I have always liked & respected Mas Oyama and his fortitude towards martial arts has always been an inspiration to me and my own training. I recently watched his bio pic "Fighter in the Wind" and wanted to seperate the fact from the fiction. Its a good film, one I'd recommend, but knew from what little I already knew of Master Oyama that certain parts were "Hollywood" mixed with truth and in my research, I came across this:
http://www.fightingmaster.com/masters/oyama/index.htm
Reading this piece touched me as to what a true martial artist is like.. read it for yourself and maybe it will touch you too! The last words of the piece brought me close to tears, as despite his obvious prowness and skills he was, after all, only human! I`ll copy them here for those too lazy to read the whole article:
"He could fight and defeat a bull or another man with little problem; they were tangible opponents that appeared before him. But lung cancer was a hidden enemy, sneaking around inside Oyama's body and tearing it asunder day by day. He couldn't beat the disease with his fists or his feet. Nor could he devise a strategy to ward it off. For years, the cancer ate away at his insides without him even knowing it was there."
Stuart
http://www.fightingmaster.com/masters/oyama/index.htm
Reading this piece touched me as to what a true martial artist is like.. read it for yourself and maybe it will touch you too! The last words of the piece brought me close to tears, as despite his obvious prowness and skills he was, after all, only human! I`ll copy them here for those too lazy to read the whole article:
"He could fight and defeat a bull or another man with little problem; they were tangible opponents that appeared before him. But lung cancer was a hidden enemy, sneaking around inside Oyama's body and tearing it asunder day by day. He couldn't beat the disease with his fists or his feet. Nor could he devise a strategy to ward it off. For years, the cancer ate away at his insides without him even knowing it was there."
Stuart
