Oyama, was born Yong-I Choi, on July
27, 1923, in the tiny
village of Wa-Ryongri Yong-chi Myonchul Na Do, in Southern
Korea. His family, considered aristocrats belonged to the
Yangban-clan. His father, Sun Hyang, was the mayor of Kinje, a
town near the village where Yong-I Choi was born. As a young
child, nine years of age, Oyama began studying Southern Chinese
Kempo under the instruction of Mr. Yi, an employee on the estate
owned by Oyama's father. Oyama was also an avid reader and was
deeply affected and moved after reading the biography of Otto
von Bismark (1815-1898) the Prussian Chancellor (1871-1890) of
the German empire. Bismark, Oyama read, was instrumental in
unifying Germany in a span of only two to three years, making it
a nation powerful enough to control most of Europe.
The
philosophy of Bismark made such a strong impression on Oyama
that he decided he wanted to be the Bismark of the Orient. With
great aspirations Oyama somehow felt his destiny was in Japan
and he left Korea at the age of fifteen. It was at this time in
Japan the young Choi changed his name. He adopted the name Oyama
from the family that befriended him and took him in, while in
Japan.
In
1938, at the young age of fifteen, Oyama wanted to serve the
country he now called home and therefore joined Japan's
Yamanashi Youth Air Force Academy with the intentions of
becoming a pilot. In September of this same year, Oyama became a
student of Gichin Funakoshi, Shotokan Karate founder, at the
Takushoku University. Funakoshi, a schoolteacher from Okinawa,
was credited with introducing karate to Japan. It is this man
that Oyama later would refer to as his true karate teacher.
Throughout the years Oyama always spoke highly of Funakoshi,
remarking in later recollections of his gentle yet overwhelming
presence. Oyama went on to say that of the many things he
learned from Funakoshi, kata (formal exercises) was the most
important.
By the age of eighteen, Oyama had earned the rank of Nidan in karate
(second level black) rank. Oyama was still very much a patriot
and was always volunteering for special military duty. On one
assignment to an airfield near
Tokyo, a confrontation provoked by an officer, resulted in Oyama
striking the officer. Although found innocent, due to the
provocation on the part of the officer, Oyama was ordered
transferred to an area in the Pacific. However, the war was just
ending and lucky for Oyama, the transfer was halted. But this
luck had an ironic twist for Oyama because it also meant that
his driving quest to serve his new country was now over. The
announcement that Japan had surrendered WWII quickly ended
Oyama’s military career. The stress of losing his career and the
dishonor he felt for his adopted country losing the war created
great - almost unbearable - stress in Oyama’s life.
