23rd All Japan Weight Category Karate Championships was a great success. The event was hosted by IKO Honbu and organized by the Hyogo Osaka-Minami branch (Nakamura Dojo). The two day national tournament had two hundred and ninety-eight fighters in total to compete in four different weight categories.

Johnny Leblanc (Vancouver) and Dominic Adam (Montreal) participated in the event for the first time. The two Canadian had trained very hard for this high caliber competition for the past two months and was totally ready to fight against some of the toughest Japanese contestants. The draw was released by Honbu two weeks before the event. We found that Johnny would face Hiroyuki Kidachi (8th place in 2003 World Tournament) at the 3rd round and Dominic was to meet Zenjuro Mori (Last year's Silver Medalist) also at the 3rd round.

At 8:00 a.m. on June 10th, the Canadian team got together at the tournament hotel in Nanba, only 10 min away from Osaka Gymnasium. Shihan Stuart was in attendance of this event and gave us a great support and encouragement. Keita of the downtown dojo was also part of the team. He happened to be in Japan visiting his family in Hokkaido and decided to fly to Osaka to support the team. He took care of the fighters very well at various levels such as being a partner for warm-up and a timer of the bout. He earned great experience himself by watching so closely the top Japanese fighters in their warm-up and matches.

Dominic was the first to get on the mat. His opponent was a brown belt from Shizuoka prefecture. The North American middleweight champion dominated his opponent with powerful upper-cuts and Maegeri, and won the match with Ippon. His next fight was against Fumiaki Sato from Ibaragi prefecture. Dominic again won the one sided match by effectively attacking with body punches and middle kicks. Then, he faced Mori at the 3rd round.

Johnny looked very good when he faced off against Junya Tzujimoto, the regional HW champion from Osaka. Johnny tried to land his favorite, Uchimata Geri (Inside low kick) but Tsujimoto checked them very well and struck back hard. Johnny changed the strategies and shifted a targeting spot to the body from the leg. He began pumping in strong fists into the stomach and pushed himself forward. The Japanese responded with swift low kicks but they were not strong enough to slow down the North American HW champ. Johnny won the match and advanced to the 3rd round where Hiroyuki Kidachi awaited.

The two Canadian's true power was about be tested by facing the Japanese who's names were well-established in the world of Kyokushin competition. Dominic was up first facing Mori. For the first 30 seconds, the fight looked pretty even. Then, Mori's right low kick started stinging Dominic's left leg. Dominic tried to counter the opponent with body cuts but was not successful. Mori did not only possess the quick kicks, he also had great footwork. Every time Dominic moved in with the punch, Mori changed his body position and answered with the leg work. He did not give away clear targets for Dominic. By the time the bout was over, it was obvious that Mori was a winner.

Now, it's Johnny's turn to test his ability. The match was to give him a huge opportunity to step up to the world class. The renowned fighter, Kidachi, previously won the LW, MW & HW titles in this event and he set himself to capture the SHW title today. The weight difference was obvious when the two fighters stood on the mat. Johnny weighed 205 lbs while Kidachi looked around 185 lbs.

The fight turned out to be very tough. Johnny moved forward and threw combos of low kicks and body blows. Kidachi held himslef back a little looking for an empty spot to counter the much bigger opponent. Every time Johnny missed a kick Kidachi landed a sharp left upper cut. The 4th degree black belt knew what he was doing and never let go of the mistake Johnny made. But Johnny did not back up either. The two kept on delivering numerous techniques then time was over.

The officials gave the round Hikiwake (draw) and get them fight in overtime. Despite fighting through the tough round, Johnny was not breathing heavily and his stamina looked good. The extension appeared the same as its first round until the more experienced, Kidachi, made the attempt to throw the double spin kick combination. The second back spin kick caught Johnny's stomach and slowed him down. Kidachi mounted more momentum and tried to push back the Canadian. Johnny responded well but it looked apparent that he still had damage from the kick. It took him about 10 seconds to recover and begin his punching campaign again. For the last 10 seconds, the two exchanged the last flurry of blows then the match was over. The unanimous decision was sent for Kidachi.

The two North American champions fought very well but the top Japanese had a slight edge on them. What separates world-class from "almost" world class is this tiny edge that requires even more intense training. The event made them realize the reality and where they stand. The fact alone made the trip worthy for both of them.

The tournament created the new young champions of the LW and MW divisions. Yuzo Suzuki, only 22 years old, placed 1st in the LW. No one in the division was able to equally match up with him in terms of speed and endurance. Zenjuro Mori revenged himself on Tomohiko Matsuoka for the elimination at the last year's final and captured the MW title. The HW division saw the sensational comeback of Osamu Sumitani from Shihan Nakamura's dojo. The veteran Japanese fighter was backed up by the overwhelming support from the crowd and rose straight out to the HW title. His momentum was unstoppable and you would know why he is so popular among the Kyokushin fans if you see his fight live. The SHW was dominated by Darmen Sadvokasov. Darmen proved himself to be the best spirited fighter in the event. He fought through and survived so many tough bouts. At one point, he was elbowed in the head and knocked out unconscious but incredibly came back later and won the match.

The event will be televised in Japan in two weeks, and was also covered by a local radio station (I was honored to be selected as one of the commentators.). The crowd turned out to be much bigger than last year. With the support from the media, Kyokushin in Japan remains very strong and active.

During and after the event, Johnny and Dominic were lucky enough to spend a considerable amount of time with several well-known instructors like Shihan Nakamura and Sensei Narushima. The last day was spent for some sightseeing. We went to the Osaka's famous spot, Dotonbori, and went to Kobe to visit Shihan Nakamura's dojo as well.

I personally praise them for making a tough decision, traveling all the way to Japan and actually competing in the prestigious tournament. However, I don't praise them for their performance since their true potential is much more higher than what they showed us. Just keep training hard, guys.

I would like to thank Shihan Stuart for his support at the event. Also, I would like to thank Shihan Andre for letting us team up with Dominic. We once again had a great time together. As long as we, East and West, keep working together, we can make it happen in the future. Osu.

Tats Nakamura
Vancouver Kyokushin Karate