Kyokushin Karate
Tasmania
Karate is a traditional martial art from Japan with roots going back to ancient southeast asian fighting styles.
Kyokushin is a style of karate developed in the 20th century by Masutatsu Oyama. Oyama’s karate was designed to be build maximum strength and resilience in the individual, and his vision was to build international harmony through karate training.
The techniques are sourced from Oyama’s training with several older karate masters, and influenced by his experiences with other martial arts. You can find out more about Oyama (who we call ‘Sosai’, meaning head of the organisation) on Wikipedia.
One of the groups that formed after Oyama’s death to continue his legacy is the Mastushima group, which has dojos in Tasmania.
Classes are led by senior students or black belts.
Most of the instructions are in Japanese. English instructions are also given, especially if there are beginners present.
Classes consist of learning and practicing basic techniques, learning patterns of movement, fight drills and sparring, with some fitness and mobility work.
Kids classes are much less formal, and we break up the hard parts with lots of fun and games.
Craig works in hardware in New Norfolk. Craig is a qualified personal trainer. Craig is very enthusiastic about martial arts and fighting, and spends hours researching and coming up with new fighting drills. He has three kids, and is also talented at kids training. When he's not fighting, Craig loves cooking up a storm in his huge backyard shed and barbecue rig.
Joe is a designer and software developer. He has an interest in weight training and martial arts. Joe is also into outdoor adventuring and spends time in creative pursuits.
Reid works in management, in the building industry. He's a keen weight lifter, and loves getting out to his family's property in rural Tassie for some camping!
Steve is the highest ranked practising Kyokushin karateka in Tasmania. Steve lives in Burnie and has two kids who also rank highly in the organisation. He's a huge metalhead, the louder the better. When he's not training, Steve doesn't mind a bit of fishing in Bass Strait.
Sosai (meaning 'Organisation Founder') Oyama was born in Korea, and lived mostly in Japan. He is noted for his extensive and intense training over number of years, including periods of focussed mountain isolation.
Kyokushin Karate was founded by Oyama in 1957 and became famous for its intensity. Oyama focused on building a style that built strength and worked in the real world.
Today, many Kyokushin organisations are flourishing around the world with millions of members, continuing to build on his legacy.