It is always an
honor to receive a task from Shihan Nakamura as he is my original
Sensei of Kyokushin Karate. The recent request from him came to me
right after the 3rd World Weight Category Tournament. Shihan
Nakamura asked me to help him set up the venue of the 22nd All
Japan Weight Category Tournament, and more importantly, to act as
Head Coach for one of his favorite fighters, Tomohiko Matsuoka.
Rushing to a travel
agency to book air tickets, I quickly prepared for a six day Japan
trip. On Thursday June 1st I arrived at Kansai International
Airport in Osaka. The next day I went to Osaka Gymnasium to help
support the venue set-up for the two-day national tournament. This
became an unforgettable moment for me, there were so many familiar
faces working there that I had known from my early Kyokushin days
in Japan over two decades ago. It was almost like a family
reunion. The list of the people would be too long so I decided not
to put them in this article. We all trained together about twenty
five years ago at our local dojos when Shihan Nakamura traveled to
Hyogo for the very first time from Tokyo. At that time, Shihan had
only a handful of dojos under him compared to the fifty dojos
he now has. Time has marched on and now these fellow students I
once trained with hold higher position in the IKO Kansai region.
It should be mentioned here that over 80 percent of Branch Chiefs
in this area are filled by direct students of Shihan Nakamura.
Considering the numerous people jumping from one Kyokushin group
to other(s), the Nakamura students have always stayed together and
strong. I feel very honored to be part of the family. We all keep
true "Loyalty" in our hearts towards the two-time world champion
and his charisma.
On Saturday,
preliminary matches of each division were conducted. There were
four weight categories: Lightweight (-65kg), Middleweight (-75kg),
Heavyweight (-85kg) and Super Heavyweight (+85kg). The total
number of competitors exceeded three hundred, the largest number
ever in the recent history of this event. Matsuoka entered the
middleweight category, where over one hundred twenty fighters were
in fierce competition for the Japan title. One had to fight
through seven matches to conquer the top of the mountain.
Matsuoka and I
trained together about ten years ago when he was still a brown
belt. Even though I remembered how he fought, ten years are long
enough to entirely change one's styles. So, I asked his direct
Kohais (Sakuo and Ikegami) to coach him for the first couple of
matches. That would give me an opportunity to study Matsuoka's
moves. You have to know about your own fighters before analyzing
your opponents. Watching the first two matches, I noticed there
was a single strategy that he had to replace in order to survive
the next day.
On Sunday the final
day, the team got together at the gym around 8:30 in the morning.
As Matsuoka slowly warmed up and stretched I filled him in on the
details of his next opponent, Tadashi Honma from Tokyo Honbu. We
thoroughly discussed possible approaches against him. I watched
Honma's fight the day before and put down his techniques on a
piece of paper. We used it as reference to conclude the final
strategy for Matsuoka. This process of the coaching job continued
on until the final match: pre-watch next opponent's moves, put
down notes and discuss strategies with the team. When you have 120
fighters on hand, there are so many different types of competitors
with various techniques that you have to know before facing them
on the mat. Acquiring information is a key for victory in any form
of a battle.
Coaches are
important but, of course, the fighter is the one who actually
exchanges techniques with an opponent. Matsuoka's techniques were
incredibly well developed. Especially his low kick looked like a
sharp knife cutting right through the leg. But what really
impressed me was his never quit Spirit. Up to the final match, he
had three battles that went into the final extension round. Two of
them were won by a weight-scale decision. And all of his opponents
were top middleweights like Takaichi Konuma, Tadashi Honma and
Hiroki Otsuka. As I coached him throughout the day, I realized
once again "Spirit and Mind" are the most important factors to
seize the tallest trophy.
At the final match
of the middleweight category, Matsuoka faced off against the best
upcoming young fighter, Zenjuro Mori. Before the tournament, Mori
and Watanabe were reputed to take over the older generation in
this event such as Takahiro Fukuda and Matsuoka himself. Proving
the reputation was right, Mori kept beating more experienced
fighters because of his unstoppable momentum. The twenty-year-old
fighter maintained the momentum in the main round against
Matsuoka. Mori's footwork was so effective that Matsuoka wasn't
able to control the distance. It was clear that Mori was in charge
of the bout. He accurately positioned himself to his opponent,
then delivered and connected his kicks at will. Matsuoka kept
seeking a way to close in more tightly so that his low kicks could
catch the legs. With thirty seconds to go, Matsuoka was finally
beginning to land the kicks on the inside of Mori's legs.
The score from the
judges after the three-minute bout was 2-0 in favor for Mori.
Matsuoka escaped elimination by a hair's breath. In the extension,
he exploded at full throttle. After becoming use to Mori's
footwork, Matsuoka fought back hard as his opponent slowed down
noticeably. It was obvious that Matsuoka was coming back from
behind. When the two minute round ended, the new middleweight
champion was created at the same time. Congratulations to Tomohiko
Matsuoka for your enormous achievement after the ten years of
trials and errors in training. I feel very lucky to have been a
part of this wonderful moment (even though I lost my voice by kept
yelling at him).
This Japan trip was
very worthwhile. The biggest thing for me was that I was able to
strengthen the old friendships with many Sempais and Kohais
throughout the tournament. I would like to thank Shihan Nakamura
for the opportunity he granted me. I will keep training and
teaching in Kyokushin, hoping to meet them in the near future. Osu.
Tats Nakamura
Vancouver Kyokushin Karate
Photos at
Vancouver Kyokushin Karate Web
