by Asoka Goonetilleke
Peter Chong, has always had a streak of daring. Recently, he was driving back home, but stopped to set apart, two fighting in a Singapore backstreet. But Peter was soon mobbed by about 10 backstreet boys carrying chains, clubs and iron rods. For nearly 45 minutes, he blocked all attacks, but was bleeding, when the police arrived.

Peter, as the Asian boss was in town recently, to train and inspect as well, the Oyama Kiyokushin Karate-Do, headed by Sensei Nanda Siriwardene. Though there were no complaints, he gathered enough details as to why some of Nanda’s senior students were expelled or have left. It appears that, Peter Chong, knows what has gone wrong. "Lack of discipline".

Lack of discipline and misbehaviour of seniors is a serious threat to the world’s only full contact Karate Organisation founded by Master Oyama. American branch chief Shigeru Oyama (8th Dan), Australian branch chief John Taylor (5th Dan), British branch chief Stev Arnil (8th Dan) and Emirates branch chief Hussein Mohammed (4th Dan) have already been shown the door on disciplinary grounds.

"Kiyokushin is important, because it teaches two ways of karate. The most important factor is discipline. Then comes the combat" says Peter, a Black belt 6th Dan.

The kiyokushin karate sector was shaken by the death of the tribe’s guru, Oyama and now, Oyama’s former senior students like Takagi, Nishida, Matsushima and a few others run their own Dojo’s under the same name and style, while incumbent guru Shokai Matsu fights a court battle to retain the sole rights of the Oyama trade mark, a ‘clenched fist’.

Ever since the death of Master Oyama, stories began flowing and his alleged connections with the Tokyo Mafia stunned the karate community. "He was poisoned by a rival" says, a Sri Lankan who claims to be a student of Oyama.

"Very wrong" says, Peter, who knew his guru for three consecutive years and later by regular visits. "Oyama died of water in the lung sickness. He knew he had it. Doctors advised surgery and asked him to stop practicing karate. But he did not give in," says Peter. "He wanted to die as a practicing karateka. Not as a retired karate master" adds, Nanda Siriwardene, Oyama’s only Sri Lankan student.

Sir Sean Connery and the king of Jordan are some of Oyama’s distinguished students, but when it comes to its World Championships in Japan, the Japanese embassies turn a blind eye on aspiring competitors. As Peter points out, embassies are now absolutely confused when it comes to identi fying the genuine visa applicants.

Mushrooming Kiyokushin organisations organise championships for their survival and many a time, the competitors have gone missing in Japan. Sometimes, even before the championship, Peter, complaints. "It will be worse".

The Original Oyama Kiyokushin World Karate Championships will be held in June 2001 and plans are afoot to identify the competitors well in advance, perhaps in January, to brief Japanese embassies the world over.

Peter runs a lucrative security service in his native Singapore. As the boss of the organisation, Peter leads from the front, as an exponent of Chinese Kung Fu, Malayshila and Taekwondo.

He made a trip to Kandy, during his stay in Sri Lanka, looking for some good locations for his next film. His production, an action packed ‘The Black Patch’ hit the top overnight and the next is "real hot stuff with new actors", Peter says.

Being asked as to what would have happened to him, if he did not take up to Kiyokushing Karate, Peter, the grand father of two, was quick to say... "may be one of those backstreet boys!".