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Dear Dan Cohen San,
Ossu! Just a question regarding Kokondo Karate -
Shihan Arel used to do Kyokushin if I am correct?
How does your system differ from the Kyokushin
ideology? Then also - do you espouse a Full
Contact approach or something different? Looking
forward to your response!
Sincerely,
Hoosain
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Shihan Paul Arel did receive his Kyokushin
training and the rank of Yondan directly from Mas
Oyama, and was one of the first Kyokushinkai
Branch Chiefs in the US. Though he had practiced
and taught other karate styles prior to his
affiliation with Oyama Sensei in the early
1960’s, he was part of the Kyokushinkai-kan
exclusively until 1970.
To answer your questions directly, Kokondo Karate
is almost totally unrecognizable from most modern
Kyokushinkai, both in terms of technique and
philosophy. Dynamically, Kokondo strongly
resembles the karate Mas Oyama taught to Shihan
Arel directly during the 1960's. Among other
technical similarities, the basics are virtually
the same (in name, variety, and execution); the
ippon and sanban kumite are the same; and many of
the kata Kokondo teaches come from Kyokushin.
Kokondo’s bunkai, however, is much different
from Kyokushin, and always was, even while Mr.
Arel trained with Oyama. Mr. Arel’s jujitsu
background afforded lots of bunkai that Oyama did
not teach, and the emphasis was always on
self-defense rather than competition.
Kokondo places less emphasis on tournament jiyu
kumite than most modern styles in the sense that
few Kokondo-ka still compete in shiai, either
point or knockdown. In the past (up until the
late 1970's) many Kokondo-ka did compete in and
host traditional shiai of various types. Shihan
Arel was one of the demonstrators and Senior
Officials of the First North American Karate
Championships at Madison Square Garden (1962-New
York City). (Afterwards, Mr. Arel and one of his
young Connecticut shodans appeared on the Tonight
Show with Mas Oyama.) In 1965, Mr. Arel hosted
the Second North American Karate Tournament at
the Bushnell Memorial in Hartford, CT, at which
Mas Oyama served as the Chief Referee.
Technically, Kokondo emphasizes practical,
effective self-defense. The types of kumite we
practice, including jiyu kumite, are geared in
this direction solely. There are some Kokondo
sensei who do practice kumite with heavy contact,
but always by mutual agreement. Most "jiyu
kumite" that we do is with light or no
contact, but all targets and weapons are
available without exception, and techniques are
performed with full power and maximum kime. We mostly
practice various self defense drills with
continuous, unrehearsed attacks of all types,
including multiple attackers and weapons
defenses, and there may be heavy contact during
these workouts according to the rank of the
practitioners. Many Kokondo Karate Sensei also
teach Jukido Jujitsu, so there is a strong
emphasis on completing techniques with takedowns
or throws, and then adding containments or
multiple finishing strikes. By definition, all of
these throwing techniques can be practiced with
full contact, and often are.
From this description, one can see that Kokondo
karate:
 a) is dynamically similar
to early Kyokushinkai;
b) does not do knockdown
kumite the way modern Kyokushinkai does; and
c) emphasizes self-defense
practice which can involve heavy contact.
Most importantly, in the IKA we recognize safety
for our partners as our most important priority,
which is why all types of Kokondo and Jukido
practice, with or without hard contact, are
executed with maximum kime (focus) and
control.
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