HENDERSON, N.C. — The Town of Henderson, North Carolina, is home to just under 15,000 people, and yet, it’s big enough to be home to one of the country’s most talented fighters when it comes to karate.
It’s not a common form of martial arts, though. Instead, Christian Buffaloe picked one of the most difficult forms out of the 75-plus forms of known karate styles, known as Kyokushin.
Christian Buffaloe has been training with his father and coach, Kenny Buffaloe, in kyokushin karate since the age of 3. He’s been fighting since the age of 8 and is a black belt in the intense form of karate.
Kenny says what distinguishes this form of karate from other forms is the number of black belt fighters there are in the world. There are roughly 12 million kyokushin fighters in the world, represented by 148 countries. For every 100 kyokushin fighters, just about three earn the rank of black belt. This differs from more common forms of karate, where roughly 80 out of every 100 fighters can earn a black belt.
On Nov. 17 in Tokyo, Japan, Christian Buffaloe will test his skills when he competes with 199 other kyokushin fighters in the 13th Kyokushin Karate World Open Championships for the title of world champion. It’s not about winning or losing, but proving to himself that all the work has been worth it.
“We all fight to compete,” Christian Buffaloe said. “The competition is supposed to be a test of our training and a battle between two people to see who is better for this match. We all compete to win, to be the winner, but not as the main goal. We’re training to always test ourselves, that even with our promotion, is to test ourselves, and not just to pass the test for the rank, but to test yourself and show yourself how much you’ve grown and come this far.”
With that said, it would make Christian Buffaloe happy to be the world champion, something no American has ever done in the 52 years the tournament has been around. The top finish by any American belonged to the late Willie Williams, who came in third place in the 1979 tournament. Coincidentally enough, he lived just 25 minutes away from where Christian and his father now reside in Henderson, North Carolina, but there’s no family connection or reason as to how all three people got into kyokushin karate.
“It’s very inspiring,” Christian Buffaloe said, regarding Williams’ third place finish. “Even when I was a kid, it was very inspiring, just to be from the same place and before I even fought in the world championships. So it was very inspiring, but especially going to the same one many years later is a great thing.”
Christian will be just one of five Americans attending this year’s tournament. He hopes that one day, there will be more kyokushin karate fighters in the country. This form of karate is a culture, and it’s been passed down from his father, Kenny, to him.
“It means the world,” Kenny Buffaloe said, when asked how it feels, knowing his son has also adopted kyokushin karate as his lifestyle.
“It’s very important because this is heritage and legacy. So I’m very fortunate that my son was interested in training to the level that he is. That’s a fortunate thing because I never pushed him to do it. He wanted to. So that’s a great thing.”
Christian Buffaloe is hoping one day he can take the teachings his father has passed down to him and show others how to fight the same way.
“I’m trying to pass it on to kids, and other people, adults as well, but especially the kids,” Christian Buffaloe said. “They’re the next wave of generations that coming, and hopefully they will have that same mindset to pass it on to someone younger than them when they get to that stage as well.”
Christian and his father leave for Tokyo, Japan on Nov. 13, with the tournament beginning four days later. Competition will last for three days.