Oyama: The Legend, the Legacy [Paperback]

Michael L. Lorden (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2000

The kyokushinkai karate of Mas Oyama is widely practiced and well respected. Mas Oyama's exploits in the art of karate are the stuff of legend. He killed a bull with his bare hands. He fought 100 men in a single day. Over the course of a year, he accepted 270 challenges. He fought boxers, wrestlers, bouncers and anyone who was willing. His dynamic feats of board and brick breaking were so amazing that he was nicknamed "Godhand." His Kyokushinkai Karate Organization has enjoyed a membership of millions. This book presents the life and exploits of Mas Oyama, including his formative years, his training, his accomplishments and the private aspects of the man himself.

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Multi-Media Books (March 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1892515245
• ISBN-13: 978-1892515247
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,219,329 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Forget it!, August 16, 2001

By 

William J. Carlino (New York, New York United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Oyama: The Legend, the Legacy (Paperback)

The world of martial arts deparately needs a definitive biography on Mas Oyama, arguably the greatest practitioner of all time. Unfortunately, this book is not it. It reads more like a 200-page press release than a balanced biography with many points of interest simply glossed over or never fully researched or explained. While Lorden is a skilled practiitioner himself, his skills on the tatami do not carry over to his writing. His elevation of the great Oyama approaches near diety status, which actually becomes humorous about half way through. Unless you get a review copy, save your money and hope that a much better-written tome on Oyama comes along in the near future.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Standard Biographical Story, July 28, 2000

By 

K.H. - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Oyama: The Legend, the Legacy (Paperback)

I ordered this book with much excitement and was a little disappionted when I finished it. The book does have some strengths. I finished it in a little over an hour (174 pages) because it reads very easily. The sentences are constructed for quick reading. The book, although a nice read, is better suited for teenagers than adults. The author repeats the same information in chapter after cahpter. He mentions the same extraordinary feats accomplished by Oyama over and over again. After awhile it grows a little tiresome. There are good points , however, that make this a must book for the library of any serious karateka.

Reading about the perseverance of Oyama in his karate training, establishing his dojo headquarters called Honbu, and philospohy on thruth brings a better understanding about this legend. The chapter on the martial arts saying "osu" is also very good and it is in this chapter that the author Michael Lorden does his best work. This chapter alone makes the book a must purchase.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Simplifying a complex master, October 30, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Oyama: The Legend, the Legacy (Paperback)

Lorden's book was a real disappointment for someone who has followed Oyama's career since the early 1960s, corresponded with him for several years during that period, and was inspired to begin life-long martial arts training largely because of his example. Lorden uncritically praises this great karate master, and no doubt Oyama deserves much praise for his accomplishments and inspiration of others. But Lorden provides little new biographic or anecdotal information about Oyama. The reader looks in vain for details of Oyama's training with Funakoshi or Yamaguchi, for example. Sadly, Lorden also overlooks some of Oyama's faults and failings, including his conversion to Sun-myung Moon's movement late in life, a step that cost Oyama many of his best followers and the respect of many observers. Lorden's description of the 100-man fighting ordeal was new and interesting, however.