Dr. István Adámy

István Adámy began learning judo and karate in 1970 at the College of Physical Education (Testnevelési Főiskola). In Kyokushin karate he earned 5th kyu in 1973 and 4th kyu in 1975. The same year he graduated as a mechanical engineer and joined the Hungarian airline MALÉV as an engineer working on aircraft engines.

In 1976 he reached 1st kyu, the brown belt, and opened Hungary's first Kyokushin karate club in Budapest. The following year, in Poland, he became the first Hungarian Kyokushin practitioner to pass the examination for 1st dan, the black belt. In 1977 Sōsai Masutatsu Ōyama, the founder of the style, appointed him Branch Chief for the whole of Hungary, which made him the official head of the Hungarian Kyokushin organisation.

In 1979 he organised the first Hungarian Kyokushin championship. He earned 2nd dan in 1980 and 3rd dan in 1982. In 1983 he gave up engineering to devote himself full time to teaching and organising karate; his club then took the name Samurai.

In 1983 Mas Oyama entrusted him with the professional development of Kyokushin karate in the countries of Eastern Europe. Under this commission he gave wide-ranging help with teaching and organisation to the karate communities of the Soviet Union and later its successor states, and of Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Yugoslavia.

Also in 1983 he held the first IBUSZ–Oyama Cup, which Mas Oyama attended in person. In 1984, in recognition of his work for the development of Kyokushin, he received 4th dan from Mas Oyama. The same year he qualified as a karate coach on the first official Hungarian karate coaching course, organised by TFTI.

In 1985 he held the second IBUSZ–Oyama Cup, again with Mas Oyama as guest of honour. That year his first book, Kyokushin Karate, was published. At Mas Oyama's invitation he trained for more than a month at the headquarters dojo in Tokyo, and at Mas Oyama's request he gave a demonstration at the 17th Open Japan Championship.

He organised the third IBUSZ–Oyama Cup in 1986 and the fourth in 1988. In 1989 he held a Kyokushin karate European Championship in Budapest, where Mas Oyama personally awarded him 5th dan. He received 6th dan in 1996.

In 2000 he joined Jon Bluming's international organisation, where he received 7th dan in 2001. In the following years he published further books on the technical, methodological and theoretical knowledge of Kyokushin.

On 15 March 2005 President Ferenc Mádl awarded him the Knight's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary for more than three decades of coaching and teaching in introducing and practising karate in Hungary and in educating young people.

In 2005 he became director of the technical committee of Jon Bluming's international organisation and received 8th dan and the title of Hanshi. Later that year he left the organisation and continued his international work under Gerard Gordeau until 2013.

In 2008 he opened his own Honbu Dojo in Budapest, and in 2009 he launched the professional training programme of the Budo Academy (Budó Akadémia). At the Open Kyokushin World Championship held in Budapest in October 2009 he took on a leading professional role.

In 2014, on his 60th birthday, he was awarded 9th dan on the recommendation of an international panel of experts, in recognition of decades of work and an outstanding career.

As founding president (Kaicho) of Global Kyokushin Budokai, which he created, he stands for a comprehensive view of the martial arts. The organisation teaches the basic techniques of karate and stand-up fighting, and also close combat, grips, takedowns, groundwork and self-defence. It also covers kyusho: the knowledge of applying sensitive anatomical points.

His approach combines an engineer's way of thinking, the analysis of movement and decades of experience as an instructor. In teaching techniques he stresses understanding how they work, performing them precisely and applying them in practice. He sees Budo as the unity of physical, mental and spiritual development: a path of constant striving for perfection.

George Dillman recognised his work in kyusho with 5th dan, a recognition also confirmed by the EKA.

From 2014 to 2016 he lived in Malta, where he founded his own karate club and taught mainly children. In 2016 he moved to Germany. In Passau he first started a dojo within the Bushidokan sports club, then in 2017 opened his own dojo in the old town. He also led his international martial arts work from there.

In his book Global Kyokushin he summed up nearly half a century of professional experience. Beyond technique, the book deals with the purpose of the martial arts, the outlook of Budo and his own interpretation of Mas Oyama's spiritual legacy.

Together with his wife, a yoga master, he developed the Global Stretching system, which combines the development of flexibility, strength, balance and body awareness. His interests also extend to the Zen outlook, spirituality, and manual and energy-based methods.

In December 2018 the Shobukai Zen-Do Academy received him into its ranks as a 9th dan master. In 2019 the Zensyokan Zen community accepted him as a lay Zen monk and goodwill ambassador. Under the name Aikyo he was entered into the community's Kechimyaku lineage. The community also recognised his work with 10th dan in its own system.

István Adámy stresses that his rank in Kyokushin karate is 9th dan. Out of respect for Mas Oyama, he does not wish to hold 10th dan in this style.

In 2024 he returned home from Germany. Since then he has led the international work of Global Kyokushin Budokai from Hungary and continues his work as an instructor, author and teacher of the art.

Over his career he has studied and taught karate in 33 countries and shared his knowledge and experience with more than 100,000 people. At the centre of his international work are passing on professional knowledge, training instructors and supporting the growth of karate communities.

His present aim is to build a comprehensive digital knowledge base that preserves, organises and makes accessible for future generations the knowledge he has gathered over the decades. By connecting technical, methodological and philosophical knowledge, he wants to lay a foundation for the sustainable development of Kyokushin and for passing on Mas Oyama's legacy. He is convinced that the values of Kyokushin deserve to live on at a high professional level and to become part of the education systems of the future.