Unlocking Human Potential Through Budo
Akira Masuda
Founder and Chairman, IBMA Kyokushin Kai
Founder and Principal Shihan, IBMA Kyokushin Kai Masuda Dojo
Akira Masuda is a budoka who has devoted many years to the practice of Kyokushin Karate. Alongside his activities as a competitor and instructor, he has continued to study the techniques and training systems of karate and budo, as well as budo education.
Masuda studied Kyokushin Karate within the Kyokushin organization founded by Masutatsu Oyama and gained extensive practical experience in competitions in Japan and abroad. At the same time, his pursuit extended beyond victory and defeat in competition to the following fundamental questions:
“What is budo?”
“What does it mean to be strong?”
“How can budo be applied to human development and to life?”
Today, while valuing the spirit and techniques inherited from Kyokushin Karate, Masuda studies their technical and philosophical foundations, works to develop them further as budo, and seeks to transmit them to future generations.
Explore the Work of Akira Masuda
The following pages introduce Akira Masuda’s budo research, philosophy, writings, publications, and records of his activities.
Encounter with Kyokushin Karate
Kyokushin Karate forms the foundation of Akira Masuda’s life in budo.
Within the Kyokushin organization founded by Masutatsu Oyama, Masuda trained extensively in basic techniques, kata, and kumite. Through rigorous training and competition, he developed not only technical ability, but also mental strength, perseverance, judgment, and the willingness to confront his own limitations.
During his competitive career, he participated in tournaments in Japan and abroad and accumulated extensive practical experience as a Kyokushin Karate competitor.
Over many years of training, however, his interest expanded beyond karate practiced solely for the purpose of winning matches. He began to explore karate as a martial art and as a form of budo capable of developing the whole person.
Preserving and Studying Kyokushin Karate
Masuda’s objective is not to preserve the Kyokushin Karate of the past in a fixed and unchanging form.
He seeks to carefully preserve and transmit the traditional basic techniques, kata, and other specific methods and techniques systematized and left by Masutatsu Oyama. At the same time, he places importance on studying why these techniques took their present forms and what meanings and underlying principles they contain.
For this reason, his research extends back to classical karate and martial arts. Through these studies, he investigates the origins and development of techniques, methods of body movement, and the underlying principles of offense and defense.
By contrast, techniques developed through kumite and competition are understood as an evolving field that continues to change in response to the times and different competitive environments.
Preserving tradition and researching and developing new techniques are not contradictory.
Only by putting down deep roots in tradition can we extend new branches toward the future.
This idea forms the foundation of Masuda’s approach to budo research and the transmission of Kyokushin Karate.
The Pursuit of Strength
Through his experience as a competitor and instructor, Masuda has continued to examine the meaning of “strength.”
The ability to generate great power, withstand strikes, and win a match are all aspects of strength. In budo, however, strength cannot be defined by these abilities alone.
It also means refining one’s technique, eliminating unnecessary tension, and using the body accurately. It means anticipating danger, controlling one’s emotions and actions, understanding others, making appropriate decisions according to the circumstances, and considering when and how one’s cultivated power should be used.
Masuda understands strength as encompassing all these abilities and continues to study it from both technical and mental perspectives.
Rather than seeking only the power to control others, a person should first develop the power to govern oneself. Masuda believes that the budo of the future must use that power not to dominate others, but to enable both oneself and others to flourish.
Shuren and Shudo
Masuda understands budo practice through two complementary concepts: Shuren and Shudo.
Shuren means refining the body and mind and developing one’s abilities through the disciplined practice and acquisition of martial techniques.
Shudo means applying the skills, spirit, and wisdom gained through training not only for oneself, but also for other people and society, while continually improving one’s own way of life.
The study of budo is not complete simply because a person becomes stronger inside the dojo.
Masuda emphasizes applying what is learned through training to family life, work, education, human relationships, and participation in society.
Apply Budo to Life.
Takushin Budo
Through many years of karate and budo practice and research, Masuda has developed and systematized an approach to martial training known as Takushin Budo.
Takushin Budo is not intended to establish a new style or to promote only one particular form of competition.
It is a practical training system for refining the body and mind through martial practice, learning the universal Riho—the underlying principles of technique—and applying that learning to human development and life.
Through the practice of martial arts,
refine the body and mind,
learn the principles of Heaven, Earth, and Nature,
and cultivate the Way
of unity between self and others.
Open the Mind, Expand the Possibilities of Budo.
Budo-Man
Masuda’s aim is not merely to develop strong competitors or technically skilled martial artists.
Through budo, people should refine themselves, think independently, exercise sound judgment, and act on their own initiative. They should respect others and use the strength they have cultivated not only for themselves, but also for other people and society.
Masuda refers to this ideal human being as a “Budo-Man.”
He believes that budo practice gains deeper meaning only when the spirit and wisdom cultivated through training are expressed in a person’s daily conduct and way of life.
Founding of IBMA Kyokushin Kai
Akira Masuda conceived and founded IBMA Kyokushin Kai as an organization dedicated to transmitting the spirit and techniques of Kyokushin Karate to future generations, while continuing to study and develop them as budo.
At the time of its establishment, Yukimitsu Nakagawa, who was based in Okayama and engaged in teaching and promoting Kyokushin Karate, supported its principles and purposes and cooperated in its establishment. Through his activities in Okayama, Nakagawa supported the launch of the organization and its subsequent activities.
IBMA Kyokushin Kai respects the history and spirit of Kyokushin Karate. Its purpose is to preserve, study, develop, and transmit its techniques, kata, training systems, and value as budo to future generations.
The organization does not seek to uniformly integrate its affiliated organizations and dojos into a single centralized structure. Instead, it respects their respective histories, names, teaching policies, and operational independence while building cooperative relationships for the future development of budo.
As the founder and president of IBMA Kyokushin Kai, Masuda presents the organization’s principles and future vision. Drawing upon his experience in competition, instruction, and research, he continues to promote technical research, instructor development, and budo education.
Founding of IBMA Kyokushin Kai Masuda Dojo
Akira Masuda is the founder and Principal Shihan of IBMA Kyokushin Kai Masuda Dojo.
Masuda Dojo is grounded in the practice of Kyokushin Karate while incorporating the principles of Takushin Budo. Its instruction emphasizes not only technical improvement, but also human development.
The dojo aims to provide an environment in which children and adults can study karate and budo according to their age, experience, physical ability, and individual objectives, and continue their practice throughout their lives.
As Principal Shihan, Masuda is responsible for researching and organizing the dojo’s technical system and teaching philosophy, developing instructors, and transmitting its knowledge and values to future generations.
Budo Research and Hokushinan
Masuda’s current activities are not limited to transmitting the techniques and experience he has acquired. He also places great importance on continuing to study budo itself.
His research is not confined to karate. Through the study of Japanese martial arts, including kenjutsu, as well as the classical martial traditions from which karate developed, he investigates universal principles relating to body movement, distance and timing, offense and defense, and the cultivation of the mind.
Hokushinan has been established within the IBMA website as a place to record and communicate the results of this research and reflection to the wider public.
Hokushinan serves as a center for accumulating and presenting Masuda’s budo research, exploratory essays, reflections, and publication records. Its purpose is to learn from the past, examine what has been learned in the present, and connect it to the future.
Learn from the past, examine it in the present, and carry it into the future.
Rather than treating budo as something already complete and fixed, Masuda seeks to respect tradition while continuing to study it and to leave a foundation upon which future generations can develop it further.
Books and Writings
Akira Masuda has written about karate and budo techniques, training methods, competition theory, teaching theory, and budo philosophy through books, magazine articles, websites, and other media.
These writings and records bring together the experience he gained as a competitor and instructor with the insights developed through his subsequent research. They also serve as materials through which his work can be transmitted to future generations.
Information concerning Masuda’s budo research, exploratory essays, reflections, and publications will gradually be organized, preserved, and presented primarily through Hokushinan on the IBMA website.
Current Activities
Akira Masuda currently focuses on karate and budo instruction and research. His activities include organizing technical systems, developing instructors, advancing budo education, preserving written and historical records, and promoting exchange among martial artists in Japan and abroad.
While regarding the experience gained during his competitive career as an important starting point, he considers the deeper study of budo and the transmission of its value to future generations to be an important mission.
Preserve tradition, continue research, and carry it into the future.
Apply Budo to Life.
Akira Masuda continues his practice and research in order to unlock human potential through budo.
