100 man Kumite Mas Oyama's Three Hundred Man Kumite It was with these examples in mind that Oyama decided to test his own abilities. And he would go one day better! He chose the strongest students in his dojo, who were to fight him one at a time until they'd all had a turn, and then they'd start from the beginning again, until the three hundred rounds were up. He defeated them all, never wavering in his resolve, despite the fact that he himself suffered severe physical injury in the process. Each student had to face him about four times over the three days, though some never made it past the first day due to Oyama's powerful blows. Legend even has it that Oyama was willing to go for a FOURTH day, but no one else was willing or able! This took place not long after he had completed his mountain training. The One hundred man Kumite Having set the example, Mas Oyama started to institute the 100-man kumite as a requirement for attaining 4th or 5th dan. He soon found however, that not everyone had the spirit to do it, though the physical skill could "easily" be taught. The indomitable will, courage, and determination the "Spirit of Osu" in it's extreme just wasn't to be found in everyone. Thus it became a voluntary exercise for those few who had the right stuff. At first, the fights could be completed over two days if so desired by the person doing it, but after 1967, Mas Oyama decided that they should all be fought on the same day. In addition to the basic requirement of 100 fights, other requirements are that the competitor must clearly win at least 50% of the fights, and if knocked down, should not stay down for longer than 5 seconds. In Australia, and possibly elsewhere, the 50 man kumite is a lesser (but still no mean achievement) feat that can be attempted. In Great Britain, and anywhere else under the aegis of Hanshi Steve Arneil, anyone can choose to do any number of fights e.g. 10, 20, 30 , 40, 50 etc.... and he or she will get a certificate for this achievement. This in recognition that, while not everyone may be able to meet the ultimate Kyokushin benchmark of 100 fights, personal bench-marks are just as important an attainment. After all, even 10 knockdown fights in swift succession can come to as much as half an hour of solid fighting. Who's done what? One Hundred Apart from Oyama's spectacular 3 days in a row, a number of other people have tried and completed the 100 man kumite but not many. The list below gives the names of these incredible men, and it is notable that most of them are still very active in karate, having achieved a high rank. Some are even heads of their own styles which, of course, are heavily derivative of Kyokushin. Initially, people had the choice do it over two days, with 50 fights per day, but later it became compulsory to do it all in one day. Steve Arneil (1965) Steve Arneil of Great Britain (now 8th Dan) was the very first, and he did them all in one day . He is now the head of the International Federation of Karate (IFK) based in the UK, and which is not affiliated with the Honbu in Japan. Tadashi Nakamura (1965) Now known as Kaicho Nakamura, he is the founder of World Seido Karate, based in New York Shigeru Oyama (1966) No relationship to Sosai, he is now head of his own style, World Oyama Karate based in New York. Loek Hollander (1967) John Jarvis (1967) A New Zealander. Howard Collins He was the first to do it compulsorily in one day. Miyuki Miura (Friday the 13th, April 1972) The first Japanese to do it in one day, he now heads the Midwest Headquarters of the World Oyama Karate offshoot. Akiyoshi Matsui (1986) Akiyoshi Matsui is the successor to Mas Oyama as kancho or head of the International Karate Organization (IKO) (listed as IKO(1). He was the winner of the 1985 and 1986 Japanese Open Championships, and the 1987 4th World Open Karate Tournament. Ademir de Costa (1987) This Brazilian was 4th in the 1983 World Championships. Keiji Sanpei (March, 1990) Akira Masuda (March, 1991) Kenji Yamaki (March, 1995) He was the winner of the 1995 World Championships. He did his 100 at the same time as Francisco Filho below. Francisco Filho (Feb and March,1995) It has been confirmed, by Sensei Ademir da Costa via Helder Sampaio from Brazil, that Francisco Filho practiced 50 man kumite EVERY Friday! While it was not full-contact sparring, (probably similar to what I know as jiyu kumite), and Sensei Filho pulled his punches, the 50 opponents however were not required to do so. It should however be noted that this was STANDARD training for any of the 1995 World Championship fighters in the dojo. It was not just Francisco who did it. Hajime Kazumi (Sat, 13th March,1999) Hajime Kazumi completed his 100 man kumite at the new IKO(1) Honbu. Results were obtained from the official IKO(1) site and are as follows: Time per Kumite 1 minute 30 seconds Time Started 11:38 Time Finished 15:42 Total Fighting Time 3 hours 20 minutes 40 seconds Total Spending Time 4 hours 4 minutes Results 58 wins, 42 draws, no losses Ippons: 16 (Ippon: 2, Awase-Ippon: 14) Wins by decision: 42 (Waza-ari: 15) source :http://www.geocities.com/irek65/100man.html