@keshi_oka: Origin and History Kudo was founded in 1981 in Sendai, Japan, by Grandmaster Takashi Azuma. Azuma was one of Sosai Masutatsu Oyama’s most outstanding and respected students, having placed third in the 1st Kyokushin World Tournament (1975) and winning the Japanese National Tournament in 1977. Despite his deep respect for Kyokushin, Azuma felt the traditional ruleset was missing a crucial element for real self-defense: the integration of face strikes and ground fighting. Determined to fill that gap, he founded the Daido Juku school, which years later would formally evolve under the name Kudo—officially recognized as a combat sport by the Japanese government.#Karate #kyokushin #japon #Kudo