30th Kyokushin American International Karate Championships - 12 November 2022

[@kissPANCRASION]

I love watching kyokushin karate tourneys, something about them makes it so enjoyable and different!

[@risingsunsradiance]

This was an awesome tournament! Respect to everyone involved and all who competed. A very big Osu!

[@billstewartkyokushinkarate]

Yes, there were lots of great fights! I'm really looking forward to our next tournament! The United States International Kyokushin Championships, will be held in Atlantic City on January 28th, 2023. Thanks for your comment! Osu!!!

[@KDTrey5735]

@@billstewartkyokushinkarate amazing tournament. This was my first time ever tournament and I am looking forward to my next. I fought in division 16c and got 1st place. I am looking forward to the next one I compete in.

[@billstewartkyokushinkarate]

@@KDTrey5735 Congrats! Osu!

[@thomas73440]

Incredible fights, Amazing Fighters!! Osu!

[@TheRugghead]

that brown belt at 37 minutes was not doing Kyokushin and got KO'd the girls at 40min were LIT

[@crisalcantara7671]

i defently think that he studies another style , cause it is allowed for other martial artists with difference styles tp perticipate in kyo kumites , i'm positive that his original style isn't kyo cause a brown belt in kyo does not fight like that but who knows and i'm glad he's oke 😀😀

[@WadeSmith-oe5xd]

That body kick at 10 minutes is one of the hardest body shots I've ever seen in competition martial arts.

[@crisalcantara7671]

😮😮

[@crisalcantara7671]

this actually makes me happy to see tha USA has kyokushin tournaments cause shotokan is more populair there and everywhere else 😥 but i'm glad that kyokushin is still being practiced .

[@JP-ub3iv]

Dang this is crazy brutal……pure power vs power. Feels so different than other martial arts. I’m sure there are a lot of techniques but to my novice eyes it looks really straight forward battle

[@yikemikehappa2463]

Kudo to all the fighters. Ousssss I see some fighters who are probably just beginning cross training or don’t have a lot of experience training kyokushin. They lean forward too much, poor stances, poor footworks, poor guards. On the other hands, other fighters were advanced with a lot if experience. It is the mix of experienced and non experienced fighters that make the whole things interesting and a learning experience. Martial arts forever!!! Osssssss!

[@OfficialGeoffreyTraylor]

Love it 🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@michaelclark7033]

this is a dangerous tournament

[@haydendiazj5982]

I actually do this style of karate and a osu to th martial artist there’s actually a tournament coming ip but udk if i wnat to go or mot because of how injured i might get and ive always bee curious do they put you in matches by weight, age, belt, or height

[@billstewartkyokushinkarate]

Osu! My apologies as I somehow missed the notification on your comment. I expect the tournament you were considering has come and gone. The short answer to your question is that it depends. Generally, in knockdown, they do not divide by belt as it's full-contact, but they will try to match based on experience if they have enough competitors. Depending on the tournament, divisions may be based on age, experience, and weight. It can depend on who shows up that day as promoters will almost always reserve the right to combine divisions if there are not enough competitors. In our tournaments in the US, we also have Semi-Contact divisions. Semi-contact because the competitors wear gloves, shin & instep, and headgear. The divisions follow knockdown rules though. These divisions are normally divided up based on belt rank so may be a better way to compete and get a taste of what it's like. Osu!

[@crisalcantara7671]

by wight brow and usually they allow you to wear shin and crotch guard but work on your defense is the best advice i can give you cause i was nervous to befor my first kyo kumite but i leaned allot from my fight and training with more experience fighters/karateks , so always try your hardest to be the best at what you love doing and fight to win , you got this brow i believe in you .😎😎 osu .

[@crisalcantara7671]

@@billstewartkyokushinkarate i actually like this , although I still don't mind the no guard and head gear cause i'm use to it but the head and and shin guard protection is good for fighters that are a bit afraid from getting injured or new to the knockdown rules so it can protect them cause nobody wants to see someone leave on a stretcher 🙂 ,but the only thing i don't get is what you wrote '' that they will try to match the fighters by belt rank'' 🤔, of course kyo karatekas know that brown and black belt should have the most experience and white and yellow or beginner level but in between those doesn't mean anything , meaning you can't measure experience and skill/technique by looking at someone's belt , anyway i'm not criticizing you or anything this is m just trying to learn something by asking so many questions 😁 cause i almost never see or hear kyokushin doing kumite by belt rank but by weight and age ,

[@billstewartkyokushinkarate]

@@crisalcantara7671 Yes, those divisions are a good introduction and a way for fighters to gain experience before going on to fight knockdown since they compete under knockdown rules. I've never quite understood why they named the divisions "Semi-Contact" since they are definitely full-contact😄 The reality though is not everyone will be a knockdown competitor or even want to. Some have the desire to compete but have to weigh that against the odds of getting hurt and not being able to go to work on Monday. Padding up helps mitigate that risk while still allowing people to fight hard. Yes, weight and age are the primary criteria and belt rank isn't a consideration for knockdown. I did say that at the beginning of my response before when referring to knockdown🙂 My comment on rank was related to Semi-Contact where the fighters are divided by experience level which I realize I didn't explain clearly. The divisions for semi-contact are Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. I don't disagree with you. We've both seen people and wondered how they ever earned their belts. We've also seen people and asked why they weren't a higher rank. You're right in that ability and the belt color doesn't always seem to match. We will always have outliers. I don't think that completely negates belts as a criterion to gauge experience though🙂

[@Tamales21]

That guy at 26:32... He just showed to to play Basketball with the boys and no one told him the gym had been rented out for a karate tournament. He's like "well I guess I'll just join the tournament then"

[@Tamales21]

Oh shit! Basketball guy!!!

[@crisalcantara7671]

@@Tamales21 you funny asf lol

[@michaelclark7033]

what is the point of being able to inflict all of this damage to the body and the leg without being able to inflict damage on the head with the hands? And I saw a kick aimed at the head. Basically the fighters are just bracing to strike each other's bodies.

[@bruceparker6142]

So they don't get CTE later in life.

[@crisalcantara7671]

@@bruceparker6142 correct .

[@hetoverseo3887]

Kyokushin is meant to condition every part of the body that can be conditioned. Since the head cant be conditioned and face punches caused a lot of bleeding and CTEs, they banned it, plus there's also the issue of not wearing gloves

[@ADAM_COLLECTS]

what organisation of Kyokushin is this? osu.

[@billstewartkyokushinkarate]

Osu! My apologies, I've not been in the US for just over a month now. I somehow missed the notification for your comment. This tournament was sponsored by the USA-IFK Kyokushin organization which is led by Shihan Mike Monaco. Osu!

[@marynowanaasica6120]

What was about that fight where one of the fighters had no karatega (26:30)? Is it allowed at such a tournarment? And both of them were so agressive. Judge stoped the fight to tell them to calm down. (Sorry for my English.)

[@billstewartkyokushinkarate]

No worries about your English, it's fine 🙂 It was an open tournaments so anyone can come in and fight. We had fighters from other styles, including MMA/MuayThai. You're correct in that competitors normally wear a white gi but we have some flexibility on that and it wasn't required in this tournament. My impression of the problem was that they weren't understanding the commands. I could hear the referee talking to them from where I was sitting. In Kyokushin tournaments commands are given in Japanese. I could hear him explaining to them (more than once) what the commands meant in English so he initially gave them the benefit of the doubt. Being aggressive is fine, but not following the referees instructions is not. After a couple of verbal warnings and reminders that "YAME!" meant "STOP" one of the fighters received an official warning. Thanks for your comment🙏 OSU!

[@marynowanaasica6120]

@@billstewartkyokushinkarate Thanks for your answer. I thought when you start in Kyokushin tournaments you need to know Japanese commands. About being agressive - well, I had impression, that it was more than sport competition, these guys looked like they wanted to really hurt each other. But like I said, it was only my impression. Thanks again. Great tournament. I've already watched it a few times. OSU!

[@soulflame5635]

More interesting is guy on left in karate gi - with black belt - that does not know rules/ commands / meanings ? Weird - looks like he was given karate gi and belt for costume. Guy on right - you can see he is new to fight and tournaments. I've trained tkd/kickbox/kyokushin for years - I understand this is open - so outsiders can come in - but left fighter was kind of weird to me.

[@JohnAlbertDiPasquale]

@@billstewartkyokushinkarate dayum That is a piece i didn't know was a thing here in States XD

[@billstewartkyokushinkarate]

​@@soulflame5635 My apologies, I see you made your comment a couple of months ago. I somehow missed the notification and it got buried in my inbox. I'm just seeing it today. Yes, it does happen. There were fighters there who were fighting under knockdown rules for the first time. One does need to train as much as possible under the rules of the competition. The old adage, "You fight how you train" is very applicable here. It's also true that not everyone wearing a gi is being taught the commands in Japanese. Thanks for your comment! OSU!

[@macrobertson996]

Osu. NO MATS ?

[@billstewartkyokushinkarate]

Osu! Yes, they're on mats, although I can understand why it may not immediately appear that way. From the looks of them, I think these were custom mats designed specifically for this gym as the lines for other sports line up perfectly.

[@jvliv435]

In my days there were no mats, just the wood floor and pretty much everything was allowed (throwing's included, which I loved to do and learned from Bluming Sensei RIP) except face punches for obvious reasons.

[@TheDaleraka]

👀🦁

[@ThePeterR66]

they should hit for real, no fake smooth soy boy type

[@crisalcantara7671]

they did before the 2000s and many fighters died went in comas or could not function in society anymore wich is why the founder decided '' keep the bare knuckle but no face punches " cause if you can break a rock with you knuckle imagine what you head would look like after a fight lol but there's bare knucle boxing so you can enjoy that too 😎😎, ohw i forgot to ad that there is a offshoot style called ashihara/ kudo i think and they have mma rules , so face punches and takedowns are allowed so chek down for more excitmenent 😀😀

[@Tamales21]

Lol. Putting your ignorance on display like this.

[@edgar22452]

I am shotokan karateka. I've been practicing shotokan for over 10 years. I love kyokushin karate. However I don't like the no punching to the face rule. I don't think that's realistic combat. Just my opinion. Osu!!!

[@billstewartkyokushinkarate]

Osu! Thanks for your comment and my apologies for just replying. It's an interesting topic of discussion that you touch on... You might be surprised to know that this issue is debated even within the Kyokushin community and that there are those who agree with you😄 When it comes to tournaments, my own viewpoint is that there are always going to be rules and conditions that prevent any "sporting" contest from being totally "realistic" 🙂 My understanding (it was over 50 years ago and before my time in Kyokushin) was that allowing face punches was considered but it was decided there would be to much blood. The alternative would have been to wear gloves, but that wasn't considered to be "realistic" enough. In a "real fight" no one is going be wearing gloves after all😉 In knockdown points are scored by hurting your opponent, knocking them down, or knocking them out... as opposed to some other rulesets who are scoring points with a touch. From that perspective fighting bare knuckle under knockdown rules it could be argued is much more "realistic" 🤔 What do people think is "more" realistic... getting hit with a hook to the ribs with a bare knuckle fist, or one wearing a glove?😉 Again, there will always be a difference between "sport" and "real world". The value that competition provides us in any of the combat sports, is what you learn about yourself when you face the very real possibility of injury. In that respect there is an element of "realism" in all of them 🙂 Thanks again for your comment🙏 Osu!!!

[@edgar22452]

@@billstewartkyokushinkarate Osu to u too. I just feel like it's not realistic to not punch the face or head in combat. Bareknuckle fighting is making a comeback. Have u watched the BKFC? Bareknuckle Fighting Championship?

[@billstewartkyokushinkarate]

@@edgar22452 Osu! I think most everyone agrees that restricting punches to the face or head in "actual" combat is impractical🙂 I hope they do anyway 🤔 That's why we practice strikes to the face and head in the dojo. Knockdown is a ruleset for a sport. Kyokushin, like many other martial arts, includes techniques that are not legal in competition. Any combat sport will have restrictions aimed at fighter safety. The BKFC, as you point out, fights bare knuckle and you'll have noticed that it can be bloody. They don't allow kicks, grappling, or throws though. Is that realistic? What makes a punch to the face superior as a technique to kicking someone in the knee or taking them to the ground and submitting them? There are pros and cons to any ruleset. It's kind of like saying boxing isn't realistic because they don't allow kicks or BJJ isn't realistic because they don't allow punches🙂 Osu!

[@crisalcantara7671]

you should know this by know that sport tournament aren't a full simulation of real life fights , neighter is shotokan point fighting , you don't strike to the groing or break peoples bones or choke people in shotokan karate right only in selfedefence scenarios maybe , strange how you can't tell the difference but you've done shotokan for 10 years , sorry for critising you but your comment doesn't make sensw with you claiming to studie karate 10 years , guess it's not how long you study but what do you learn in that time .anyway apologys again just traying to understand your comment .

[@Tamales21]

It's cool though because you get to practice hitting with out gloves which is very practical. Point fighting is about distance and timing kyokushin is about generating power and perseverance. Both emphasize something the other lacks. I say Kyokushin guys should do point fighting and point fighters should do kyokushin and both should do Judo.

[@christopheredig2332]

Maybe we should teach to the American public that we don't say "jab" or "uppercut"... Anyways...

[@crisalcantara7671]

fighters learn to listen to the coach and not instructions from the public i k now that you already know that but you comment is still funny 😀😀

[@ieatpowertools]

Ah okay. The strange, unskilled fighting with really odd rules, paired with the fact that this is in Ohio makes this a little bit clearer. What we have here is evidence of the classic McDojo. An older Western man, typically with some kind of habit to support, or maybe missed out on a good retirement decides he's going to make easy money off a group of suckers who unfortunately don't have enough knowledge about martial arts to know they're being swindled. In my opinion, it's no different than when curry-eating telemarketers try to tell me I owe them $5,000 in tax debt.

[@retest6658]

dude, thats not kyokushin. Whats the point of punching non-stop?

[@septimiu1976]

bs

[@brycejakes2329]

Fuck good job

[@markmahanets2949]

This is so funny to watch, and think that these guys are black belts ... yet the techniques that they are using are those of 2-4 years old kids.... What happened to the Art, and where is the Martial act???