Why don't Kyokushin practitioners bulk up a little bit?

[666]

Have you seen Fighting Black Kings?

No, I will watch it tho thanks.

 

[JR 137]

No, I will watch it tho thanks.

Last I knew, it was streaming on Amazon Instant Video for free to Prime members under the title The Strongest Karate. If not, it’s about $7 or so to buy in SD. If you’re a Kyokushin guy, it’s a must have. As I said in s few other threads, it’s part Kyokushin propaganda film, part blaxploitation film set to 70s-style porn music, and all Kyokushin badassery. The editing sucks, the commentary is a bit suspect, and the audio sync seems to be off, but all of that makes it even better.

I’ve got a bit of a personal link to it. My teacher was in Kyokushin during that era under Tadashi Nakamura, he wasn’t in the movie but he was at a few of those workouts, and I’ve met Charles Martin a few times, being in Seido and all. My teacher has so many great stories about that era and those guys in general.

 

[JR 137]

"There are three important things in karate:
strength, speed, and technique. Out of these three,
strength could be said to be the most important.
However, strength is very much associated with
speed; therefore, the karateka cannot achieve one
without the other. From my experience, I can say
that the karateka should devote himself to developing strength and speed while he is young, and
not depend solely on technique. Karate techniques
are especially important for those whose physical
strength may have lessened with age."

I wasn't trying to say that everything else is useless I just wanted to point out that he thought lifting and strength is important.

Thanks for that. I’ve read What Is Karate, This is Karate, and the 3rd one in Oyama’s holy trinity of Kyokushin books (I can’t remember the title). My former teacher let me borrow his, and my current teacher has them on a shelf in the dojo. They’re quite good.

I read somewhere that one of the currently available Oyama books is pretty much This Is Karate, but I can’t remember which one. I think it is Mas Oyama’s Essential Karate, but I’m not sure. This Is Karate is the book that stood out most to me. Problem is it’s out of print and the price is absurd.

 

[666]

Thanks for that. I’ve read What Is Karate, This is Karate, and the 3rd one in Oyama’s holy trinity of Kyokushin books

Did you get some "special" information out of the books? About Oyama's training or something like that?
Would be great if you'd share some.

 

[JR 137]

Did you get some "special" information out of the books? About Oyama's training or something like that?
Would be great if you'd share some.

It’s been about 20 years since I’ve read them. I can see the pictures in my mind and remember the gist of it, but nothing comes to mind except they were quite good. My local library used to have What Is Karate back in the day. I knew nothing about it, but I checked it out and read it. I told my then sensei about it, and he said “oh, you mean that book over there?” pointing to his copy (along with the other 2 Oyama books). That library doesn’t have that book anymore. Someone probably figured out how much it’s worth and stole it.

Most MA books I’ve seen that deal with teaching technique suck IMO. Those ones don’t. And one doesn’t have to be a Kyokushin or related karateka nor an Oyama fan to appreciate them.

 

[666]

Watched Fighting Black Kings, it was worth it man.

 

[JR 137]

Watched Fighting Black Kings, it was worth it man.

My teacher came through the ranks in that era. Some things he’s told me about it...

Some of the training stuff was played up for the camera. Nothing was staged, but guys went harder when the cameras were on. Not that they took it easy during training by any means.

The black belt test was exactly how they tested. They were pretty surprised that they allowed s camera in there during it, but there wasn’t any extra difficulty; it was business as usual. The guy who got cut had a broken jaw too. It was genuinely an accident. I’ve met the guy who did it to him several times. Very nice guy. He’s a 7th dan now, and still in great fighting shape, 40+ years later.

Charles Martin is still Tadashi Nakamura’s senior-most student. And I hear he’s still a handful when sparring. I’ve met him several times too, and he’s a great guy.

My teacher’s got so many William Oliver stories. I hear one at least every other week.

Someone asked Charles Martin about that movie a few years ago. He just chuckled and shook his head, saying “is that movie STILL around?”

The movie played in a lot of local theaters in Harlem. There was a huge influx of students after it, especially pre-teen boys. A lot of parents brought their kids to the dojos and said they wanted their sons to be just like the Fighting Black Kings. If that movie came out today, I don’t think that would be the case.

 

[KabutoKouji]

tbh I would have always presumed that Kyokushin practitioners are often 'larger' than most other Karate disciplines, definitely the stereotypical practitioner in Japanese games is also (Mr Karate and Jin Kazama).

 

[Buka]

Thanks for that. I’ve read What Is Karate, This is Karate, and the 3rd one in Oyama’s holy trinity of Kyokushin books (I can’t remember the title). My former teacher let me borrow his, and my current teacher has them on a shelf in the dojo. They’re quite good.

I read somewhere that one of the currently available Oyama books is pretty much This Is Karate, but I can’t remember which one. I think it is Mas Oyama’s Essential Karate, but I’m not sure. This Is Karate is the book that stood out most to me. Problem is it’s out of print and the price is absurd.

Those were the first Martial Arts books I ever read. Loved them, still do.

 

[JR 137]

Those were the first Martial Arts books I ever read. Loved them, still do.

Very few books in that genre, so to speak, are good IMO. Those ones are gold. One I’m currently really digging is Joko Ninomiya’s Sabaki Method: Karate in the Inner Circle. At quick glance it’s ok. After reading it, digesting it and trying to apply it, it’s fantastic. There’s nothing truly groundbreaking, but once you get past the basics in the first chapter or so, the application is where the magic happens. At least for me, anyway.

 

[666]

Those were the first Martial Arts books I ever read. Loved them, still do.

Is the content of it still fresh in your mind? Like did you maybe re-read them?

 

[Buka]

Is the content of it still fresh in your mind? Like did you maybe re-read them?

Read them many times over the years. One of them I cut up with scissors [I had another copy] and used a lot of the pictures on a collage we made on a big wall of the dojo, along with a bootload of pics from Karate magazines and some we had taken ourselves. It was a really cool wall.

If you're familiar with the books you might remember the shots of Oyama and his students running barefoot through the snow. And training under a waterfall.
We were in our early twenties and so nuts about Martial Arts that we would do anything. So, we got the bright idea to go "All Oyama". We drove to Nantasket Beach at 2 in the morning one January night. It was eighteen degrees and the beach was snow covered. We had on gi pants and no shirts. Figured we'd go waist deep into the water and throw a thousand reverse punches in the cold, because, hey, we were fricken' Karate men.

Lasted all of ten seconds before we ran screaming for the car, which, fortunately, we had left running with the heat on. We jumped in and still screamed for five minutes. We shivered uncontrollably and rubbed our arms and legs, all the while screaming.

I know, we weren't very bright. My buddy and I occasionally bring it up and laugh. Each blaming the other for the idea. And the one thing we both remember most was that the snow on the beach felt like it was burning our feet as we ran back to the car.

You know what they say, "No fool like a damn fool'.

 

[Headhunter]

Read them many times over the years. One of them I cut up with scissors [I had another copy] and used a lot of the pictures on a collage we made on a big wall of the dojo, along with a bootload of pics from Karate magazines and some we had taken ourselves. It was a really cool wall.

If you're familiar with the books you might remember the shots of Oyama and his students running barefoot through the snow. And training under a waterfall.
We were in our early twenties and so nuts about Martial Arts that we would do anything. So, we got the bright idea to go "All Oyama". We drove to Nantasket Beach at 2 in the morning one January night. It was eighteen degrees and the beach was snow covered. We had on gi pants and no shirts. Figured we'd go waist deep into the water and throw a thousand reverse punches in the cold, because, hey, we were fricken' Karate men.

Lasted all of ten seconds before we ran screaming for the car, which, fortunately, we had left running with the heat on. We jumped in and still screamed for five minutes. We shivered uncontrollably and rubbed our arms and legs, all the while screaming.

I know, we weren't very bright. My buddy and I occasionally bring it up and laugh. Each blaming the other for the idea. And the one thing we both remember most was that the snow on the beach felt like it was burning our feet as we ran back to the car.

You know what they say, "No fool like a damn fool'.

Got to love how you say 18 degrees like that's cold...18 degrees is considered very hot where we are. The last few weeks the weather has been no higher than 8 degrees

 

[666]

Mh, yeah true actually 18 degrees ain't cold lol, but wait, 18 degrees and a snow covered beach? xD

 

[Buka]

Might not be cold to you guys, so give it a try and let me know. Unless you guys are talking Celsius, in which case 18 degrees would be -7.
But if you do go ahead and jump into the water, be prepared, the waves feel like they're made of broken glass.

Good teeth chattering though, that, at least, can be amusing. Afterwards, anyway.

 

[JR 137]

Might not be cold to you guys, so give it a try and let me know. Unless you guys are talking Celsius, in which case 18 degrees would be -7.
But if you do go ahead and jump into the water, be prepared, the waves feel like they're made of broken glass.

Good teeth chattering though, that, at least, can be amusing. Afterwards, anyway.

I’m all set with cold water. During first 2 weeks of grad school, I didn’t have any hot water. Showering was an absolute nightmare. And we couldn’t shower at school because idiots at the sports building wouldn’t let us in without paying one of the hidden fees colleges get undergrads for.

2 of the most painful weeks of my life. There was no getting used to it. I think it took a solid 3 weeks after we had hot water for my boys to fully descend.

 

[666]

Unless you guys are talking Celsius, in which case 18 degrees would be -7.

I'm so confused right now, what are we talking about xD
Are we talking about 18 °C or 18 °F.

 

[JR 137]

I'm so confused right now, what are we talking about xD
Are we talking about 18 °C or 18 °F.

Both are way too cold for me, so it makes no difference as far as I’m concerned.

 

[666]

There was no getting used to it.

Next Fall, don't use a heater and still try to sleep without a shirt.
Start taking cold showers every time you get in the shower (also in Winter) make sure you hit all parts of your body.
And don't use big *** jackets when you go out.
When you start in Fall you will slowly get used to it.
And if you do have to use a heater, still try to keep a low temperature.
That's what I did and it worked, first 2 weeks may suck, but it works, you can go out with a shirt while others start freezing with jackets, and I didn't get a cold too.

 

[Buka]

I'm so confused right now, what are we talking about xD
Are we talking about 18 °C or 18 °F.

18 °F.

Sorry for any confusion. Alas, tis' the world I live in.