Announcing Kyokushin-kan's World Tournament!

[sephiroth_de]

http://s58.radikal.ru/i160/0902/87/b7a62a20b833.jpg (http://www.radikal.ru)

Kyokushin-kan's 2nd world tournament will be held this October 2-4 in Budapest Hungary. In addition to Kyokushin-kan participants from over 30 countries, there will be representatives from at least 12 and perhaps as many as 20 other Kyokushin organizations. This will be the first time since Sosai Oyama's death that a Kyokushin world tournament will be a truly OPEN tournament. At a meeting and press conference held this past week in Budapest, it was mentioned that this tournament could draw as many as 500 competitors in 9 divisions (4 male weightclasses, 3 female, and kata for men and women) to the largest, most-modern sports arena in Eastern Europe, seating as many as 20,000 spectators. For more reasons than one, therefore, this tournament could become the biggest Kyokushin tournament in History!

http://s54.radikal.ru/i144/0902/07/d54ba4d6ce06.jpg (http://www.radikal.ru)

In additon to Sensei Sandor Brezovai, Kyokushin-kan Hungary Representative organizing tournament (3rd from left), seen above from left to right are 1. Shihan Akira Masuda of Takushindo, 2. Kancho Hatsuo Royama of Kyokushin-kan,
3. Kancho Gerard Gordeau of IBK, 4. Shihan Seiji Kanamura of Rengokai, 5. Hanshi Steve Arneil of IFK, 6. Istvan Ademy of Hungary, and 7. Kancho Ademir da Costa of Seiwakai.

Kyokushin-kan overseas branches should begin planning their teams, and can inquire at Honbu as to the particulars. Many (but not all) plane tickets will be provided by the host country for Kyokushin-kan fighters, with a concentration on those from the poorest countries.

http://s55.radikal.ru/i147/0902/3c/fadd50c47075.jpg (http://www.radikal.ru)

http://s46.radikal.ru/i111/0902/04/7a60779645c1.jpg (http://www.radikal.ru)

International Press Conference in Budapest last week to Promote tournament. The Hungarian Government has even made the first day of the All-Kyokushin Tournament a national holiday!!

This information is taken from official Kyokushin-Kan website.

Let us pray that All of invited groups going to take part in this tournament!
if this happens, i think it's will be the most intresting kyokushin tournament we have ever seen. OSU!

[Billy no mates]

Its encouraging that so many have already declared their intention to participate in this tournament lets hope the momentum grows and more come aboard,it should be fascinating to see the fighters from all the different organisations competing together,i loved seeing the outside participants at the last IFK Worlds hopefully this will take things on even further than that .
I will certainly go and watch this one it has the potential to be a very historically significant event for anyone with an interest in Kyokushin as well as a fine tournament in its own right .

[Nix]

Great write up, but there is already a thread about this (http://www.kyokushin4life.com/forums/events-finder/7240-all-kyokushin-karate-world-tournament.html).

(contemplating merging threads)

[sandman]

Osu! Especially interesting to see that the 1st day of competition will be a national holiday in Hungary -what great support! Maybe I can convince my boss here in the U.S. that we shouldn't be working that day either...

Osu!

[Dannytsg]

Looks like this is going to be a big and successful tournament. Here's hoping

[Brazilian Berseker]

Great idea this tournment.....I'd love to see as many organizations as possible taking part in this. It's a pity IKO1 ill not participate...I would love to see Teixeira and Nakahara competing against other organization, but unfortunately IKO1 (Matsui) is too closed. I'm not attacking IKO1, IKO Matsui is the organization that I belong to, and I'm happy in there.......but I have to tell the truth.....they are too closed and they would never take part in others organizations events (I really hope I'm wrong....lol)

[Shokei Marcsui]

Great pictures. Thank you for sharing. Sad to not see Matsui and Midori were not in the group picture.

Royama is so photogenic in each picture he looks like a japanese mobster.

Osu!

[schuyler]

Hmm, round trip tickets are less then $1000 USD from Denver to Budapest.....Too bad my fiancée won't go for a Budapest honeymoon!

[Shokei Marcsui]

Hmm, round trip tickets are less then $1000 USD from Denver to Budapest.....Too bad my fiancée won't go for a Budapest honeymoon!

You have to sell her on the finer points. The beaches... the sand.. the.. well just tell her it's a stop on the way to Greece. Greece would make a nice honeymoon trip

Osu!

[jcc]

Osu! Shokei,

Hungary has it´s points, but I don´t think that there are any beaches there! And yes, Greece does and is very nice. :)

Osu!

[vapor]

I send you pictures and give you a write up on Budapest...I will be there the first week of March on business!!

vapor

[Bloke]

I send you pictures and give you a write up on Budapest...I will be there the first week of March on business!!

vapor

I hope to be there the first week in October for pleasure.

[kyofighter]

I hope we many k4l members will show up. I will be there also with a few students from our dojo.

[Shokei Marcsui]

I forsee a K4L meetup in the making and a handful of pictures to follow.

[Martin H]

I dont think IKO1 will allow their fighters to take part. IKO-sosai is currently in court vs Royama and kyokushin-kan, so I doubt they will look kindly on member participation either. But I do think Shin-kyokushin will allow their fighters to go. There is still several months to go.
Now, if we will see the topranking fighters from each organization is another matter. Probably not.

btw. Since its Kyokushin-kan, will there be shinken shobu classes at the event?

[DrNo]

Just heard that Shinkyokushin will not participate in this event. My source is in direct contact with Midori himself.

Many of you will probably question this decision but from a political point of view its not that hard to understand. By participating, the organistation clearly states that the tournament is legit and that the people that are responsible for the tournament are the right people to claim ownership of the world championship.

So if shinkyokushin participate they will indeed undermine their own WC and will no longer be able to claim ownership of such a championship. That may not be a problem for a small organisation because they have no status to loose. But its a completely different thing when its comes to shinkyokushin.

Royamas intentions may be good with this event, but the larger organisations have in fact nothing to gain by participating.

[sephiroth_de]

Just heard that Shinkyokushin will not participate in this event. My source is in direct contact with Midori himself.

Many of you will probably question this decision but from a political point of view its not that hard to understand. By participating, the organistation clearly states that the tournament is legit and that the people that are responsible for the tournament are the right people to claim ownership of the world championship.

So if shinkyokushin participate they will indeed undermine their own WC and will no longer be able to claim ownership of such a championship. That may not be a problem for a small organisation because they have no status to loose. But its a completely different thing when its comes to shinkyokushin.

Royamas intentions may be good with this event, but the larger organisations have in fact nothing to gain by participating.

I hoped that at least shinkyokushin going to take part in this Tournament :(.

[Billy no mates]

Royamas intentions may be good with this event, but the larger organisations have in fact nothing to gain by participating.

I would have to question that statement,as an organisation it could reach out and engage with others win friends and influence people,also i don't really see how participating in(and given the calibre of fighters they have very well winning) someone elses tournament undermines their own world championship.
This isnt a pop at Shinkyokushin rather a lament for the fighters from that organisation that won't get the chance to fight at what could be a very interesting and competative tournament(and the fact i won't get to see them in action) .

[DrNo]

Dear Gary
Politics are in fact very important and cannot be left aside if an organisation wants to survive or grow. Politics are also about the larger picture and that is not always so obvious to see.

I would say that this is not about who will win the tournament, its about who has the right to arrange it.

Let say that I personally invite all of the existing heavyweight boxing champions in the world to participate in a tournament to find out who is the true champion. Would anyone accept such invitation? Probably not, because I am not the one that should arrange a thing like that because I do not represent anything in the world of boxing. It would be possible to arrange such a thing if the three biggest organisations together sits down and decides to do it.

Royama is now about to arrange the "true unified world championship" which we all have wished for. However, this will never be the "true unified world championship" if the two largest organisations are not part of it.

I think he would had a better chance if he had started by getting the support from IKO1 and IKO2 and THEN invited all the others.

OSU

[shurenkan]

Osu,

Even though I do not belong to the Kyokushin-kan Karate Organization (or any Kyokushin group for that matter) I was allowed to attend their instructor's camp in Fukushima Japan from Feb 5th - 8th. According to Kancho Royama himself, the rules will be standard Kyokushin Knockdown rules...no shinken shobu.

Regarding kata, Kancho Royama and Shihan Okazaki have very strict guidelines within their organization about how each kata is to be performed. However, he fully acknowledges that Sosai taught kata differently to different people at different times. So it would be unfair to judge every other organization's kata by their standards. What they will be focusing most on in the kata portion is correct mechanics, stance, kime, zanshin, etc...

One other thing that they are really taking seriousy is respect and conduct. Participants will be warned and possibly penalized for displays of ego and bravado (fist pumps, not bowing to your opponet or the judges, waving to the audiece members...) He believes, and I agree, that this undermines the budo spirit.

Kancho Royama seemed very optimistic about this event and the effect it will have on restoring the repuation of Kyokushin as the strongest karate. He also hopes this will help reunite old friends and restore old bonds. He said something himself that felt truly sincere and touched me--Kyokushin is one big family. Just like other families, members may disagree and quarrel. But ultimately, you should still be able to put aside your differences every once in a while, and come together as a family. My sincerest hope is that this will somehow happen.

Osu,
Miguel Rios
Karatedo Shurenkan

[DrNo]

Royama has invited the organisations to send fighters. He has not invited any fighter to participate and that is a big difference in the political world. The event is also announced as the "all world championship".

Its not just a tournamant, its THE TOURNAMENT. So each organisation that sends fighters clearly state that this tournament has a higher rank than their own WC.

Of course you can gain friends and so on but by participating the organisation will transfer much its own "power" to Royamas organisation and why would Matsui and Midori choose to do that?

I hope everyone understands that I am only talking about politics works and not about who has wrong and right.
OSU

[Nix]

I would like to remind you all that we do not want any political struggles on K4L. Please try your best to remain objective and neutral.

Thank you,
~ Nix

[Martin H]

I think he would had a better chance if he had started by getting the support from IKO1 and IKO2 and THEN invited all the others.

OSU

The best would have been if the games had been run by a independent competition organization created specifically for the purpose, and included representatives from the major groups. But in any case the politic infighting would have been impressive.

Osu,
He said something himself that felt truly sincere and touched me--Kyokushin is one big family. Just like other families, members may disagree and quarrel. But ultimately, you should still be able to put aside your differences every once in a while, and come together as a family.

Sounds a bit like my idea of K4L :-)

So each organisation that sends fighters clearly state that this tournament has a higher rank than their own WC.

Of course you can gain friends and so on but by participating the organisation will transfer much its own "power" to Royamas organisation and why would Matsui and Midori choose to do that?

I hope everyone understands that I am only talking about politics works and not about who has wrong and right.
OSU

Sadly true. We can only hope that even if they dont participate this time, the event will become large and important enough to give them reason to "prove" their organizations in it later on. Large enough that they lose prestige by NOT sending fighters.

But still There are several months to go. The fat lady has not sung on stage quite yet, only rehersed in the dressing room. Things could still change (and with genetic modification, pigs COULD learn to fly).

[kakatootoshi]

Royama has invited the organisations to send fighters. He has not invited any fighter to participate and that is a big difference in the political world. The event is also announced as the "all world championship".

Its not just a tournamant, its THE TOURNAMENT. So each organisation that sends fighters clearly state that this tournament has a higher rank than their own WC.

Of course you can gain friends and so on but by participating the organisation will transfer much its own "power" to Royamas organisation and why would Matsui and Midori choose to do that?

I hope everyone understands that I am only talking about politics works and not about who has wrong and right.
OSU

To stay as apolitical as possible I am not going to give comments on many of your ideas, while I agree with most of them.

I am happy to see more of these events which bring friendship and cooperation to all Kyokushin organizations.

As to this being THE tournament to decide the best fighters in Kyoushin, I have never been optimistic about this from the beginning. After the 7th World Open Sanpeiha tried to bring Okamoto and Filho into a "unificiation fight" but things did not pull off. With the rapid growth in number of Kyokushin organizations, the difference in status and "weight" and some other factors, I think the scale of this tournament is very incredible all those people who make this happen should be respected by all. This is a very special year for Kyokushin.

OSU!

[Dean]

I have just been checking the unification world tournemant site and i notice that the Hungarian teams have Shinkyokushin fighters taking part, which i think is great news and lets hope that other shinkyokushin fighters find a way to participate. I only had a quick look at site but it would also appear that tickets are on sale for the 3 days through a company called ticketpro. Also does anybody have any news on how the IFK will pick there team

[bobh]

[...]
Let say that I personally invite all of the existing heavyweight boxing champions in the world to participate in a tournament to find out who is the true champion. Would anyone accept such invitation? Probably not, because I am not the one that should arrange a thing like that because I do not represent anything in the world of boxing. It would be possible to arrange such a thing if the three biggest organisations together sits down and decides to do it.

Yes, it is doubtful they would come. However, what if they did? Looking at it the other way around, if you did do this and 50% came, then 60% and so on each year, that would make you the place to be. You would become the promoter of the premier boxing event simply becuase you;d have created the premier boxing event -- not because of your boxing credentials.

Royama is now about to arrange the "true unified world championship" which we all have wished for. However, this will never be the "true unified world championship" if the two largest organisations are not part of it.
[...]

Yes, but another way to look at it is this. If fighters an organizations keep coming to this tournament, and those people and the fans consider it the premier open event for Kyokushin, then it will be the premier open Kyokushin event, regardless of who abstains from coming.

[DrNo]

Yes you are right but I do not think that Royama has 50% of the top fighters at this stage. Let say that IKO 1 has 33% and WKO has 33%... that would mean that this event could be compared to the other two, but Royama still need one of the organistations to join to become the premier event.

Please note that 33% for IKO 1, WKO and "the rest" is just my lucky guess. Maybe somebody can specify this better?

[Dean]

It doesn't matter who has the best fighters and when like the Russians who seem to move between all organisations it's hard to tell anyway. Who can forget a young yellow belt called Osipov turning up at the British as an IFK fighter and destroying the middlewieght field that day, certainly not Senpai Ken ! before dominating in IKO 1 then with Royama. What is important is that whilst its fine having different organisations they will have to learn to come together for tournaments as after all this is what promotes Kyokushin. I am guessing that IKO1 is the biggest group, yet in Videos of recent all japan's and even the 3rd day of the 9th wt you can see plenty of empty seats. If the two biggest groups remain so closed and inward looking they will damage not only themselves but kyokushin as a whole

[Deaken]

I was athe 9th WT and there were only empty seats on day 1. It was pretty packed especially on day 3.

[Dean]

well in the youtube clips even during the final you can see vacant red seats. Look only as far back as the 6th WT and you will see a big difference in the crowd

[Deaken]

People move about, get up, go to the Isami and Ishigeki stands or food/drink/bathroom, people leave early/arrive late (we did because of adjusting to the 12 hour time difference with a 6 month old baby in tow). At every event there are always empty seats, and they change and fluctuate thorughout the day.

I am not arguing attendance in general, since all of these IKO groups have formed all attendance is not what it used to be. Since the 6th WT there have been more goups that have broken off making the overall attendances drop for all events.

I was expecting it to not be full at the 9th WT and was surprised that it was.

[DrNo]

I read that there will be 4 weight classes: -70, -80, -90, +90kg.

Any favourite candidates for the gold medals?

[Dean]

if the russian middlewieght who won the 2005 IFK WT his name escapes me is still in the same kind of form then he must be a favorite he was a wonderful fighter

[Pound4Pound]

I hope Kyokushin kan also invited fighters from other arts or any of Kyokushin offshoots.

[Nix]

I hope Kyokushin kan also invited fighters from other arts or any of Kyokushin offshoots.They did. See the first post. :)

[Bloke]

if the russian middlewieght who won the 2005 IFK WT his name escapes me is still in the same kind of form then he must be a favorite he was a wonderful fighter

That was Shamsudin Abdurashidov