For those who trained with Mas Oyama

[evergrey]

Or those who trained under someone who did and heard stories...

What was he actually like, as a teacher? Was he calm and soft-spoken, or a bellower? Was he kind to his students, or harsh?

How was he at kihon and kata? How was he as a fighter? Did he always fight hard, or did he ever go light and gentle?

Did he socialize with students much outside of class? If so, was it only the dan ranks, or was it anyone?

OSU!

[powerof0ne]

MilkmanX, I wish your sensei was on this forum right now Have some exult Evergrey, great idea for a thread even if none on here have trained with Sosai before I'm always interested in learning more about the man. Oops, not seeing the exalt option, maybe I'm out of exalt to give? Paging IT tech....
Osu!

[MMX]

I could ask him!

All I know is he was a very powerful man who was respectful to my Sensei(who went from 10th kyu under Shigeru Oyama to I think Nidan or Sandan under him..) at the time.

[evergrey]

OSU! Thanks
I think perhaps our GJEC has had some firsthand experience?

[pandorasvise]

I know he smoked like a chimney, just kidding! The upcoming US Kyokushin Open in CT is being held by Shihan Fugiwara who I believe trained under him. I have only met him a few times at seminars. Shihan Fugiwara is a great teacher, if you ever have a chance to go to his dojo, I would recommend it

[MMX]

HE did smoke in his younger years.

He just did not drink(at least as of 1969 or so) when my Sensei was in Kyokushin.

[evergrey]

OSU,
I have heard bits and pieces, but I'm not sure I'm allowed to share them.
People here who knew him thought highly of him, however.

[GJEC]

Not sure if this answers any of those questions:

Japan

By 1988 I had mostly recovered from the aftermath of pneumonia and was feeling better every week. The club continued to go from strength to strength. By now we regularly entered all manner of events, and always seemed to come home with something. For myself though, I needed another challenge…

When I started talking about training in Japan, most people were very negative.

“Why bother?” was the usual remark. I was 33, 3rd Dan, a club owner and long ‘retired’ as a knockdown fighter. I was given the impression that most of the great instructors had long since moved abroad, and that Honbu (headquarters) in Japan was no longer the best place to go. I listened respectfully to people’s opinions, but I wanted a reason to get back in shape - although sensibly this time - and shooting for a long-held ambition seemed a good enough goal. I was brought up on stories of how tough the training was in Japan yet always had a valid reason for not going, not least of which was that being granted long-term leave from the Fire Service was notoriously difficult. As I got older I began to realise that if I didn’t make the effort to go I would regret it in later life.

Sensei Nakamura visited the UK later that year so on the course I decided to ask his advice. To my delight he immediately offered to put me up at his house. I could train at his Zama dojo and travel up to Honbu on the train. Needless to say this was a fantastic opportunity that I grabbed with both hands. I applied for two months leave from work. This was the maximum allowed and meant taking all my holiday entitlement for 1989 in one lump. Next, I sorted out the finance. I was now good to go and really excited by the prospect. I didn’t expect it to be life-defining, just a great experience. I wanted to see how I coped with the training, and find out if the Japanese fighters really had an inborn advantage or if it was all down to personal effort, not genetics or race.

I travelled over in April 1989 on Air Egypt which was a really ‘crap’ flight, arriving with a severe case of the runs courtesy of the terrible in-flight catering. The Nakamura family lived in Kami-Tsuruma, a nice suburb of Yokohama about 90 minutes by train from central Tokyo. Tatsuo was at work when I arrived so his lovely wife Anni met me at Yokohama Air terminal after a bus ride from Narita Airport. On his return we grabbed a bite to eat and headed straight off to the dojo. The training spirit at Zama had to be seen and experienced to be believed. Everyone gave their best on a very humid night until everywhere was soaked in sweat. This was exactly what I had expected; tough and challenging at a very fast pace in a really good atmosphere. I was introduced to Toru Yamaguchi and Jun Yonemoto, two of the very capable black belts that helped Sensei with the teaching. They were both really helpful and became good friends.

On returning home we discussed my schedule. I would train at Zama on Mondays, Wednesdays and alternate Fridays. Train at a boxing gym on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and travel up to Honbu on Saturdays, Sundays and every other Friday. Anni also showed me where I could go running, but with a schedule like that I just smiled and left my running shoes buried deep in my case. As Sensei worked long hours I met Yamaguchi in the afternoon and travelled up to Zama dojo by train. We arrived at around 5pm. Lots of the students were already there stretching, hitting pads and warming themselves up.

The junior class started at 6pm so they then went off outside for running and sprinting. At 7pm prompt the main class started with very fast kihon, followed by the class being split into groups for more specific work. All the members, so far as I could tell, gave 100% at all times and the atmosphere Sensei created was very inspiring. Class finished at 9pm, after which those that wanted to padded up for sparring. This was always controlled, and at Zama I never felt anyone had a point they wanted to make. One of the sempai - Mochizuki - worked late and took a 90 minute train ride each way to get to training. He helped with the last few minutes of the regular class and then fought anyone who dared. He was very special. Sensei described him as “Veeeery strong” and said he could easily win the British Open at middleweight. Fighting him I never doubted it. Training at Zama dojo remains one of the best memories of my karate career. I had always worked hard, but in Zama the sweat, spirit and sheer intensity was on a different level. I will always appreciate the kindness afforded by the Nakamura family in putting me up at their home, and the effort the Zama students made to make me feel welcome.

Training at the boxing gym taught me a lot about the legendary Japanese fighting spirit. Yamaguchi was big and strong. He had come 4th in the previous years All-Japan and trained very hard indeed. At the boxing gym (which was a facility used by many other combat athletes) he would hit the 6’ heavy bag with everything he had for three and a half minutes, rest for thirty seconds and then go again for round after round. The man was a machine who obviously felt discomfort but refused to back off. He suffered, but had a willingness to push himself far beyond his pain threshold. I saw more students prepared to go that far in Zama dojo than in the average European one, but as an individual, the choice is yours alone. By the end of my stay I was matching his work rate and felt really strong. Back to ‘normal’ plus a bit of extra grit for when things got tough - exactly what I had hoped the Japan experience would give me. I would soon need it.

I also trained regularly at Honbu. Training there was also fast and furious. The kihon never varied and the kata was all done in ura (reverse) which was a little hard to get into at first. The fighting was also different to Zama, giving the feeling that they would knock you out given half the chance. The atmosphere there was a bit strained. I wouldn’t describe it as being a happy place, especially for the uchi-deshi. (Full-time students) They only seemed to have two facial expressions. ‘Bored’ or ‘Worried’ depending on whether Sosai Oyama was anywhere nearby. The high grades were fine, not needing to prove anything. The low grades were very respectful. The problem ones were the middle rankers who thought they were something special, and sought to ‘prove’ that at every opportunity. Maybe I had already reached the stage where I didn’t need to do that, but I found some quite irritating and decided a ‘take no shit’ attitude was required. As soon as they realised that I’d front up they left me alone. Just like school really!

I found Sosai Oyama very friendly and helpful. The man was a legend with a tremendous presence but still thanked me for coming all that way. At the sessions where he taught he still took a real interest and I learnt a lot from his minor corrections. He worked up a good sweat and kept up with the count. By then his kicks weren’t very high, but when demonstrating what he wanted his sheer power and authority was impressive.

He was surrounded by sycophants though that seemed to go out of their way to be arrogant with foreigners. Some of them obviously thought they were the Emperor’s bodyguards or something. I’ve met top military men since who didn’t strut around like some of these did and mixed with royalty who expected less formality. I would stress I doubt if Sosai asked for all that - at times he seemed almost fed up with all the adulation. A few years later I watched the film ‘Black Rain’ staring Michael Douglas. I’m not saying Sosai Oyama was anything to do with the Yakuza (Japanese mafia) but the way the big boss was treated in the film was uncannily similar. I sometimes wonder whether he’d have been happier to sit and relax quietly over a beer, without his entourage constantly fussing around him. I was genuinely sad to hear that just a few short years later he passed away, and I’m very glad I had the chance to meet and be taught by him.

While in Japan I also had the opportunity to travel a little. Kyoto, Kamakura, Odawara Castle and Mount Fuji to name just a few of the fantastic sights and places. I was grateful to the Zama students who took me all over the place, even to their local Fire Station. It really was the trip of a lifetime and I will always remember the experience and the people very fondly. I was sad to return in many ways. Going back to work was going to be a real shock to the system. I had lost a stone though and felt razor sharp. I was keen to get back to the dojo and try out many of the things I had learnt, having kept notes from every session. Steve had stepped in to run things while I was away, and I knew the members would be in fine shape on my return. I had got my health and enthusiasm back and was raring to go. As has so often happened in my life though, fate had another cruel trick up its sleeve.

Gary

[alan]

i was in the same arena as him in 1978 and joined in the collective osu!

[schuyler]

Great wright up Gary, Osu!

[powerof0ne]

Thanks for the write up, Gary, have some exalt. That was a nice treat after getting home from an economics final .
Osu!

[wullie]

Excellent write up Gary!
you really should write a book ;D lol!