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  • 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 45 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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  • 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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  • 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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  • 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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  • 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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  • 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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  • 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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  • 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 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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  • 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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