Shotokan vs. Kyokushin
Quick answer
Kyokushin was founded by Masutatsu Oyama, who trained under Gichin and Gigo Funakoshi, and it took the northern kata over from shotokan. Shotokan competes in kata and in kumite with a controlled hit, where a strike to the head is stopped just before the target, kyokushin in bare-hand full contact without hand strikes to the face. Karate was Olympic only in Tokyo 2020, kyokushin is not Olympic.
At a glance
| Shotokan | Kyokushin | |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | Japan | Japan |
| Origin | 20th century (present form) | 1964 |
| Founder | Gichin FunakoshiGigo Funakoshi (codifier) | Masutatsu Oyama |
| Contact | Semi-contact | Full contact |
| Sparring | Medium contact | Full contact |
| Competition format | Point fighting | Full contact |
| Olympic status | Not Olympic | Not Olympic |
| Ranks | Yes (belts) | Yes (belts) |
| Rank recognition | fragmented | fragmented |
| Attire | Gi required | Gi required |
| Weapons | No weapons | No weapons |
| Forms | Forms at the core | Forms at the core |
| Relative cost | low | low |
| Katas and forms in the encyclopedia | 29 | 21 |
| Techniques in the encyclopedia | 91 | 27 |
Scales 1–5
Rated for the typical training of an adult beginner in an ordinary club, calibrated across all arts.
What each art is built from
Editorial rating 0–3: how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
History and relationship
Kyokushin has roots in both shotokan and Goju-ryu. Masutatsu Oyama studied under Gichin Funakoshi and at Gigo Funakoshi’s dojo, then Goju-ryu under So Nei-chu, and sources place his start with Funakoshi in 1943 or 1946. Traditional karate competitions stop the punch before it lands, while kyokushin pushed for kumite with direct contact.
- 1922: Funakoshi demonstrates karate at the Kodokan at the invitation of Kano Jigoro and moves to Tokyo.
- 1924: Funakoshi adopts the kyu and dan system from Kano, and awards the first shodan grades on 10 April.
- 1949: JKA is founded (sources give 27 May 1949 or 1948), and the chief instructor is Masatoshi Nakayama.
- 1953: Oyama opens his own dojo in Tokyo, takes the name Kyokushinkai in 1957 and founds IKO in 1964.
- Both styles split: groups left JKA from 1974, and kyokushin divided after Oyama’s death in 1994.
Technique
- Deep long stances, kokutsu dachi in almost all kata.
- ITKF: a punch must end within 5 cm of the head or 3 cm of the trunk, a kick within 10 or 5 cm.
- Punches and kicks to the head and trunk.
- Prohibited (ITKF): grabbing, pushing, dangerous throws, eyes, throat, groin.
- Punches, knees and kicks at full power without gloves.
- Kicks to the head allowed, hand and elbow strikes to the face and neck prohibited (WKO).
- Kicks to the legs allowed, to the knee joint prohibited.
- Prohibited (WKO): throws, grabbing, pushing, headbutts.
Both styles teach the kicks mawashi geri, yoko geri and ushiro geri. Shotokan scores control and distance, kyokushin the effect of the hit, but with the hands to the body alone. According to Japanese sources, turning kicks are left out of competitions with a stopped punch because they are hard to stop.
Training
| Shotokan | Kyokushin | |
|---|---|---|
| Basis | kihon, kata, kumite | kihon, kata, kumite, tameshiwari |
| Kumite by grade | JKA: gohon kumite from 8th kyu, ippon kumite from 6th kyu, jiyu ippon kumite from 3rd kyu, jiyu kumite for dan grades | we have not found it |
| Structure of a lesson | we have not found it | we have not found it |
Shotokan JKA leads kumite from agreed sequences of attacks to free sparring with controlled contact, and kyokushin adds board breaking. We have not been able to document the ratio of technique to sparring for either of them.
Progression and ranks
| Shotokan (JKA) | Kyokushin | |
|---|---|---|
| Grades | 10 kyu and 10 dan | kyu and dan up to the 10th dan, often from the 11th kyu |
| Belts | Funakoshi 1924: white, brown, black, today colours depend on the school | colours depend on the organisation, dan grades by gold stripes |
| Minimum times | from 2022: 1st and 2nd dan after a year, 3rd dan after 2 years, 4th dan after 3 years | we have not found it |
| Exam for the 1st dan | kata Bassai Dai, Kanku Dai and Enpi or Jion, jiyu ippon kumite | Kyokushin-kan: 10-man kumite or an equivalent |
The kata for exams are close: shotokan JKA goes from Taikyoku Shodan through Heian to Tekki and Bassai Dai, kyokushin from Taikyoku through Pinan. For the black belt, shotokan examines kata and controlled kumite, kyokushin a series of fights in a row.
Physical load and risks
- Swanson, Morrissey and Barragan (The Sport Journal, 2017), a review of tournament studies: injury in 20.5% of fights and in 23.6% of persons.
- Data of De Souza et al. 2011: contusions 46.9%, nosebleeds 19.9%, most often hands and fingers (15.5%).
- Piejko, Mosler and Grzebisz 2019 (61 elite competitors from Poland): 548 reported injuries, bruises 91%, joint injuries 49%.
- A serious or permanent injury was reported by 35% of men and 12% of women.
Who it suits
| Shotokan | Kyokushin | |
|---|---|---|
| Children and youth | JKA: 6–18 years, separately in tournaments since 1983 | we have not found children’s rules of IKO or WKO |
| Categories | SKDUN: from children aged 10–11 to veterans | we have not found age categories |
| Women | we have not found special rules | WKO: rounds from the quarter-finals 2 minutes, chest and shin protector |
Children
| Shotokan | Kyokushin | |
|---|---|---|
| Sparring from | JKA: from ten years, other organisations according to JKA often from six or seven | we have not found it |
| Competition from | JKA: a tournament for primary school pupils, SKDUN from 10 years | we have not found children’s rules of IKO or WKO |
| What children compete in | SKDUN 10–11 years: kata and jiyu ippon kumite, 1:30, penalties for excessive contact | we have not found it |
| Protection | we have not found children’s protective gear at JKA | a head guard is often used in kumite, we have not found the organisation or age |
| Studies and positions of physicians | we have not found any | we have not found any |
Self-defence
- Kihon, kata and agreed kumite, free sparring with controlled contact.
- A strike to the head only with control of distance (ITKF), the rules exclude grips and throws.
- Full contact without gloves standing, the rules exclude the clinch and grips.
- The Goshin Jitsu programme influenced by Daito-ryu, we have not found its scope.
Shotokan works with precision and control, including strikes to the head, kyokushin with full contact to the body and legs. Competition covers neither the clinch nor the ground in either, and we have not found a study of transfer into self-defence.
Practical use
| Shotokan | Kyokushin | |
|---|---|---|
| Programmes for adults | we have not found any, JKA also examines candidates over 60 | the self-defence Goshin Jitsu, we have not found its scope |
| Fitness studies | we have not found any | we have not found any |
| Professional use | we have not found any | we have not found any |
We have not found a study of fitness or health benefit for either style, so no general suitability for adults can be drawn from studies.
Competition
| Shotokan | Kyokushin | |
|---|---|---|
| Principle | points for a controlled hit | knockdown, the effect decides |
| Scoring | ITKF: ippon 8 points ends the fight, waza-ari 4 points | ippon for a knockdown longer than 3 seconds, two waza-ari are an ippon |
| Length of a fight | SKDUN 2025: 2 minutes, senior finals 3 minutes | 3 minutes, up to three extensions of 2 minutes |
| Major competitions | All Japan Championship JKA since 1957 | first World Open 1975 |
| Olympic status | karate in Tokyo 2020 alone, JKA is a member of WKF | non-Olympic |
Shotokan competes in kata and kumite, kyokushin in fighting and board breaking. We have not found which shotokan kata the competitors performed in Tokyo 2020. The open all-Japan kyokushin tournament in September 1969 accepted entries from all styles of karate.
Gear and costs
| Shotokan | Kyokushin | |
|---|---|---|
| Clothing | keikogi and belt | gi and belt |
| Competition | we have not found the JKA equipment, WKF: gloves, mouthguard, body and shin protectors | no gloves, WKO: groin guard, women also chest and shin protectors |
| Relative cost | low | low |
Availability and organisations
| Shotokan | Kyokushin | |
|---|---|---|
| Organisations | JKA, Shotokai, SKIF, ITKF, ISKF, JKS and others | IKO, WKO Shinkyokushinkai, IKO-3, KWO, IFK and others |
| Why so many organisations | departures from JKA from 1974 and a dispute after Nakayama’s death, decided by a court in 1999 | Oyama died in 1994 without a successor, a court in 1995 declared the will invalid |
| Grades when moving abroad | JKA recognises foreign grades only on entry with a certificate, the dan may be lower | we have not found mutual recognition |
Switching and combining
- Kata carry over: Taikyoku, Heian as Pinan, Kanku Dai.
- Kihon and kicks remain.
- Unlearn stopping the punch, learn to take and cover hits at full power without gloves.
- A hand strike to the head is not allowed in kyokushin even with a light touch.
- Taikyoku, Pinan and Kanku Dai have a counterpart in shotokan, Bassai and Tekki must be learned.
- Kicks and kihon remain.
- Learn to stop the punch within 5 cm of the head and to score by cleanness, not by effect.
- Add deep stances and a longer syllabus of kata.
On the left is the move from shotokan to kyokushin, on the right the opposite direction. The forms and terminology are close, the fighting differs: control and distance against full contact. We have not found documented transfers of competitors between JKA and kyokushin.
Philosophy
- Niju kun: twenty principles of Funakoshi drawn from bushido and Zen.
- Dojo kun: five principles displayed in the dojo.
- Shigeru Egami of Shotokai rejected sport competition.
- The name kyokushin means roughly the highest truth.
- We have not found a coherent philosophy of the style in verified sources.
Funakoshi did not name the style himself and preached karate without division into schools. By contrast, Oyama adopted the name kyokushin for his dojo himself, in 1957.
Forms and terminology
Kata are the foundation of both styles. The JKA syllabus has 27 kata from Taikyoku Shodan to Gojushiho Dai, sources give 26, 27 or 29. Kyokushin took over from shotokan the northern kata Taikyoku, Pinan, Kanku and Sushiho and added southern ones from Goju-ryu, for example Sanchin and Tensho.
Pinan and Heian are two readings of the same characters for the kata of Anko Itosu. Sushiho is a significantly modified Gojushiho. Kyokushin dropped Bassai and Tekki in the late fifties, and after 1994 some organisations restored them.
Training culture
- The name shotokan comes from a sign that students hung above Funakoshi’s hall.
- The dojo kun hangs in the dojo, the salute on command is already part of the exam for the 10th kyu at JKA.
- Tameshiwari is part of exams and of deciding tournaments.
- Practitioners: Dolph Lundgren (European champion 1980 and 1981), Michael Jai White, Bas Rutten.
Common misconceptions
- Former students describe Oyama’s completing the 100-man kumite three times in three days as impossible.
- The story of 52 bulls: the one known recording was, according to students, staged, and the claim of breaking horns is regarded as legend building.
- The film Fighter in the Wind is not an accurate historical record of Oyama’s life, it is based on a fictionalised book.
Which to choose
Frequently asked questions
Does kyokushin derive from shotokan?
In part. Oyama trained under Gichin and Gigo Funakoshi and took the northern kata from shotokan and the southern ones from Goju-ryu. The full-contact fighting is its own.
Are hand strikes to the head allowed in both styles?
In shotokan yes, with a stop within 5 cm (ITKF). In kyokushin the WKO rules prohibit hand strikes to the face and allow kicks to the head.
Is either of them Olympic?
No. Karate was Olympic only in Tokyo 2020 and JKA is a member of WKF, kyokushin was not on the programme.