When is the next Sabaki challenge?

[kyokushin4life]

I have noticed that there has been a lot of discussions on kyokushin world open tournaments. Does anyone know when is the next Sabaki Challenge?

How many men participate in this tournament? What are the rules?

[powerof0ne]

it's April 19th Sabaki Challenge

The rules are very similar to Kyokushin rules except you can grab on the same side: i.e. both hands behind your opponent's left(one hand behind head on left and other behind left shoulder)or right. You're not allowed to do a circular grab...i.e. "muay thai clinch". You can do take downs if you follow those rules. Yes, you get points for take downs and downing your opponent. I'm not sure what the maximum ammount of people they let in is.

[kyokushin4life]

Thanks. I hope some can report us results.　：）

[kyofighter]

I've watched the Sabaki Challenge the past two years here in Denver .
It is sad to see that a world tournament has 3-4 fighters in each division. This year was very small, and most of the fighters Japanese.
This is happening due to the fact that Kancho Ninomiya it is very closed when comes to the other knock-down organizations and dojos.
I will go and watch it next year also , maybe is going to be better.
Osu

[Lonewolf]

OSU! Kancho Ninomiya is just trying to insure the quality of participants in his "Sabaki Challenge". Nowadays, with so many unofficial groups and organizations calling themselves Kyokushin(and off shoots), it's increasingly difficult to judge who will be competent and even respectful. There are certain protocols to entering a Budo Karate tournament as opposed to a "sports" karate competition. The standards have to be high because the general public is watching, and you can make either a good or bad impression. It's sad that an event suffers from alot of competitors simply because you stand by your principles. Here in USA, that's the same old story. It doesn't matter if you run a Dojo, sponsor a tournament, or whatever. Americans' view martial arts differently than the rest of the World, even up in Canada. That is the bottom line reason Kyokushin(and off shoots) are not popular here. It's really hard to open a "real" Kyokushin Dojo in USA and have many quality students for any length of time. Most will quit and join other styles where they can get high ranks with little or no effort. Right now, I only accept students for private training by invitation only. That way, there is no pressure on me to lower my standards to retain members. I train them in what's known as the "old Tokyo style", I refuse to compromise my principles. So, I salute Kancho Ninomiya for trying to have a respectable event. In time, more people will recognize his efforts and enter. OSU!

[Azimuth]

Enshin Sabaki tournament rules
Sabaki Challenge

Lots of pictures of the 2007 tournament
Sabaki Challenge

[Leo]

I've heard it has been open to other styles like Tae kwon Do and Kung Fu in the past, is that still the case?

[kyokushin4life]

When people talk about the sabaki challenges I get very confused whetehr it's Ashihara karate or Enshin.

[jolut]

Enshin - sabaki challenge (has been running since the '89)
Ashihara NIKO - sabaki challenge spirit (has been running since '94)

[kyofighter]

Well, there are pretty good kyokushin figters in US and Canada who could do well in the Sabaki Challenge. I trained at hombu with Kancho and I got to know that he is not accepting others with open hands. We are a group of 15 kyokushin karateka here in Denver , but he has his doors closed for us.
Anyway, I got over it ...

[GJEChamberlain]

Osu! Kyofighter,

I find Kancho is completely accepting of other styles in the Sabaki Challenge, although applicants must have a verifyable Tournament record to be considered. This approach is more to try and ensure quality fighters than to be exclusive.

As to general training, he is also happy to help members of different styles on our seminars, most of whom are deeply impressed by his warmth and willingness to coach them regardless of affiliation. Shotokan, Kung-fu, you name it, he helps them all.

I'm sure training at Honbu is a different matter. After all, that's his home, so if you go there for instruction he will want you to follow his style and like most of us he's probably bored with people who want to be taught without making a committment. I don't fault him for not letting people drop by for casual training. (I'm not assuming that's the case with you, just speaking in general)

I was 4th Dan (BKK) when I decided to investigate Enshin with a view to joining. He made me very welcome, but gave me an Enshin Gi and orange (transitional) belt to train in. It did me no harm, in fact the realisation was then firmly embedded in my mind that this was a far more serious undertaking than simply filling out a form and swapping my badges!

Kancho is a really intense Karate-ka, and extremely dedicated to his art. He also has tremendous physical presense that can be unnerving for some! I'm sure we'd all prefer this though to Instructors that promise the earth (for a fee) but couldn't fight sleep!

Gary

PS Try this: No evidence of bias here - YouTube - 2008 World Sabaki Challenge