KARATE, the fountainhead of the Japanese warrior code and today a subject of worldwide interest, is one of Mankind's most priceless pieces of wisdom. Karate extends back to Man's origins and continues in usefulness to the present. As a means of defense, Karate has a vigor and power that other martial arts lack.

Karate has been the last stronghold of defense for tens of thousands of people. The art draws upon ancestral wisdom combined with modern rationality, making it as relevant today as it was centuries ago. Karate masters can perform remarkable feats — breaking wood and stone with bare hands — as testament to the extraordinary power that dedicated training can develop in the human body.

Masutatsu Oyama, a Karate Master standing at the very pinnacle of today's Karate world, developed the Kyokushin system — making available to everyone the essence of his thirty years of Karate study and training. Kyokushin (meaning "Ultimate Truth") was formally founded in 1964 with the establishment of the International Karate Organization (IKO).

Oyama Karate begins and ends with points and circles, in which lie the miraculous strength and the life of the system. Grounded in Zen and Shinto psychology, the Kyokushin system is serene in movement, refined and stable in form. It is the authentic method of Kyokushin Karate — a discipline that builds not only physical strength but also character, humility, and an unbreakable spirit.

Today, IKO Kyokushinkaikan is one of the largest martial arts organizations in the world, with over 15 million practitioners across 167 countries, all united by the spirit of Osu and the pursuit of the ultimate truth.