A special article for
Vancouver Cup 2005
Try and graduate
"University of Kyokushin"
by Tats Nakamura
I enrolled in
"the university of Kyokushin" about fifteen years ago and
graduated five years ago. It took me ten years. As you know
there is no such a thing as University of Kyokushin, but
Japanese international fighters quite often use the phrase to
express Kyokushin competition.
You go to an
university to learn a specific subject you want to study.
Competing in Kyokushin tournaments is exactly the same. (The only difference is "bruise" you get,
of course.) Every time you
prepare for a tournament, you face a new obstacle. In order to
overcome it, you have to study and train hard. The bigger the
event you enter the more difficulty you face. As you go
through the process, you are bound to learn fundamentals of
your life: Importance of commitment, self-discipline and
perseverance, basically all the elements of Osu no Seishin
(Spirit of Osu). Yes, The main subject of this university is
Spirit of Osu.
As a by-product
from the process, you are to create strong bonding with fellow
fighters you trained with and opponents you fought against.
The friendship with those people you shared the tension and
intensity of training and tournaments with will last forever.
I can safely say
that I learned almost everything one could gain from
international tournaments. When I gave everything I had to
fight in the ultimate, World Tournament, I truly felt that I
had graduated. Although I lost at the 3rd round, I was able to
celebrate myself from the bottom of my heart. I now feel that
it's my own students' turn to enroll in the University of
Kyokushin. A handful of fighters at our dojo are beginning to
show their talents in the Kyokushin international field.
They are
actually writing a very important "examination" right now:
winning over the kyokushin powerhouse. Without beating
Brazilians, Russians and Japanese, now Polish, they will never
be able to graduate. It will take a long time to pass the
exam. But do not drop out. Study hard.
Sosai Oyama left
us the worldwide organization and the World Tournament. Kancho
Matsui has let them evolve by creating the World Cup, Women's
World and Word Weight Category. Opportunities are everywhere.
You are young only once. The Kyokushin university has an age
limit. It's tough for 35 and older to follow through the
curriculum. You must run when you can.
The students of
Kyokushin University, North American branch are writing the
final exam of 2005 on December 18th. Good luck to all of them,
and if you are a Kyokushin fan, you should not miss our future
graduates test their ability at the
Vancouver Cup 2005.
Osu.
