Budo international Martial Arts Magazine Jul. 2013 | Page 86

Centrally located in Manhattan, but almost hidden in an apparently office building is Shigeru Oyama ' s dojo. During my stay in New York I go to the dojo a couple of days. The atmosphere is friendly and sincere. I feel comfortable there. Shigeru Oyama receives me very affectionate and sympathetic, even chatty when confidence increases( which is quite soon).

Shigeru Oyama was born in Tokyo in 1936, namely on July 7, San Fermin!( sorry for the joke). Shigeru was the second of four children of a Korean family settled in Japan with great success in business. He soon started practicing Karate through a relative named Nauru, Professor of Biology at the University of Kyoto, who at times practiced Karate in the garden of the big familiar house and under the approval of Shigeru ' s father, who was also fond of this Martial Art. " My uncle was a master of Goju Ryu who had reached Gogen ' s same level." " Really?" " Yes, although he did not come from the line of Chojun Miyagi."

There used to gather several Koreans and one of them began working for the family carrying out such disparate jobs...( or maybe not) such as babysitter and bodyguard. His name was Choi I Yong, later known as Masutatsu Oyama in honor of the family of our hero today, that had given him shelter and support. Shigeru remembers well those times. " Masutatsu Oyama was the pupil of another Korean teacher from his same province, Mr. So Nei Chu, who gave Karate lessons in my house, and had practiced with other masters like Funakoshi... But Masutatsu had no money to open a dojo, and so he taught an important group of students also in the garden of my house ". " Interesting garden, that of your house!". " My uncle was the one who actually granted the name Oyama to Masutatsu after he came from Korea." In reality, it seems that the new name for Masutatsu would come later and by means of the first Korean Ambassador in Japan after World War II, Mr. Lee.

World War II did away with the family business that turned into a terrorist target for communist guerrillas, since Shigeru ' s father had been the founder of the South Korean Democratic Party, based in Tokyo. Masutatsu helped as far as possible Shigeru ' s family and especially him, who by that epoch entered the University of Japan, asking him to learn Karate with him. " From the beginning I loved Karate. I was so focused on karate that I forgot everything else. After practice I felt... great!. Masutatsu Oyama was like a second father to me. There were many years together. He used to do Sanchin with Ibuki breathing but... what he really liked was fighting.

To him the important thing was Kihon and Kumite. Our trainings lasted four hours and only half an hour was dedicated to Kata. The rest was Kumite and a lot of physical training."

In the mid 60 ' s Masutatsu Oyama asked Shigeru to go to the United States and devote himself to develop Karate there. Richard Bernard had written Masutatsu asking him to send a Japanese instructor. Shigeru refused to go several times, so Mass provoked him repeatedly making him look like... " a chicken ", and running the canard that " Shigeru doesn ' t want to go to America because Americans are too big and strong for him." Shigeru Masutatsu tried to explain that it wasn ' t true and the founder of Kyokushinkai responded... " O. K. Prove it!". But Masutatsu had yet another surprise for Shigeru before going to the U. S. A.: " You must do the100 match test ", he said. Shigeru prepared himself thoroughly during his classes at the Oyama ' s Hombu Dojo, where he already was the Chief Instructor. " I went through the test with no problems as I was very well prepared and so I felt and I knew it. When I finished I was taken x-rays and doctors saw several broken ribs. It ' s the hardest thing I ' ve done in my life. I this type of test you fight not only with your body but also with your spirit. There are 50 people and you have to fight twice with each one. From the middle of the test on, things become hard because you have no more physical strength, but you already know your opponents well and they know just as well that you are are fighting for something important that you ' re determined to achieve."

convinced by Masutatsu Sensei, settling down in New York from the start... barely speaking English and with just a few dollars in his pocket. After seven years in White Plaines, Oyama had already made himself a name. But it was hard for him to adapt there. Everything was so different! He was often tempted with the ide of going back to Japan, but Masutatsu took great care of removing from him any intention of returning. " I received a letter from Masutatsu Oyama in which he told me: Do not come to Japan. Stay in America and die in the U. S. I was worried but finally everything went all right." He moved to Fairfield in Connecticut and his fame continued to grow. His brother Yasuhiko also came to America and opened a dojo in Alabama.

But over time, uprooting and differences,... may make an appearance. Indeed, in November 1975, Shigeru ' s relationship with Kyokushinkai organization has diminished and in 1981, after over 30 years in it, becomes independent forming what he calls the World Oyama Karate. Shortly after, in 1983 Oyama settles in Manhattan where his dojo becomes a Karate benchmark in America.

In January 20, 1984, Masutatsu presents Shigeru Oyama a beautiful engraved plaque in which he expresses his gratitud for his long and important work with the following words: " To Shigeru Oyama. This award is proof of our

84