Mas Oyama, ironically remembered as the founder of a school of karate, was opposed to the fragmentation of karate into multiple schools, and believed making it a combat sport might help unify it
Mas Oyama, ironically remembered as the founder of a school of karate, was opposed to the fragmentation of karate into multiple schools, and believed making it a combat sport might help unify it
Wikipedia, citing Oyama's own writings –
Mas Oyama was actively opposed to the idea of the fragmentation into several karate schools. He believed that making karate a combat sport, as well keeping it as a martial art, could be a possible approach to unify all schools.
UFC1 happened around the same time Mas Oyama died. He would have loved to see MMA, where styles are battle-tested against each other. Styles are becoming more unified than they were because of that.