blog: Bobby Lowe
In 1952, Mas Oyama gave a demonstration in Hawaii. A young Bobby Lowe saw him and was
stunned by the power Oyama demonstrated. It was not as though Bobby Lowe was inexperienced
in martial arts. Though still quite young, his achievements to date were not much less than
those of Mas Oyama himself. His father had been a Kung Fu instructor, and he had
participated in any fighting art he could find. By the age of 23, he was yondan in judo,
nidan in kempo, shodan in aikido, and a highly regarded welterweight boxer.
It was not long before Bobby Lowe became the first Kyokushin uchi deshi or “live-in student”
of Mas Oyama’s. He trained daily with Mas Oyama for one and a half years. Eventually, an
uchi deshi’s time became “1000 days for the beginning”. These uchi deshi became known as
Wakajishi, or the “Young Lions” of Mas Oyama and only a few of the hundreds of applicants
were chosen each year for the privilege of training full time under the Master.In 1957,
Bobby Lowe returned to Hawaii to open the first School of Oyama outside Japan.
