Hundred Man Kumite

The test Oyama visualized for Kyokushinkai would require far more than technical proficiency. It would demand that the individual who accepted the challenge be at the peak of his abilities. Physical endurance, strength, and mental stamina would have to be at their peak. Kokoro - heart, mind, and body - would have to be united as one.

Oyama chose Hyaku-nin Kumite (one hundred man fighting) as the ultimate test for kyokushin students. His decision to use Hyaku-nin Kumite came after careful study of other martial arts and what they employed as their ultimate test.

Oyama would not require anything of his students that he himself had not previously done. Therefore, Oyama would elect to undertake the one hundred man fighting first. It was soon after his arduous training in the mountains when Oyama chose Hyaku-nin Kumite as the ultimate test for Kyokushin. Oyama was at the pinnacle of physical conditioning and believed there was no better time to take on such a task. Oyama selected the best black belt students from his dojo(gym) for his opponents. Oyama required each student to fight him for two minutes, consecutively. After the entire group of students fought Oyama they repeated their fighting rotation until one hundred bouts were complete. To satisfy Oyama's personal supreme test, he chose to face one hundred consecutive fights a day over the course of three days, for a total of three hundred fights. Oyama would take small break after every twenty or so fights in order to replenish fluids and tend to matters of personal hygiene. Sleep between each of the one hundred man fight days was at a minimum for Oyama due to the increase of adrenaline and anticipation of the next day's fights.

Many of the students who faced Oyama fought three or four times during the three days. Several students could only face Oyama once due to injuries they sustained. Oyama would knockout many students with a single blow. Oyama wanted to continue for a fourth days, but was unable to because of the lack of willing opponents. For these three days Oyama fought full contact, without pads, against his top students, defeating them all. No other martial artist in history has even made an attempt at duplicating Oyama's three hundred-man fights. And because of the punishing effect this ordeal had on his students, Oyama would not attempt such a feat again. Oyama would now implement Hyaku-nin Kumite into Kyokushin, as its ultimate test.

In the past the Hyaku-nin Kumite was held over two days, with fifty consecutive fights scheduled for each day. After 1967, Mas Oyama would change the requirement for this ultimate test. The new requirement would be one hundred fights in a single day. Mas Oyama had fought one hundred man each day for three consecutive days, even wanting to continue for a fourth day increasing the number of fights to an unknown total. One hundred man in one day were not unheard of, and it would therefore become the standard for Hyaku-nin Kumite in Kyokushinkai.