Hello,

I have a Shodan in Renbukai Karate, a Shodan in Oyama Karate (a derivative of Kyokushin karate). I have been a full contact fighter from
1998-present. I have competed in the Northwest Sabaki Challenge from 1998-2000. I took 2nd in 1999. I have competed in Muay Thai kickboxing from 2001-2004 and amateur boxing from 2000-2004.

The strengths of Oyama karate are that it teaches one to have a strong will regardless of whether or not the circumstances are good/bad (true fighting spirit). Knockdown fights are brutal, but there is no face punches allowed. Only the top fighters keep their guard up. Other fighters knowing that there is no face punches tend to leave their guard down. Sometimes when fighters are tired they leave their weight on their front foot therefore exposing them to leg kicks, knees to the head and kicks to the head. When knockdown fighters get on the inside, they tend to stay rooted in their stance instead of using angles therefore taking more punishment than necessary. Fighters tend to flail with their arms instead of using their hips and legs to generate power.

On a positive note, in the kicking department the knockdown karate fighter not only has the leg kick, but other kicks in his/her arsenal unlike the Thai fighter relies mainly on the push/front kick, leg kick and the occasional roundkick to the head. Fighting a knockdown fighter in other words is like fighting a Thai fighter combined with the variety of kicks of Tae Kwon Do and karate. Top level kyokushin champs like Andy Hug and Francisco Filho when they first entered the K-1, they got knocked out rather easily by the top European kickboxers. However, once they made adjustments in their boxing skills, footwork and hand positions, they became leading contenders on the K-1 scene.

I think out of all the karate styles Kyokushin is the most realistic because of the full contact training. Aside from the strengths and weaknesses of the competitive fighting, I think there are some flaws in the kata training. Like other karate styles, there is too much emphasis on learning the katas for belt ranking, tournaments and the beauty of the technique as opposed to learning the bunkai/application for realistic self-defense techniques. There is no self-defense training against multiple attackers, knife attacks, ground fighting etc. However, I believe this style is an excellent foundation for developing these attributes on the more advanced levels which is lacking in these schools and other karate schools in the modern era of commercialized martial arts.

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