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  • Illustration of Sosai Mas Oyama overlooking a lone karate practitioner walking a stone path toward the sunrise, symbolizing the beginning of the Kyokushin journey and relationship between Shoshin and Shodan.

    Shoshin and Shodan: Why the Journey Is Just Beginning

    Tucson, Arizona. June 6th, 2026. Three days of seminar under Shihan Mike Monaco had just ended in a formal grading examination, and four candidates had spent the morning being tested…

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    Bill Stewart

  • Senior karate instructor watches a black belt teach a student in a Kyokushin dojo.

    We Are Reflections of Our Teacher

    Recently I found myself watching one of my students work with a beginner. What struck me wasn’t the techniques he was teaching. It was the way he was teaching them.…

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    Bill Stewart

  • Young Kyokushin karate competitor waits beside a tournament ring in a gymnasium before competition begins.

    The Value of Experience

    Competition as Part of Training One thing I have noticed over the last few years attending Kyokushin tournaments is how small many fighting divisions have become, particularly in knockdown competition.…

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    Bill Stewart

  • Shihan Bobby Lowe and Bill Stewart posing together at the 1995 Kyokushin Summer Camp in Honolulu, Hawaii.

    What Shihan Bobby Lowe Told Me

    In today’s Kyokushin world, it sometimes seems that every year brings another organization, another split, or another debate about who is right and who is wrong. It can be easy…

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    Bill Stewart

  • Karate practitioner sits in seiza observing students training in a traditional dojo, with broken bricks resting nearby as sunlight streams through the windows.

    What Made Kyokushin Different?

    When people first encounter Kyokushin Karate, they often come away with misconceptions about what they are seeing. Beyond the Misconceptions One of the most common misconceptions is the belief that…

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    Bill Stewart

  • Conceptual illustration representing the fragmentation of the Kyokushin community, featuring a lone karate practitioner standing between a traditional dojo path and multiple divided roads beneath a fractured Kanku symbol.

    Whatever Happened to the Kyokushin Family?

    I’ve been training in Kyokushin for over 46 years now. In that time, I’ve belonged to just two organizations: the original IKO under Sosai Masutatsu Oyama, and later the IFK,…

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    Bill Stewart

  • Karate practitioner seated in meditation inside a traditional dojo overlooking a mountain landscape at sunrise beneath the title “In Time Our Senses May Be Alert.”

    In Time Our Senses May Be Alert

    One of my earliest blog pieces was built on a response to a Facebook post about the first line of the Kyokushin Dojo Kun. Expanding on that idea, lets move…

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    Bill Stewart

  • Digital illustration titled “Beyond Knockdown – Kyokushin, More Than a Ruleset” featuring two Kyokushin karate practitioners in a traditional dojo, one wrapping bare hands and the other wearing boxing gloves, with knockdown sparring and grappling training taking place in the background.

    Gloves in Kyokushin?

    As many of you who are reading know, I’m quite active on social media. One subject that seems to come up repeatedly in Kyokushin discussions is the use of gloves…

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    Bill Stewart

  • Stylized Kyokushin Karate poster featuring Sosai Mas Oyama overlooking a knockdown tournament fight, as one fighter lands a mid-level body kick during bare-knuckle competition beneath the title “Competition Is About Learning.”

    What Competition Really Teaches

    Many people assume competition is all about winning. Of course we do our best to win, but that is not the real reason we are there. Competition is about learning…

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    Bill Stewart

  • Illustration representing Mas Oyama’s “point and circle” principle in Kyokushin karate

    Kyokushin Was Never Just About Toughness

      “The Martial Arts Begins With a Point and Ends in a Circle” – Mas Oyama One of Sosai’s eleven mottos states: “The Martial Arts begins with a point and…

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    Bill Stewart

  • Dramatic Kyokushin Karate poster featuring Sosai Mas Oyama beside a knockdown fight scene under arena lights, with the bold text “Budo Begins Where Sport Ends” and the phrase “Ichi Geki, Hissatsu” in Japanese and English.

    Kyokushin Beyond Sport

    Budo Begins Where Sport Ends My sensei used to say, “Any time a martial art is turned into a sport, you weaken it.” I first heard those words more than…

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    Bill Stewart

  • OSU graphic with 押忍 kanji on white background for Kyokushin Karate article.

    Osu: The Heart of Kyokushin

    If you spend any time in a Kyokushin dojo, you’ll hear the word Osu constantly. We say it when we bow, when we acknowledge instruction, when we greet each other,…

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    Bill Stewart

  • Two female karate fighters sparring with lightweight hand protection in Kyokushin dojo, surrounded by students in gi, circa early 90's.

    Kyokushin doesn’t punch to the face???

    “Kyokushin doesn’t punch to the face.” What? Really? I’ve heard or read this about Kyokushin many times over the years and I always shake my head. That was not the…

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    Bill Stewart

  • Bill Stewart delivering a kick during a point-fighting match as a green belt in Florida in 1982, with WKA World Champion Mike Bell refereeing at ringside.

    Reflections on Tournament Fighting

    I competed in my first karate tournament in 1981. I was a white belt in the beginner’s division, and I drew a yellow belt for my very first fight. Only…

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    Bill Stewart

  • Claudio Rodriguez steps in on Sebastian Bonislawski with a well-timed knee during their knockdown fight at the 33rd American International Karate Championships.

    We Win or We Learn

    Kyokushin competition lessons from the 33rd American International Karate Championships. At the judges’ meeting before the tournament, Shihan Jerry Poe said something that stuck with me: “I like to say,…

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    Bill Stewart

  • Sweat marks on red and black dojo mats after Kyokushin training, symbolizing hard work and preparation.

    The Only Secret is Sweat

    Mas Oyama said, “The only secret is sweat.” It’s a simple statement, but one I feel goes right to the heart of what Kyokushin is about. It’s a quote my…

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    Bill Stewart

  • Illustration of an older Kyokushin instructor observing two karate practitioners sparring in a traditional dojo with wooden floors, Kyokushin banners, and a portrait of Sosai Mas Oyama displayed at the shomen.

    Lessons From My Sensei

    Lessons From My Sensei Martial Art vs Sport “Any time you turn a martial art into a sport, you weaken it.” My sensei said that often, and after forty-five years,…

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    Bill Stewart

  • Sensei Bill Stewart performing chūdan yoko geri (middle side kick) in Kyokushin karate — featured in the article “Beyond the Belt: What Really Matters in Karate.”

    What Decades in Kyokushin Taught Me About Rank

    Rank in Kyokushin marks progress, but the true essence lies in the knowledge and character forged through training. Bill Stewart reflects on his journey from white to black belt, showing…

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    Bill Stewart

  • Illustration of a young karate student kneeling beside a black belt in a traditional dojo, representing the lifelong journey from white belt to mastery in Kyokushin karate.

    What Shihan Cameron Quinn’s Budo Karate of Mas Oyama Teaches About the Black Belt Journey

    “A black belt is a white belt who never gave up.” Most martial artists have probably seen that phrase somewhere — likely as part of a meme shared on social…

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    Bill Stewart