may face the same opponent more than once in the course of the test. Each opponent faced will be fresh and not fatigued or injured. Each of the rounds are done under test conditions, where either of the fighters are allowed to deliver knock out blows.
Francisco "Chiquinho" Alves Filho is a Brazilian Kyokushin Karateka and kickboxer. He is one of the few karate-ka to have successfully completed the 100 man kumite more than once.
Seidokaikan (正道会館) is a traditional full contact karate derived from Kyokushin by Kazuyoshi Ishii. Seidokaikan organized the first professional full contact karate tournament named the Karate World Cup. The Karate World Cup had special extension rounds; if the judge's decision was deadlocked after an extension round, the rules then allowed face strikes with fighters donning boxing gloves (kickboxing).
Shokei Matsui, also known by his Korean name of Moon Jang-gyu, is a South Korean martial artist in Japan. He is the master of Kyokushin karate and current Kancho (Director) of the International Karate Organization Kyokushin-kaikan, faction of the International Karate Organization (IKO) founded by Mas Oyama (1923–1994).
Ewerton Teixeira is a Brazilian professional kickboxer, mixed martial artist, and Kyokushin Kaikan karateka. Teixeira obtained his first K-1 title in 2008 at K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 in Fukuoka by beating Keijiro Maeda in the final. He is training K-1 at the Ichigeki Academy Kyokushin Kaikan in Tokyo, Japan. Despite the short career for a kickboxer, Teixeira has notable wins against K-1 legends: Jerome Le Banner, Errol Zimmerman and Musashi.
Hajime Kazumi (born December 14, 1971) is a Japanese karateka. Born in Kanagawa prefecture, Kazumi is a karate fighter who played an active part in the full-contact karate tournaments hosted by Kyokushinkaikan from the early 1990s to the early 2000s.
Terutomo Yamazaki is a Japanese karateka from the Kyokushin Kaikan (極真会館) and professional lightweight kickboxer. He is the founder of Gyakushin-Kai (逆真会館) and a Director of Karate in Japan. He presides over the International Budo Karate Organization Gyakushin-Kai from the headquarters of the organization (honbu) in Ōmiya-ku, Saitama, Japan. His title as head of the Gyakushin-Kai organization is “Kancho”.
Yoshiji Soeno is a Japanese karateka and a retired professional welterweight kickboxer.
Ashihara kaikan is a modern full contact street karate developed from Kyokushin karate by Hideyuki Ashihara with influences from various martial arts including Muay Thai, Pankration, and Jujutsu with an emphasis on Sabaki, using footwork and techniques to turn an opponent's power and momentum against them and to reposition oneself to the opponent's "blind" spot. The style is focused on practical application in a real fight including multiple attackers.
Jan Soukup is a Czech karateka, the branch chief for International Karate Organization Kyokushinkaikan in Czech Republic, the president of the Czech Kyokushin Karate Association and the vice president of the Czech Fullcontact Karate Organization, and also a retired kickboxer who competed in the heavyweight division. Soukup's first noteworthy accomplishment was a third-place finish at the European Kyokushin Championships in 2003 and he followed this by winning the All-Japan Kyokushin Championships the next year. After finishing as runner-up in the European Championships and in third place in the European Open in 2005, Soukup had his most successful year in 2007 when he won the European Championships and lost to Ewerton Teixeira in the final of the 9th Kyokushin World Open. Beginning in 2008, he embarked on a career in kickboxing which included a stint in K-1.
Shigeru Oyama was a karate practitioner and instructor who operated a dojo in New York for half a century. He taught Kyokushin karate for many years before forming his own organization World Oyama Karate in 1985. He was hand-picked by Mas Oyama, karate master and founder of Kyokushin karate, to spread his contact style of karate in the United States and was sent to New York City to teach in 1966. S. Oyama is acknowledged as one of the first Kyokushin stylists to successfully complete the 100-man kumite. Oyama has taught many students, including Willie Williams and Frank Clark. Of the many Japanese Kyokushin karateka who sought training under S. Oyama, Joko Ninomiya chose to stay in America to also teach, and he became branch chief for Kyokushin in Denver, CO in 1976.
World Open Karate Championship is the largest competition in Kyokushin Karate. This tournament is arranged every fourth year in Tokyo.
World Karate Championship in Weight Categories is the second largest competition in Kyokushin Karate. This tournament is arranged by several kyokushin organisations and usually held every fourth year in between World Tournaments which do not have any weight classes.
Shihan Samson Muripo is a Zimbabwean two-time World Kyokushin Karate Champion. Samson Muripo became the first black African Kyokushin World Champion in Osaka, Japan 2009.
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