If Sosai Masustatsu Oyama fought 52 bulls an kiled three with one hit, why is there so little footage?

Question

Shouldn't he have video tpaed all 52 figths. I mena that is an amazing diplsy of martial arts mastery. Why not make sure the world see's it all. Also is there any good photos or paintings besudes footage?

Answer 1

also i've heard oyama's own students say the bulls were sick and weak anyway.

Answer 2

Agreeing with Shienara;

As if the cost of old, bulky cameras wasn't prohibitive enough, most of the bulls Oyama killed, were mexican bulls.  That is, in rural 1950's Mexico, they would allow such displays of animal cruelty, but not in wealthier countries.  Combining the cost of expensive cameras, with the very out of the way Mexican towns in which Oyama performed, makes it so that you won't find a whole lot of footage.

Also, killing a bull is not a display of martial arts mastery, because, I have a story for you;

In Singapore, around Masatatsu Oyama's time, there was a Chinese Singaporean master, I believed trained in Hung Gar Chuan, the martial art practiced by Wong Fei Hung, and the man who taught him was of the lineage of none other than Wong Fei Hung himself that is, the man's teacher's teacher, studied under the legendary Wong Fei Hung.  Oyama had an encounter with the man, and challenged him to a test of skill.  The story goes, Oyama was soundly beaten, his Karate, no match of the Chinese Singaporeans Hung Har Chuan.

So impressed was Oyama, that he offered him a belt rank, to which the Kung Fu practitioner replied, he would have to outrank him in skill to accept it, which Oyama did not.  Its scary to think about it, but its true; its a very famous story in Singapore, about the Kung Fu master who defeated the bull killer.  Indeed, part of the reason Kyokshin Karate has elements of Kung Fu in it, and why that style of Karate in places ressembles Hung Gar, some of the forms, is because Oyama begged the Kung Fu practitioner to take him as a student.  He accepted, and taught him a few forms, including hand conditioning methods.

Kyokshinkai Karate practitioners dip their fingers in pebbles and sand, because Oyama adopted the practice from the Hung Gar Chuan master from Singapore who, sadly, is dead now.

Killing a bull IS an impressive feat but god d**n man, there was no need to do that to those poor animals.  You ask me traditional bull fighting, if you MUST kill the animals to eat them, is more humane, because the point of bullfighting is to drive a sword into the spinal never of the bull, that way it dies painlessly.  People do not understand bullfighting; bullfighters who make the animal suffer, are hated in Spain, and Mexican fans of the sport.  They are hated, because they expect gracefulness, skill, and a painless death for the animal so they can all enjoy a feast.  Battering a bull on the head, over and over, with a fist hard as cement, is extremely cruel.

Take a cement dumbell, and then hit a bull over the head with it over and over.  Because his fists were like cement dumbells, that is basically what Oyama was doing.  I'm sorry but, what Oyama did to those poor animals was unbelievably cruel, even for the tastes of a more or less bullfighting fan such as yours truly.

Now, if Oyama had killed a bull afflicted with rabbies terrorising the Mexican country side, to that I would not say anything.

However a Karateka should not use his skill to needlessly harm a living creature, unless its to protect lives.  None of the bulls Oyama killed were dangerous, which is why I hold little respect for him.

You want to prove your skill, smash through sheet rock cleanly without injuring your hand.  If you can do that, your knuckles are tough enough to kill a bull.  If you can punch sheet rock, and only the circle of your fist is there, that is, a small hole in the shape of a circle exactly the size of your fist, you have conditioned your hands well, and you have good power and speed.  Personally I can't do it..... yet.  I need makiwara board training.

If I can persuade you to change your opinion though please do; it is not a display of martial arts mastery to kill a bull that was not harming anyone, or was even going to be used in a feast, that is just plain cruelty.

still, good luck to you in your martial arts studies, just don't emulate Oyama please.

Answer 3

SHIENARA  is right .There were some stills in his original book  

WHAT IS KARATE published in the late 50s and as it was a promotional thing to promote himself not karate  filmed only by news people probably your only source would be the TOKYO SHIMBUN  news paper .

After many complaints from animal protection societys in and outside JAPAN he ended the practice about that time.

And it is not a display of martial arts "mastery" it's a display of hitting hard .

Strong men over the ages have made such displays knocking down horses bulls and other large animals with one punch .

I began training in 1960 and when I heard of this I put it in the carnival /circus strong man stunt category not a martial arts master.

In his later more mature years OYAMA spoke out against such excessive hand conditioning saying modern methods were equal to any in developing the required power to end a fight  The current SOSAI of that style and regional directors ever mention that part of OYAMA's life recognizing it for what it is. A stunt not karate .

Answer 4

For one thing, the tales about Mas Oyama killing bulls with his bare hands supposedly happened around the early 1950s when affordable mini camcorders were still non existent. Secondly, even if there were available cameras during that time albeit very large and bulky ones, the cost of buying one and paying a crew to follow him around and tape his fights is at best impractical, he wasn't exactly a rich man.

Answer 5

Actually, it's a display of animal cruelty and torture. These bulls are killed for "sport", not to protect people from a dangerous animal or for food.

"Hey, I'm bored so I think I'll try stabbing a bull repeatedly through the heart until it dies a slow and painful death"

Of course, it's an "honorable" death, so it's okay. Though I have to wonder, how come none of the people doing the slaughtering would want to die in such an "honorable" way?

That martial arts mastery line is a load of bull. (Did I just make a funny?) If I go around stabbing people through the heart until they die I'm pretty sure nobody would be praising my martial arts mastery.

Honestly, I don't understand how anyone could stand to watch something so horrible let alone how it's even legal anywhere in the world.

To answer your question there is so little footage because most people can't stand to watch torture.

By the way, I'm not trying to call you a bad person. You like what you like. I just don't understand how anyone could. Just like how some people don't understand why I like MMA.

Answer 6

To set the record straight on the bulls Oyama killed. He did fight 52 bulls. He broke the horns off of 48 of them. He did kill three of them but not by using karate techniques. He wore the bulls down with his karate and then broke their necks by twisting them.  Personally I think it should never have been allowed. Oyama did this to promote karate. He had originally planned to fight a bull. If that was successful, he planned to fight a bear. After that he was to have fought a tiger.  As far as I know he never got to fight more than the bulls.