Fighter Profiles - Japan
|
Akiyoshi Matsui |
Akiyoshi Matsui's record: |
Matsui is one of the greatest technicians Kyokushin has ever produced. His timing is so extraordinary that it enables him to counter his opponents with knockout techniques such as his favourite jodan mawashi geri and ushiro mawashi geri to gain ippon. At the tender age of 17 Matsui became 4th in his first All Japan Tournament. four years later Matsui appeared in first World Tournament where he finished in third place. Matsui then won the All Japan title in 1985 and 1986 by beating Hiroki Kurosawa and Akira Masuda in the respective finals. That year Matsui also completed the 100 man kumite test and entered the 4th World Tournament as favourite. At this tournament Matsui did not disappoint as he became champion after defeating amongst others Michael Thompson in the semi final and the great Andy Hug in the final. |
|
Makoto Nakamura |
Makoto Nakamura's record:
|
For a fighter in excess of
125kg Nakamura was blessed with great speed, this coupled with his
heavy punches, powerful kicks and ferocious fighting style made him an almost
unstoppable opponent. At his peak Nakamura was the arguably the most
feared fighter in the world and this day he remains the only person to have
won the World Tournament on two occasions. He is still remembered for
his epic battles against the likes of Keiji Senpai, Ademir Da Costa
and Michael Thompson on the way to winning his two World Titles and
reaching three successive All Japan finals where he also won the title
on one ocassion.
|
|
Kenji Yamaki |
Kenji Yamaki's record: |
Yamaki is another of Japan's large fighters, at in excess of 100kg he still possessed superb techniques which enable him to knock out many opponents after wearing them down with his immensely powerful punches and low kicks. After finishing 3rd in the 18th All Japan, Yamaki earned his place at the World Tournament a year later. After reaching the final day he lost on boards after to Brazilian legend Ademir Da Costa. Four years later and after winning the All Japan title Yamaki reached the quarter finals of the 5th World Tournament but was defeated by Kurosawa. He would have his revenge at the 6th World Tournament in 1995 as a superbly intelligent performance saw Yamaki defeat Kurosawa at the same stage and go on to win the tournament. Yamaki duly retired from competition the reigning World and All Japan Champion. |
|
Keiji Senpai |
Keiji Senpai's record: |
Keiji Senpai is the embodiment of Kyokushin fighting spirit, his never say die attitude is testimony to his amazing character. This was never more evident than the final of the 3rd World Tournament where he fought with four broken ribs for four extensions in a fight lasting 10 minutes. Senpai became the first fighter to win three All Japan titles and competed in the final five times in succession. He also remains one of only three fighters two have competed in two World Tournament finals, unfortunately both times losing after epic battles two his old foe Makato Nakamura. Six years after retiring from fighting Senpai became one of the select few to complete the 100 Man Kumite. |
|
Hajime Kazumi |
Hajime Kazumi's record: |
Hajime Kazumi, Japan's last fortress is one of Kyokushin's most decorated fighters. At twenty years of age Kazumi overcame many top fighters to reach the final of the All Japan Tournament. Since then Kazumi has never finished outside of the top two in a tournament. His simple yet effective style of punches and devastating low kick combinations has helped him reach the final of six All Japan Tournaments in a row, winning four of these to break Keiji Senpai's record, and two World Tournament finals where he lost to Yamaki, and Filho in the later on boards. Since that final defeat to Filho, Kazumi has became a World Champion after winning the 2nd World Weight Category Tournament in Osaka in 2001 and then claimed his unprecedented fifth All Japan Title in 2002 by beating Kiyama in a close final. |
|
Hitoshi Kiyama |
Hitoshi Kiyama's record: 8th World Tournament 2003 (IKO-1) 1st 7th World Tournament 1999 (IKO-1) 3rd Round 2nd World Weight Tournament 2001 (IKO-1) - 1st 1st World Weight Tournament 1997 (IKO-1) - 1st 34th All Japan Tournament 2002 (IKO-1) 2nd 33rd All Japan Tournament 2001 (IKO-1) 1st 32nd All Japan Tournament 2000 (IKO-1) 1st 30th All Japan Tournament 1998 (IKO-1) 3rd European Championships 2000 (IKO-1) 1st 1st World Team Cup 1998 (IKO-1) - 1st |
Kiyama came to the world's attention when he claimed first place at the inaugural World Weight Tournament in 1997. The following year he finished 3rd in the All Japan and was part of the Japanese team that won the World Team Cup. 1999 was a disappointing year for Kiyama as he lost in the second round of the World Tournament. Since then success followed for Kiyama as he won successive All Japan Titles, and the 2nd World Weight Tournament (this time in the heavyweight section). It was at this tournament where Kiyama showed his full ability by using spectacular mawashi geri jodan, and ushiro mawashi geri jodan coupled with excellent punches and low kicks. This combination helped turn the fight around against the excellent Russian Sergey Osipov in the final where the continual pressing and aggression from Kiyama brought him the title. The following year Kiyama became one of a select few to reach three All Japan finals in succession where he was defeated by Japanese legend Kazumi in a very close match.. His undoubted zenith was at the 8th World Tournament in 2003 where he defeated Kurbanov, Teixeira, an Plekhanov to become World Champion. |
|
Kenji Midori |
Kenji Midori's record:
|
Despite being one of Kyoksuhin's smallest fighters at around 70kg, Midori more than made up for this with faultless technique and ability to deliver spectacular knock out blows. He fought brilliantly in the 4th World Tournament before losing to British legend Michael Thompson. Midori entered the 5th World Tournament after claiming his third All Japan Weight title and reaching the final of the All Japan Tournament. His performances were simply electrifying, after winning many fights with ippon in the early rounds Midori fought superbly to overcome the enormous Shichinhoe, the devastating Kurosawa and then defeat All Japan Champion Masuda become World Champion. |
|
Hiroki Kurosawa |
Hiroki Kurosawa's record:
|
To to this day, Kurosawa remains synonymous with relentless attacking and devastating low kicks. There has arguably never been a fighter before or since who was so capable of simply destroying opponents. Kurosawa burst onto the scene in 1984 when he became the first ever fighter to win the All Japan at their first attempt, and followed this up a year later reaching the final where he lost Matsui. In his first World Tournament in 1987 Kurosawa reached the last eight where he could not fight in the quarter finals due to his injuries that were obtained in an epic victory over Dutchman Peter Smit. Four years later at the fifth World Tournament, he went one step further and reached the last four before losing on weight to eventual winner Kenji Midori. In 1995 at his third and final World Tournament Kurosawa achieved what no fighter had ever before by reaching the last eight for the third time where he lost to old adversary and eventual winner Kenji Yamaki. |
|
Akira Masuda |
Akira Masuda's record: 6th World Tournament 1996 (IKO-2) 5th (Lost to Tsukamoto) 5th World Tournament 1991 2nd (Lost to Midori) 4th World Tournament 1987 3rd (Lost to Hug) 3rd World Tournament 1984 9th (Lost to Onishi) 22nd All Japan Tournament 1990 1st 21st All Japan Tournament 1989 4th 18th All Japan Tournament 1986 2nd 17th All Japan Tournament 1985 3rd 15th All Japan Tournament 1983 5th 14th All Japan Tournament 1982 8th 100 Man Kumite - 1991 |
When on the tatami, despite being a near perfect technician, Masuda relies mainly on his strong punches and mawashi geri gedan, with the odd chudan or jodan thrown in for variety. Due to Masuda's exceptional ability these simple techniques prove deadly. At only 20 years of age Masuda finished in 8th place at the All Japan Tournament. In the following years Masuda was again successful in gaining podium positions at the All Japan to earn him a place at the 4th World Tournament. Masuda was exceptional in this tournament and overcame a number of tough fights before losing to the legendary Andy Hug in the semi finals. In 1990 Masuda finally achieved an ambition of his by winning the All Japan title and early the following year completed the 100 Man Kumite. These performances put him as one of the favourites at the 5th World Tournament where he was superb throughout and reached the final before losing to the excellent Kenji Midori by Tameshiwari. Four years later Masuda equaled Kurosawa's record by finishing in the last 8 of the World Tournament for the third occassion where he lost to ventual Champions Tsukamoto. |
|
Norichika Tsukamoto |
Norichika Tsukamoto's
Record: 6th World Tournament 1996 (IKO-2) 1st 8th World Tournament 2003 (IKO-2) 7th 7th World Tournament 1999 (IKO-2) Last 16 1st World Cup 1997 (IKO-2) 1st 34th All Japan Tournament 2002 (IKO-2) 2nd 29th All Japan Tournament 1997 (IKO-2) 1st 28th All Japan Tournament 1996 (IKO-2) 1st 26th All Japan Tournament 1994 6th 17th All Japan Weight Tournament 2000 (IKO-2) 1st 15th All Japan Weight Tournament 1998 (IKO-2) 1st 11th All Japan Weight Tournament 1994 4th |
Tsukamoto is fighter whose agility and technique belies his size. For a fighter standing at over 6 feet and in excess of 90kg he possess an armoury of deadly knock out techniques. At only 19 years of age Tsukamoto finished in the top 4 of the All Japan Weight Category Tournament and later that year finished 6th in the All Japan Tournament. Many who had witnessed him in these two tournaments saw him as a future star. Nobody could have expected his rise to be so meteoric as he became Champion in his first World Tournament, and followed this with two successive All Japan Titles and the inaugural World Cup. Following a comeback after a lengthy ban Tsukamoto placed second in the 34th All Japan Tournament in 2002. A year later Tsukamoto was in great form as he fought his way to the last eight of the 8th World Tournament where he surprisingly lost to Bulgaria's Dimitrov. |
|
Kunihiro Suzuki |
Kunihiro Suzuki's record: 8th World Tournament 2003 (IKO-2) 1st 7th World Tournament 1999 (IKO-2) 5th (Lost to Okamoto) 6th World Tournament 1996 (IKO-2) 2nd (Lost to Tsukamoto) 34th All Japan Tournament 2002 (IKO-2) 1st 33rd All Japan Tournament 2001 (IKO-2) 1st 32nd All Japan Tournament 2000 (IKO-2) 1st 30th All Japan Tournament 1998 (IKO-2) 3rd 29th All Japan Tournament 1997 (IKO-2) 2nd 28th All Japan Tournament 1996 (IKO-2) 2nd 12th All Japan Weight Tournament (IKO-2) 1995 1st 10th All Japan Weight Tournament 1993 2nd 9th All Japan Weight Tournament 1992 2nd |
After successful performances in the All Japan Weight Tournament, Suzuki fought in his first World Tournament. He was excellent throughout an reached the final before losing to Tsukamoto. That defeat was a taste of things to come as Suzuki lost to Tsukamoto in the next two All Japan finals. In his second World Tournament, Suzuki was again fought superbly but was ultimately disappointed as he lost to eventual winner Okamoto in the quarter finals. Since then however Suzuki has been in outstanding form as he achieved the amazing feat of winning 3 All Japan titles in a row including victory over old rival Tsukamoto in the 2002 final. One year later Suzuki lived up to his billing as favourite as after three attempts he won the World Tournament and duly retired as champion. |
|
Toru Okamoto |
Toru Okamoto's record: 7th World Tournament 1999 (IKO-2) 1st 6th World Tournament 1996 (IKO-2) 7th 1st World Cup 1997 (IKO-2) 2nd 30th All Japan Tournament 1998 (IKO-2) 1st 29th All Japan Tournament 1997 (IKO-2) 7th 28th All Japan Tournament 1996 (IKO-2) 3rd 26th All Japan Tournament 1994 4th 25th All Japan Tournament 1993 3rd 24th All Japan Tournament 1992 3rd 13th All Japan Weight Tournament 1996 (IKO-2) 1st |
Tsukamoto made a name for himself in the early nineties when he finished in the last 4 of the All Japan Championship 3 years in a row. The following year in his first World Tournament he claimed 7th position. After two further strong showings in the All Japan, and winning the All Japan Weight Tournament, he then finished 2nd behind his rival Tsukamoto in the inaugural World Cup. Okamoto then set about a period of dominance. Okamoto had always had extremely powerful low kicks but now appeared more relaxed as a fighter and this showed immediate benefits. In 1998 he after many podium positions he finally won the All Japan Title and the following year he defeated all who faced him to win the World Tournament. |
|
Yashuri Shichinohe |
Yashuri Shichinohe's record: 5th World Tournament 1991 7th (Lost to Midori) 4th World Tournament 1987 7th (Lost to Masuda) 25th All Japan Tournament 1993 4th 24th All Japan Tournament 1992 4th 21st All Japan Tournament 1989 8th 18th All Japan Tournament 1986 5th 8th All Japan Weight Tournament 1991 2nd 6th All Japan Weight Tournament 1989 1st 4th All Japan Weight Tournament 1987 1st 2nd All Japan Weight Tournament 1985 1st 1st All Japan Weight Tournament 1984 1st |
Aptly named Japan's very own Raging Bull by Michel Wedel, Shichinohe was an aggressive fighter that would storm opponents with a barrage of punches making full use of his 100kg, 6 foot plus frame; including his devastating hooks, to literally punch his opponent of the tatami. After finishing 5th an the All Japan in 1986 and having already have won 3 All Japan Weight Tournament titles Shichinohe was selected as part of the Japanese team for the 4th World Tournament where he fought brilliantly to gain seventh place after losing to Masuda in an epic battle. Four years later and having added another All Japan Weight title to his collection Shichinohe repeated his success at the 5th World Tournament by finishing 7th once more. |
|
Yoshihiro Tamura |
Yoshihiro Tamura's record: 7th World Tournament 1999 (IKO-1) Last 16 (Lost to Pichkunov) 6th World Tournament 1995 (IKO-1) Last 16 (Lost to Basile) 1st World Weight Tournament 1997 (IKO-1) - 5th 30th All Japan Tournament 1998 (IKO-1) 2nd 29th All Japan Tournament 1997 (IKO-1) 4th 28th All Japan Tournament 1996 (IKO-1) 7th 25th All Japan Tournament 1993 2nd 24th All Japan Tournament 1992 1st 21st All Japan Tournament 1989 2nd 12th All Japan Weight Tournament (IKO-1) 1995 2nd 9th All Japan Weight Tournament 1992 1st 8th All Japan Weight Tournament 1991 1st 6th All Japan Weight Tournament 1989 2nd 1st World Team Cup 1998 representative |
In 1989, Tamura reached the final of the All Japan Weight Tournament before losing to Shichinohe. Two years later Tamura avenged this defeat in a repeat final to take the title. The following year was an enormous year for Tamura as after a below par showing at the 5th World Tournament he regained his All Japan Heavyweight title and won the All Japan Tournament. The following year in 1993, in a repeat final, he lost out to Kazumi who claimed his first All Japan title. Since then Tamura has been continuously successful in tournaments including reaching his third All Japan final and claiming 5th in the inaugural World Weight Tournament. |
|
Ryu Narushima |
Ryu Narushima's record: 7th World Tournament 1999 (IKO-1) 8th (Lost to Filho) 6th World Tournament 1995 (IKO-1) Last 32 (Lost to O'Neill) 1st World Weight Tournament 1997 (IKO-1) 3rd 16th All Japan Weight Tournament (IKO-1) 1999 1st 13th All Japan Weight Tournament (IKO-1) 1996 1st 12th All Japan Weight Tournament (IKO-1) 1995 1st 11th All Japan Weight Tournament 1994 2nd 7th World Tournament Technical Award Winner 6th World Tournament Technical Award Winner |
After successful performances in the the All Japan Weight Tournament, Narushima was selected for the 6th World Tournament. At this event he showed his full range of techniques, including his favourite jodan mawashi geri for which he gained an ippon in the most spectacular knock out of the tournament. After reaching the last day he met Australia's Garry O'Neill in a fight that matched arguably the two most technically gifted fighters. In an excellent match where the two fighters could not be separated, Narushima eventually lost out due to the number of boards broken. Two years later Narushima was again excellent on the World Stage as he claimed third place at the 1st World Weight Tournament. At the 7th World Tournament in arguably his best performance yet, Narushima fought his way to the last 8 before losing to eventual champion Francisco Filho of Brazil. |
