As reported earlier in this web site, a total of twenty-three fighters represented our club, Vancouver Kyokushin Karate. It was unfortunate that Lalena, who had made an entry in the women's open division, was not able to compete due to a untimely injury she got right before the event.

At the opening ceremony of the morning divisions, Keegan Wong from Killarney Dojo was picked to deliver the Fighter's Oath (Senshu-Sensei) in front of the large crowd. The 13-year-old boy executed the honorable task very well and received loud applause from the stand.

In the non-contact divisions, twelve VKK children stepped onto the mats. Derek, Jacek and Jay participated in the event for the first time and fought very hard against much more experienced opponents. Samantha and Kent, who also competed last year, showed a lot of improvement in their techniques. Austin's non-stop high kicks brought him two wins and lifted him up to Top 8. The green belt trio of the downtown dojo - John, Matthew and Genki, surprised everyone in the arena by displaying quick combos and great endurance. A yellow belt, Nicholas, placed 2nd after having fought seven matches. The hard training he followed through at dojo and his home finally bore fruits. Franco from the downtown dojo fought exceptionally hard as well. Spiritual kiai and speedy attacks he displayed throughout the matches impressed corner judges and awarded him with respectful Bronze Medal.

Patrick and Keegan were challenged by much bigger opponents because this was their first debut in the 13-16 year old category. Patrick managed to win a couple of bouts but was stopped at the top 8 while Keegan kept beating taller opponents and came to the final match. Deference between them in strategy was footwork. For this event, Keegan drastically changed his linear footwork into more circular one. His opponent had a difficult time to catch the small fighter as Keegan kept circling around and never stopped. Although he was defeated at the final (the decision was still difficult as the score was 3-2 after an extension round.), Keegan demonstrated the fundamental of Budo tactics - Size doesn't matter. I'm sure when Patrick learns this footwork skill he will rise again.

After the lunch break, the event became even more intense as the knock-down divisions began. John from Richmond East Dojo fully used his long reach and succeeded in pushing away his opponent with straight punch and middle roundhouse kick. At the final match, he faced Steven from South Delta Dojo, who had a slight edge over John in terms of endurance. Even though he lost, John fought very well considering this was his first tournament fighting without a body pad and gloves. Pasha of the Vancouver West Dojo again dominated the 13-14 HW division. The great force created from his physique (5'9", 180lbs) was just unstoppable on the mat. The only thing he lacks is speed. Pasha safely secured his title after winning two one-sided matches.

The intensity continued on. The 17 & over LW division saw four VKK fighters. Shinchi had to fight Albert in the first round. The Japanese fighter looked determined to win when he vigorously charged Albert with a flurry of energetic punches. But Albert's sidestep allowed him to effectively disperse the pressure from his opponent. With 30 seconds to go, a well-timed low kick released by Albert swept Shinichi to the mat and resulted in Waza-ari (a half point).

Akira and Stas, both from downtown, had to face off at the semi final. Everyone was surprised to see how much Stas changed. He used to have a mental weakness that let him easily give up in the middle of a match. But he was different in this event. Looking very strong, he aggressively moved forward. Akira, who has very clean controlled techniques, was pushed back by his opponent. Stas' first win in a Kyokushin event finally became reality after having waited for two full years.

Gaining a great momentum from the previous fight, Stas moved close to Albert at the final match. Albert slightly looked confused by the opponent's aggressiveness but tried to keep himself together. His experience in many different situations at various tournaments always let Albert maintain his composure. Calmly reading his opponent attacking pattern, Albert delivered a high roughhouse kick and landed Stas' head at a 1 min 30 sec mark. The technique brought Albert waza-ari. Stas tried his best to get it back but time ran out. It was the match in which Albert won according to the rule, however everyone would agree Stas won spiritually.

A new heavyweight fighter from VKK, Zoltan showed off his power in the 17 & over HW division. At the first match, his devastating low kick made the opponent back up and pushed out of bounds. Then, he fought Sasha from the Coquitlam dojo. Zoltan fully used his physical advantage to push back Sasha. The strong combo of his body punches and low kick looked very effective. But Sasha did not give in. With 30 seconds left, the young fighter caught the opponent off guard and landed a right high kick on the head. The kick awarded him with waza-ari. Zoltan desperately attacked Sasha in order to cancel out the half point but failed to make it happen. They both learned valuable lesson from this match. Sasha needs more muscular strength while Zoltan must work on his guard position.

At 5:00 p.m., the long-awaited open divisions finally commenced. Keita Ochiai and Kris Erickson respectively entered the LW and HW divisions. In the LW division, the unexpected storm from the Victoria dojo raged throughout the matches. Keita's first fight saw Kai Aichi who had won Silver Medal in the famous Osaka Cup in Japan held just two weeks ago. Kai's techniques looked very sophisticated yet powerful. Keita was pushed back from time to time but tried his best to stay within the center area. The match looked pretty even but Kai had more advantage in reality. The judges' decision came to Hikiwake (a draw) and an extension was granted. The two lightweight fighters displayed amazing stamina and kept on attacking each other non-stop. With 20 seconds to go, Kai's momentum began fading while Keita held on delivering body punches. Keita grasped a valuable win and the crowd gave them huge applause for their spirit.

Kris faced Matt Hitchen from Armstrong Dojo. Right From the beginning, Kris attacked the right leg of his opponent. Kris had concentrated on working the left low kick for this tournament. The technique was well-executed and brought him waza-ari when Mat momentarily lost his will of fighting. Kris advanced to the final match and was to meet Nathan Howat from Edmonton.

After the tameshi-wari (board breaking), the finals of the open divisions were conducted. Keita's opponent was Mike McDougall also from Victoria. Last December, we saw Mike compete in the Vancouver Cup. The orange belt at that time showed us strong spirit but rather rough techniques. In this bout against Keita, we immediately recognized the significant improvement Mike had made since Vancouver Cup. His punching combos looked sharp and adroit legwork kept stinging Keita's leg. All the team mates from Vancouver were worried about Keita because he still felt fatigue from the tough match against Kai. But the smallest fighter of the division pushed himself forward. Receiving countless punches and low kicks from Mike, Keita kept on going striking the legs. The seesaw match drove the entire crowd wild and loud. In the extension round, Keita stuck to the same strategy and finally made his opponent feel the inside low kick. But Mike did not slacken his offence either. Then, time ran out while the two were still going at each other. When the judges reached a decision, Keita's goal to place 1st in the open division came true at last.

I admire Sempai Hiro of the Victoria dojo for his efforts in building up good fighters like Kai and Mike. I know what it takes for an instructor to create fighters like them. The sudden appearance of this strong team will help push us even further in the future. The more rivalry we have the better motivation we get in training.

Kris looked determined when he stepped on the mat for the final match. Everything was going for the game plan he'd drawn before the match - constantly landing the left low kick, using the knee at a close distance and throwing the right high kick at a right moment. It was apparent that Nathan had extensive damage in his right leg but the pride of being Black Belt did not allow him to give in. Later in the round, he came back from behind with a flurry of straight punches and succeeded in bringing the fight to an extension round. The true will of Kris was tested in this overtime. Coming out of this type of tough match with a victory is very necessary for him to step up to the next level. The fight looked even until the halfway through, but Kris slowly began backing up as he revealed the damage report on his right leg. By a very close margin, the title of the open division again slipped away from his hand.

All in all, our team did relatively well. Always remember, there is no losers in this kind of competition. The moment you filled out the entry form, you've already shown your courage and have defeated your mental weakness. Your opponent is not a person standing in front of you. your true opponent is always yourself.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the parents who attended the event. Your continued support to our club and the organization is sincerely appreciated. Also, I would like to thank Sempai Mark Ray for teaching the children's and adults beginners classes for me on the event day so I could concentrate on the tournament preparation. Also, I want to thank Sempai Alex for teaching the adults class in the night before the event so I could set up the venue. Without their supports, I would not have been able to act as an event committee member.

Finally, I would like to thank the IKOK-C for once again giving us such a wonderful opportunity. I'm sure all the participants enjoyed the event very much. Thank you. Osu.

Tats Nakamura
Vancouver Kyokushin Karate

John and Kent before the
 opening ceremony

Nicholas and Jay "Smile!" Nicholas placed 2nd and received the Silver Medal. Congratulations!

Keegan, one of the smallest fighters in the 13-16 years old division, fully used footwork and captured
 the Silver Medal.

Franco placed in this event for the first time. Great job!

Pasha's excellence in techniques and power overwhelmed all the opponents he faced and brought him 1st place.

John (middle) displayed a great performance in every match he fought. He just needs to work on endurance more for next competition.

Kris fought hard against Sensei Nathan from Edmonton. The re-match gave them the same result as last year. Although Kris showed progress in his low kick at this event, he needs to work for
 a better strategy.

Johnny coached most of the matches from morning's kids divisions all the way to adults
 in the evening. Keita (middle) trained next day at the Sunday fight class. His spirit is high.

 
So many students from VKK came and cheered on our fighters. Here, Scott and Derek from Killarney supported their dojo mate, Albert.

A Kyokushin fighter gets better and bigger motivation when they receive a strong support and understanding from their families. Well, Kris definitely has it.