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Shihan
Bobby Lowe 8th Dan, USA International Committee Chairman Shihan Bobby Lowe is the oldest direct student of Sosai Masutatsu Oyama. The two met in 1952 when Mas Oyama performed a karate demonstration in Hawaii. The young Bobby Lowe, already a Yondan in Judo, a Nidan in Kempo, a Shodan in Aikido, and a highly regarded welterweight boxer, was so awed by master Oyama's power and skill that he requested the honor of training with him. Sosai happily obliged and an enduring friendship of over 40 years commenced. Mas Oyama soon invited Bobby Lowe to train with him in Tokyo. Bobby Lowe accepted and ended up staying for over a year and a half in effect becoming Mas Oyama's first "Uchi Deshi" apprentice. Training was rigorous; consisting of 2 - 3 hour sessions, 2 - 3 times daily, and in 1953 Sosai awarded Bobby Lowe the rank of Shodan at the "Oyama Dojo", the first international Yudansha in Kyokushin. Subsequently in 1958, Oyama officially opened the first international branch of "Kyokushin" karate in Hawaii under Shihan Bobby Lowe's direction and from that point on, Kyokushin has spread to nearly 125 countries and 12 million members around the world. Soon after the untimely passing of Mas Oyama in April of 1994, the IKO International Committee (IKO IC) was established to supervise the diverse regions of the Kyokushin world to which Oyama's successor, Kancho Shokei Matsui, named Shihan Bobby Lowe, Chairman. Shihan Lowe has traveled around the world giving seminars, clinics and overseeing national, regional and international Championship tournaments and has published, arguably one the most extensive and well-read martial arts books in the English language, "Mas Oyama's Karate ~As Practiced in Japan". Additionally holding the prominent positions of IKO North American Chairman, IKO South Pacific Chairman and IKO Branch Chief for the United States, Shihan Lowe returns to Tokyo each year to promote and support the IKO Kyokushinkaikan and carry on the legacy of his lifelong friend and mentor, Mas Oyama. In his words, "The splendor of Kyokushin Karate lies entirely in the word "OSU". This word has many literal translations, but for those practicing Kyokushin, it means the world. From this word, I learned to be patient, to endure and to continue until the end. My goal is to spread the spirit of Osu around the world." |