Mas Oyama
| Mas Oyama | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | Choi Yeong-eui July 27, 1923 Gimje, Jeollabuk-do, Korea |
| Died | April 26, 1994 (aged 70) Tokyo, Japan |
| Style | Kyokushin karate |
| Teacher(s) | Gichin Funakoshi, Gōgen Yamaguchi, Cho Young-Joo (조영주 / 曺寧柱) |
| Rank | 10th Dan Black Belt in Kyokushin Karate 3rd Dan Black Belt in Shotokan 7th Dan Black Belt in Gōjū-ryū Karate 4th Dan Black Belt in Kosen Judo |
| Spouse | Chiyako Oyama (1926–1994) Sun-ho Hong (홍순호) |
| Notable students | Bobby Lowe, Jon Bluming, Tadashi Nakamura, Hideyuki Ashihara, Steve Arneil, Loek Hollander, Peter Chong, Hatsuo Royama, Terutomo Yamazaki, Howard Collins, Sonny Chiba, Tae Hong Choi, Katsuaki Satō, Jōkō Ninomiya, Dolph Lundgren, Shokei Matsui, Kenji Midori, Akira Masuda, Nicholas Pettas |
Masutatsu Oyama (大山 倍達 Ōyama Masutatsu?, born Choi Yeong-eui (Hangul: 최영의 Hanja: 崔永宜); July 27, 1923 – April 26, 1994), more commonly known as Mas Oyama, was a karate master who founded Kyokushin Karate, considered the first and most influential style of full contact karate. A Zainichi Korean, he spent most of his life living in Japan and acquired Japanese citizenship in 1964. He was an alumnus of Waseda University.
Oyama was born as Choi Young-Eui (최영의) in Gimje, South Korea, during Japanese occupation. At a young age he was sent to Manchuria, Northeast China to live on his sister's farm. Oyama began studying Chinese martial arts at age 9 from a Chinese farmer who was working on the farm. His family name was Li and Oyama said he was his very first teacher. The story of the young Oyama's life is written in his earlier books.
In March 1938, Oyama left for Japan following his brother who enrolled in the Yamanashi Aviation School Imperial Japanese Army aviation school. Sometime during his time in Japan, Choi Young-Eui chose his Japanese name, Oyama Masutatsu (大山 倍達), which is a transliteration of 'Baedal' (倍達). 'Baedal' was an ancient Korean kingdom known in Japan during Oyama's time as "Ancient Joseon".
One story of Oyama's youth involves Lee giving young Oyama a seed which he was to plant; when it sprouted, he was to jump over it one hundred times every day. As the seed grew and became a plant, Oyama later said, "I was able to jump between walls back and forth easily." The writer, Ikki Kajiwara, and the publisher of the comics based the story on the life experience Oyama spoke to them about- thus the title became "Karate Baka Ichidai" (Karate Fanatic).
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