Old-School Kyokushin (World Oyama)

[Azam]

Thought I'd post a video instructional I came across on Youtube - it's an old school Kyokushin Karate instructional by World Oyama Karate headed by Shigeru Oyama & brothers (students of Mas Oyama) who brought Kyokushin Karate to the US - this is a clip of him in action:



(Yes that is Willie Williams in the beginning & the reason why he is hitting them with a shinai is because there all tired & have hit there limits - i.e. he's doing it to keep them going - not abuse lol).




ANYWAY:

Haven't seen this instructional before (and I've seen a lot of KK instructionals) so I deemed it to be a rare gem after watching it - there is definitely a lot of effective & applicable fighting strategy, as well as tried & tested training methods, combinations, counters etc etc.

What's also unique is, for those that have watched KK instructionals before or videos, will notice this old school Kyokushin instructional (World Oyama Karate) is very different flavor wise to modern Kyokushin - modern Kyokushin being geared more towards knockdown karate whereas old-school Kyokushin is more rounded - better suited for free-fighting - thus why I'm posting this instructional & not a modern one.

Anyway the reason I'm posting this is for those guy who might want to add some Kyokushin Karate or a Karate flavor - whether it be a few counters, techniques, combinations etc etc to their games.


INSTRUCTIONAL:









EDIT: Just found out that Michael Jai White was training Kyokushin Karate with Shigeru Oyama at the time when this was filmed, I don't think he appears in these instructionals but I've seen him in another world Oyama karate video from around this time training with Willie Williams & other famous US Oyama fighters.

Just realised part 1 and part 2 were the same lol - only watched the first part before.

 

[DivineComedy]

This is the style of Kyokushin that I learned, and think it should be, but like any other art, modern kyokushin has conformed to competition rules. Thanks for this Azam.

 

[Azam]

This is the style of Kyokushin that I learned, and think it should be, but like any other art, modern kyokushin has conformed to competition rules. Thanks for this Azam.

I agree as well, old style kyokushin is what should be the syllabus of KK today.

 

[KarateStylist]

Thought I'd post a video instructional I came across on Youtube - it's an old school Kyokushin Karate instructional by World Oyama Karate headed by Shigeru Oyama & brothers (students of Mas Oyama) who brought Kyokushin Karate to the US - this is a clip of him in action:

-----------------------------------------chop-----------------------------

What's also unique is, for those that have watched KK instructionals before or videos, will notice this old school Kyokushin instructional (World Oyama Karate) is very different flavor wise to modern Kyokushin - modern Kyokushin being geared more towards knockdown karate whereas old-school Kyokushin is more rounded - better suited for free-fighting - thus why I'm posting this instructional & not a modern one.

-----------------------------------------chop-----------------------------

Shigero Oyama was the disciple who brought Oyama-KK karate to the US....

The fighting style is heavily influenced by Goju Ryu karate....

Shigeru Oyama is constantly pointing out all the 'sins' made by so called modern day knockdown karate, including modern KK.... These sins are brought about by the "Knockdown" karate practitioners wanting aggression to physically pound their opponent into oblivion, rather than develop the mentally-disciplined use of physical strength under karate principles....

Shigeru Oyama was a highly-disciplined karate fighter who knew how to exploit the weaknesses & mistakes of larger, stronger, or more physically adept opponents....

KarateStylist

 

[Nuclearlandmine]

Very nice videos. I'm finding the chapter on kicking to be really useful for me.
Now when i can whip those karate kicks lol

 

[Seb Shaw]

Shigeru Oyama is constantly pointing out all the 'sins' made by so called modern day knockdown karate, including modern KK.... These sins are brought about by the "Knockdown" karate practitioners wanting aggression to physically pound their opponent into oblivion, rather than develop the mentally-disciplined use of physical strength under karate principles....
KarateStylist

What do you mean by "the mentally-disciplined use of physical strength"? Are you trying to say that athleticism is prioritized over technique in modern knockdown karate?

 

[Nuclearlandmine]

What do you mean by "the mentally-disciplined use of physical strength"? Are you trying to say that athleticism is prioritized over technique in modern knockdown karate?

Maybe he was refering to modern KK's focus on using aggression and toughness in competition. Not that there's no technique in knockdown karate, but admittedly a lot of it is chest to chest brawl until someone land their headkick.

 

[KarateStylist]

What do you mean by "the mentally-disciplined use of physical strength"? Are you trying to say that athleticism is prioritized over technique in modern knockdown karate?

^^^ Your Question....

Maybe he was refering to modern KK's focus on using aggression and toughness in competition. Not that there's no technique in knockdown karate, but admittedly a lot of it is chest to chest brawl until someone land their headkick.

^^^ My Answer....

KarateStylist

 

[Discipulus]

Azam, I'm becoming a really big fan of Ryu Narushima's style, especially the way he throws his left body kicks, and the way he sets them up with his movement. He never seems to have much of a tell, because he'll be circling or punching and then his feet are just already in the right position to switch and land the kick right under the opponent's elbow.

What do you think of Narushima? Got any recommendations for similar technicians?

 

[swamp_fist]

"I see you're using an old style. I'd wondered where you learned it from."

- sample from Duel of the Iron Mic

 

[Azam]

Shigero Oyama was the disciple who brought Oyama-KK karate to the US....

The fighting style is heavily influenced by Goju Ryu karate....

Shigeru Oyama is constantly pointing out all the 'sins' made by so called modern day knockdown karate, including modern KK.... These sins are brought about by the "Knockdown" karate practitioners wanting aggression to physically pound their opponent into oblivion, rather than develop the mentally-disciplined use of physical strength under karate principles....

Shigeru Oyama was a highly-disciplined karate fighter who knew how to exploit the weaknesses & mistakes of larger, stronger, or more physically adept opponents....

KarateStylist

Maybe he was refering to modern KK's focus on using aggression and toughness in competition. Not that there's no technique in knockdown karate, but admittedly a lot of it is chest to chest brawl until someone land their headkick.

I agree with both of you that modern KK has become for the most part a chest to chest brawl until someone gets knocked out or pounded into oblivion with punches and kicks. However there are a some KK guys that are exempt from this & were pretty masterful technically & didn't chest to chest brawl for the most part, even fewer nowadays in knockdown, but some notable guys are; Matsui, Filho, Yamaki, Midori, Hug, Ademir da Costa, M.Thompson, Kazumi etc etc.....however it's become the norm today for most KK guys unfortunately.

Edit: Tsukamoto is one good example of a guy who avoids chest to chest brawls completely if he can help it & another is Garry O'neil.

 

[Azam]

Azam, I'm becoming a really big fan of Ryu Narushima's style, especially the way he throws his left body kicks, and the way he sets them up with his movement. He never seems to have much of a tell, because he'll be circling or punching and then his feet are just already in the right position to switch and land the kick right under the opponent's elbow.

Yeah, he doesn't throw your standard body kick - usually whenever he throws the left body kick it's his mikazuki geri (crescent kick - that Kikuno makes use of), the reason is because the liver is on the right side of his opponent - the reason the kick is able to slip under an opponent's elbow is less to do with his positioning although it is still important like you rightly said, but more to do with the dynamics of the kick itself - the kick is meant to be a cross between a roundhouse & a front kick.

I've heard that some Muay Thai practitioners - when they throw body kicks, some tend to do so at an upward angle so it slips under the elbow - it's similar to that, the only difference is that the angle the kick is thrown is slightly different (more obtuse angle than the muay thai example I gave) this is because the focal point is the chusoku (ball of the foot) whereas in the muay thai example it's the shin - also the reason why the angle is greater is because the chusoku (ball of foot) needs to penetrate the liver area ----- i.e. the kick is designed to slip under an opponents elbow although there is still a possibility to catch toe on elbow on the way in - Narushima usually avoids this by opening up his opponents stances on purpose.

I think partly the reason why there is no tell is because whenever you watch him throw it prior, he's opening up someone stance either with a combination or strike - so you don't see it coming till he throws it - it's also because the kick itself is pretty quick since is partially linear & he throws it often enough he knows how to cover it well. Narushima's greatest asset is his high roundhouse.

What do you think of Narushima?

Ryu Narushima is a great technical Kyokushin fighter, most guys who are fans or practice KK will probably have him in their top 10 - I have him in my top 5, I know Saamag is also a fan of his - I wouldn't be surprised if Shinkyoku was as well.

His fighting style is pretty basic & straightforward in an essence, it's not over complicated, he stylistically has the most common Kyokushin approach to fighting - i.e. keep moving forward & brawling - the only difference is that he approaches it a bit differently to most KK guys - he won't brawl just for the sake of brawling, he heavily uses counters, angles & combinations whilst 'on the front foot' - most of these counters are designed to disrupt a stance & KO, same goes with the combinations, he makes blatant use of changing levels to disrupt stances & KO etc etc and angles to get techniques in without effort - this is the reason why he has such a high KO rate - he's notorious for having knocked out a crap load of people usually with his signature mawashi geri jodan, mikazuki geri (left body kick crescent), hiza geris (knees) - there's a video below that shows how quick he really is with his head-kicks - I think I discussed his head kicking dynamic - i.e what makes him so quick - on a thread with ssullivan a while back - it's different to the norm & no-one else kicks like him tbh in KK;

@1.05min (he knocks the pair of them out by accident)

Got any recommendations for similar technicians?

Shokei Matsui is the greatest technical Kyokushin fighter - so I'd recommend him - he has incredible technique, intelligence & his timing is on a completely different level in knockdown. I'd recommend his ashi-barai (leg sweeps) - he sweeps people for fun - I mean he's sweeped the shit out of Andy Hug, Francisco Filho, Nicholas Pettas, Michael Thompson, Nicholas de Costa........the list goes on - I mean the names of the people he sweeped just shows how good he is at it - who's ever sweeped Hug 3 times in a row - his reputation would be even greater in KK if sweeps were scored as waza-ari (half points) in knockdown tournaments which they never really are. I'm not saying this because I'm a KK guy but I reckon he's probably the best leg sweeper I've ever seen in the martial arts world.


I'd recommend Kenji Midori's mae geri chudan (front kicks) - he was very successful with them - he throws it in a unique way - starts of as a front kick then ends up looking more like yoko geri (side kick) when it lands - usually throws them when someone is about to kick. I'd also very highly recommend his lead roundhouse kicks - he like Narushima has a high KO ratio & is on par with him technically when it comes to head-kicking.

Kenji Yamaki, Filho, Ademir da Costa are guys to look at as well - Tsukamoto is also interesting technically & unorthodox.

 

[KarateStylist]

[email protected] (he knocks the pair of them out by accident)

----------VIDCHOP-------------

....

^^ The reason he succeeds is the modern KK disconnect between kihon, etc. training & juyi kumite....

KarateStylist

 

[Harukaze]

^^ The reason he succeeds is the modern KK disconnect between kihon, etc. training & juyi kumite....

KarateStylist

I don't even know why I'm bothering to address your ridiculous statement, but have you ever even trained in a Kyokushin dojo? Or even any knockdown karate dojo? To claim that there's no connection between kihon and kumite in Kyokushin... ridiculous...

 

[LEGS MAHONEY]

I don't even know why I'm bothering to address your ridiculous statement, but have you ever even trained in a Kyokushin dojo? Or even any knockdown karate dojo? To claim that there's no connection between kihon and kumite in Kyokushin... ridiculous...

He is a troll. Most of the regulars here are aware of this. Best to ignore or just randomly verbally abuse him if youre bored enough

 

[Harukaze]

He is a troll. Most of the regulars here are aware of this. Best to ignore or just randomly verbally abuse him if youre bored enough

Ah, good to know! Thanks for the heads-up!

 

[KarateStylist]

1. I don't even know why I'm bothering to address your ridiculous statement,

2. ... but have you ever even trained in a Kyokushin dojo?

3. Or even any knockdown karate dojo?

4. To claim that there's no connection between kihon and kumite in Kyokushin... ridiculous...

1. I can't answer for you....

2. NO....

3. NO....

4. Read; D-I-S-C-O-N-N-E-C-T / I-N / H-O-W / T-H-E-Y / T-R-A-I-N.... One of the many good reasons not to train modern-day KK, K-D Karate....

KarateStylist

 

[DivineComedy]

hahahaha.

Doesn't even have personal experience in the martial art.

Proceeds to diss the art and claim its inferiority.

Seems legit guys.

 

[Discipulus]

Yeah, he doesn't throw your standard body kick - usually whenever he throws the left body kick it's his mikazuki geri (crescent kick - that Kikuno makes use of), the reason is because the liver is on the right side of his opponent - the reason the kick is able to slip under an opponent's elbow is less to do with his positioning although it is still important like you rightly said, but more to do with the dynamics of the kick itself - the kick is meant to be a cross between a roundhouse & a front kick.

Sorry it took me so long to acknowledge your excellent reply here. But I was reminded to do so by the other thread on this particular kick. I actually didn't realize that Narushima was landing with the ball of his foot, but he almost always does. The really tricky thing is that his left kick to the body looks identical to his head kick until the last instant. Probably why most of his knockouts seem to be from one of those two techniques. Time to work on that left leg flexibility! To me it seems that his set ups are the key to his success. His footwork working into the switch before the kick is very smooth, and he usually disguises it with movement or punches.

I've heard that some Muay Thai practitioners - when they throw body kicks, some tend to do so at an upward angle so it slips under the elbow - it's similar to that, the only difference is that the angle the kick is thrown is slightly different (more obtuse angle than the muay thai example I gave) this is because the focal point is the chusoku (ball of the foot) whereas in the muay thai example it's the shin - also the reason why the angle is greater is because the chusoku (ball of foot) needs to penetrate the liver area ----- i.e. the kick is designed to slip under an opponents elbow although there is still a possibility to catch toe on elbow on the way in - Narushima usually avoids this by opening up his opponents stances on purpose.

If you have time, could possibly elaborate? I'd love to hear more about how Narushima opens up his opponent's stance. The idea is an interesting one to me. I often feel that I'm at the wrong angle to land my left kick to the body.

I think partly the reason why there is no tell is because whenever you watch him throw it prior, he's opening up someone stance either with a combination or strike - so you don't see it coming till he throws it - it's also because the kick itself is pretty quick since is partially linear & he throws it often enough he knows how to cover it well. Narushima's greatest asset is his high roundhouse.

Ryu Narushima is a great technical Kyokushin fighter, most guys who are fans or practice KK will probably have him in their top 10 - I have him in my top 5, I know Saamag is also a fan of his - I wouldn't be surprised if Shinkyoku was as well.

His fighting style is pretty basic & straightforward in an essence, it's not over complicated, he stylistically has the most common Kyokushin approach to fighting - i.e. keep moving forward & brawling - the only difference is that he approaches it a bit differently to most KK guys - he won't brawl just for the sake of brawling, he heavily uses counters, angles & combinations whilst 'on the front foot' - most of these counters are designed to disrupt a stance & KO, same goes with the combinations, he makes blatant use of changing levels to disrupt stances & KO etc etc and angles to get techniques in without effort - this is the reason why he has such a high KO rate - he's notorious for having knocked out a crap load of people usually with his signature mawashi geri jodan, mikazuki geri (left body kick crescent), hiza geris (knees) - there's a video below that shows how quick he really is with his head-kicks - I think I discussed his head kicking dynamic - i.e what makes him so quick - on a thread with ssullivan a while back - it's different to the norm & no-one else kicks like him tbh in KK;

@1.05min (he knocks the pair of them out by accident)

This is what I was kind of thinking before. Something I've talked about in the past, too. He is quick, but a key to his success with the kick also seems to be that what little telegraph he does give is not very helpful. The chambering/loading motion for his kicks look the same, so that whether you defend for the body kick or the head kick, there's a fifty percent chance you're going to guess wrong and eat the other. And he kicks with such precision that when you eat one kick, you're either done or badly hurt.

I like his application of the brawling KK style. He is aggressive, he does slug it out, but he's not engaging in endurance contests. His brawls are always designed to set up the knockout. Truly an expert in putting his opponents away. Technical aggression, like Joe Louis. I like it a lot.

If you could dig up that head kick thread I'd love to read it.

Shokei Matsui is the greatest technical Kyokushin fighter - so I'd recommend him - he has incredible technique, intelligence & his timing is on a completely different level in knockdown. I'd recommend his ashi-barai (leg sweeps) - he sweeps people for fun - I mean he's sweeped the shit out of Andy Hug, Francisco Filho, Nicholas Pettas, Michael Thompson, Nicholas de Costa........the list goes on - I mean the names of the people he sweeped just shows how good he is at it - who's ever sweeped Hug 3 times in a row - his reputation would be even greater in KK if sweeps were scored as waza-ari (half points) in knockdown tournaments which they never really are. I'm not saying this because I'm a KK guy but I reckon he's probably the best leg sweeper I've ever seen in the martial arts world.

I'd recommend Kenji Midori's mae geri chudan (front kicks) - he was very successful with them - he throws it in a unique way - starts of as a front kick then ends up looking more like yoko geri (side kick) when it lands - usually throws them when someone is about to kick. I'd also very highly recommend his lead roundhouse kicks - he like Narushima has a high KO ratio & is on par with him technically when it comes to head-kicking.

Kenji Yamaki, Filho, Ademir da Costa are guys to look at as well - Tsukamoto is also interesting technically & unorthodox.

Wow, what a great list of recommendations. Thanks a lot. Unfortunately it's hard for me to cop tactics directly from KK guys because of the difference in competition rules. But I'm going to watch more of these guys in the future and try to divine the fundamental ideas behind their successes.

I like Midori a lot, too. His mae geri (kekomi?) is very much like the one that Saenchai throws, opening up the hips and pivoting to put more weight, power, and distance behind the technique. Both guys also interrupt kicks very well with this technique. If only I were better at reading and reacting quickly, I'd love to say that I do the same! I certainly try.

 

[Discipulus]

I really like Shokei Matsui, too! I'm watching his 40 Man Kumite right now. At a glance, I think he finds such success with the sweeps because he tends to lean forward past his feet less than a lot of KK fighters. He enters range with his feet and hips first, and it puts him right in position to sweep guys down. I'd love to have the same ability.