On Sunday, January 25, the 5th US Weight Category Championships was held at the Japan-America Theater in Little Tokyo, downtown Los Angeles. The caliber of the event is raised by the participation of East European fighters and this year was no exception.

Sempai Michi Nagase and Kris Erickson represented our dojo in this event. Michi faced the last year's Middleweight Champion, Stiliyan Petrov from Bulgaria. The fight looked even until the halfway point. They both stayed close and exchanged short-range shitazuki and Mae-geri. With 30 seconds left, the Bulgarian hammered a devastating left shtazuki which clearly landed. Michi was forced to back up and walk out of bounds. The Middleweight this year had many powerful fighters and was the highest caliber of all divisions.

Kris Erickson also fought a fighter from Bulgaria in his first round. In the first minute, Kris successfully controlled a distance and landed a couple of good Hiza geri. In an attempt to avoid the kick, the opponent stepped in closer and pushed Kris's elbow inside. Kris tried hard to lift his knee but got in an awkward position every time his elbow was pushed in. The move was so subtle that judges did not really notice it. As his favorite technique was blockaded, Kris looked confused and lost some momentum. The Bulgarian did not let the opportunity pass by. He stayed in close and began moving forward with strong Shitazuki.

After all, both Sempai Michi and Kris came back home with no win. It is no doubt that they had a disappointment. But we have experienced ups and downs since we began competing internationally in 2002. In the past three years or so, we had many "ups" and we might be too used to them. A total defeat such as this is meant to wake us up and train us hard. Although the year 2009 began with a bitter feeling to us, we will come back strong towards the World Tournament in 2011, our final goal.

Besides the two, we had three more Canadians at the tournament. Esther Nathe, who used to train with us and now in Calgary, placed second in the Women's Heavyweight division. She gave a very tough fight to a big Polish fighter at the finals. The bout had an extension round and that's when Esther ran out of steam a little bit. But the fight was one of the best throughout the day.

Jordan Forget from Calgary put on an extraordinary job against a Bulgarian at the semi finals. Jordan thoroughly examined the opponent's moves until the halfway mark. Then, he began delivering sharp Shitazuki. The well-timed punches effectively landed and gave Jordan a meaningful win. It is only one win but a confident boost he gains from it is enormous.

Finally, the Canadian team had Julien Marquette who beat all opponents one-sidedly in the Men's Lightweights. Julien has great stamina, speed, techniques and spirit which are, no doubt in my mind, up to the world class level. It is very likely that he will be selected to represent Canada in the upcoming World Weight Category Tournament in August. His strong performance in LA gives us high hopes that Canada will actually win in the World Tournament.

What made the tournament so successful for the Canadians was that we supported each other as a team. In recent years, more exchanges between fighters are seen in Eastern and Western Canada. It is essential for us to build up trust and friendship through these events so we can go to international events as a true Canadian team. It is happening slowly but steadily. As an instructor, I strongly feel a great deal of responsibility upon creating such an ideal team for our fighters.

Lastly, I would like to thank IKO for such a great tournament. Our special thanks goes to Sensei Taku Nakasaka, students and volunteers of all dojos in Los Angeles for their efforts in hosting the event every year. Osu.

Tats Nakamura
Vancouver Kyokushin Karate

　

Julien and Shihan Pierre Julien received the technical award as well. Last year, he won Montreal's Elite Tournament and Vancouver Cup. Now, the young fighter won the US title. Congratulations!

This was her second time to fight outside Vancouver. The tournament brought her a great experience by matching up with a tough opponent from Poland. Congratulations, Ethter!

 
Team Canada. We came as one.
(Sorry for the quality of the image...)

Please also visit kyokushin.ca for an additional report and photos
The official results and more info at the following web sites:
    IKO New York, Kyokushin LA