USA Kyokushin Karate –
Lineage & Legacy
My Lineage with Sosai Masutatsu Oyama
My connection with Sosai Masutatsu Oyama, the founder of Kyokushin Karate, began long before I ever met him in person.
In 1965, as a young boy in Japan, I watched him on Nippon TV leading his students in an unforgettable demonstration: demolishing a multi-story building with their heads, fists, and kicks. The owner of the building had hired a demolition company, but Sosai boldly offered to do the job for half the price — using only his karate students. Expecting heavy machinery, the owner and the TV crews were stunned to see men smashing concrete walls with their bare bodies. That moment ignited my lifelong fascination with Kyokushin and the man who would become my Sosai.
A decade later, in 1975, fate brought me face to face with him at the Hotel Okura in Tokyo. I introduced myself as an aspiring student and devoted admirer. When Sosai learned that I lived in London, he instructed me to seek out Sensei Steve Arneil. To my surprise, when I did, Sensei Arneil already knew my name — Sosai had spoken of me.
In the summer of 1979, Hanshi Arneil arranged for me to live at the Ikebukuro Honbu Dojo as a temporary uchi deshi— a junior live-in student. Life was hard: training all day, cleaning the dojo, sleeping on mats in a tiny shared room. But I found my place. I was respected for three reasons:
I was tough. I never complained, fought hard, and always stood first in line.
I spoke Japanese. Though not Japanese by birth, I understood the culture and could communicate. I was “almost” one of them.
I had money. Unlike the other uchi deshi, I could treat them to sushi and beer — luxuries they never forgot.
At Honbu, our daily instructor was Sensei Yuzo Goda, now the senior leader of Kyokushinkaikan. But every so often, the wooden stairs would creak and the shout “Yamae!” would echo — Sosai was entering. Training instantly shifted to another level. The sparring became harder, the kiai fiercer. The atmosphere in the dojo was electric whenever he appeared.
Few people alive today can say they trained in a class personally led by Sosai. I count myself fortunate to be among them.
During that summer, I told Sensei Goda I wanted to remain a full-time uchi deshi, giving up college to dedicate my life entirely to Kyokushin. He approved. But fate intervened. Unknown to me, my father had powerful connections in Japan — including a friendship with Mr. Eisaku Satō, the former Prime Minister of Japan, who was also Chairman of Kyokushinkaikan at Sosai’s request. When my father learned I intended to abandon medical school, he asked Mr. Satō to intervene.
One evening, after training, the unexpected happened: Sosai called me into a meeting with Sensei Goda. Surrounded by students, he asked me about my goals. I told him I wanted to dedicate my life to karate. He then asked if I was in medical school. When I admitted I was, his expression grew serious. Pointing to the black belts around us, he said:
“You see him? He’s a ruffian. That one’s a hooligan. That one’s a gangster. Around me are many fighters — but I have no doctors.”
Then he turned to me:
“Kyokushin needs doctors. I want you to finish your medical school, become a doctor, and make me proud. Then come back and train with us.”
It was only years later, while visiting Shihan Makoto Nakamura in 1994, that I learned the full truth: my father had asked Mr. Satō to ensure I returned to medical school.
I met Sosai again in 1984. Age and illness had begun to take their toll; he had slowed down, grown more reclusive. By the late 1980s, it was difficult to see him. He passed away in 1994 from lung cancer.
I remain forever grateful that I trained under Sosai Mas Oyama, experienced his presence, and received his direct guidance. His words — that Kyokushin needs not only fighters but also doctors — became a lifelong compass for me, blending my medical training with my karate spirit.
My Lineage with Hanshi Steve Arneil
My relationship with Hanshi Steve Arneil was pivotal in my USA Kyokushin Karate journey. Most of what I know about Sosai Mas Oyama’s training methods came directly from Hanshi Arneil’s personal experiences. He was the first British karateka to live in Japan and train full-time under Sosai, and his path was anything but easy. Hanshi Arneil failed his first two black belt tests and was deeply discouraged, believing he was not good enough in sparring. Yet through perseverance and unshakable determination, he finally earned his black belt and went on to become the first man to complete the legendary 100-man kumite.
Hanshi Arneil was the teacher who initiated me into Kyokushin. While I was in boarding school in London, I could only train on weekends, but he was always supportive and encouraging. Unlike the Honbu Dojo in Japan — where Sosai’s focus was on relentless sparring — Hanshi Arneil placed tremendous emphasis on kata and bunkai (the practical applications of kata movements), showing me how every movement could be used effectively in combat.
In 1979, it was Hanshi Arneil who arranged for me to live and train at Sosai’s Honbu Dojo in Ikebukuro as a temporary uchi deshi. After that summer, Sosai himself called Hanshi Arneil and said:
“You’ve got to take this kid back. There is too much heat on me.”
Years later, after I had moved to the United States, I lost touch with Hanshi Arneil for a time. During those years, he founded the International Federation of Karate (IFK), which grew to become the largest and most cohesive Kyokushin organization in the world — an extraordinary irony, considering the many splits that fractured Sosai’s original Kyokushin organization.
In 2018, Hanshi Arneil sent me a personally autographed copy of the third edition of his renowned book, Kyokushin Kata. To this day, I treasure it as a keepsake of our time together. The photos of the young Hanshi Arneil, just as I remember him during my training in London, bring back powerful memories. His words still echo in my mind:
“Make it your own. Kata is how you spar with yourself.”
Hanshi Arneil’s dedication to kata, discipline, and personal growth shaped my practice deeply, and his guidance remains a cornerstone of my own teaching philosophy at USA Kyokushin Honbu.
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