So-Shihan Watanabe built up the base of “Oyama Karate” and “Kyokushin Karate” as the First Shihan-dai both of “Oyama Karate” and “Kyokushin Karate”.  Yes!  He is “Living Legend” of “Kyokushin-kai”.

  “Kyokushin Boom” was started by a comic “Karate Baka Ichi-dai”.  This comic contained So-Shihan Watanabe’s real stories.  Most of these episodes about street fights were actually he did.

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   His parents owned some restaurants at Ikebukuro area.  At that time, it was so hard to own that kind of a business, because it always got some troubles with Yakuza(Japanese mafias) and Gangs, even today. 

 

  The reasom why he started to learn Karate that he had to defend and protect his family, which meant most of his fights were not for his selfishness (maybe).  That was why he was not expelled from “Kyokushin Karate”.  He had to reported and recorded all his street fights to Mass Oyama instead, which became a famous comic book later.

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  Today, “Kyokushin Karate” is the one of the most popular and the most famous Karate in the world by the name of “God Hands”.  On the other hands, Mass Oyama also worried about losing his secret skills for streets. Mass Oyama left his will to So-Shihan Watanabe before his death, to succed his spirits and methods.

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  It took several years to make him decision to take Mass Oyama’s will.  One day, he realized that he didn’t have much time left when he turned back himself.  By the way he turns 81 years old now (2019).

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