Kansai Fight

King of Purebred 2009: Aleku vs. The Sex Doll

2010-01-07T02:24:00.000-08:00

Insanity

King of Purebred 2009: Photos

2010-01-07T02:16:00.000-08:00

King of Purebred 2009: Interviews

2010-01-07T02:06:00.000-08:00

Doi

Kouki

Results

King of Purebred 2009

2010-01-06T02:02:00.000-08:00

Christmas in Kyoto and the pros and blackbelts were out. This year amateur Shooters took on guys from around the gym in an annual festival of grappling and madness.

Bracket:

Okabe vs. Kouki

Fujii vs. Aleku

Wes vs. Ruya

Ozaki vs. Doi

Kouki vs. Aleku

Doi vs. Ryuya

Kouki vs. Doi (Finals)

Special Bonus Match- Last year's champion Eda vs. this year's champion Doi

Sorry

2010-01-05T05:53:00.000-08:00

Sorry this blog has been inactive for the better part of a year. I was transferred and therefore thrown off of my game. My B. I am getting back into the swing of things. We'll see.

A Brief Non-Defense of Aoki Shinya

2010-01-05T05:52:00.000-08:00

There was one fight I missed on New Year's Eve. As I walked out the door, hoping to make it to Kiyomizudera by midnight I said, "I wonder what happened with Aoki." Little did I know.

I should begin this non-apologetic apologia by making the claim I have often made in the past but that I feel needs some clarification; Japan is a nation of big excuse makers. I don't want to go too deep into that now as it is not the main issue but, in a society that is always demanding that someone take the fall for everything, people have become very good at passing the buck and evading responsibility. Maybe I have just begun to think that as I teach junior high school, but I believe that it is largely true. "We have to kill whales because we are Buddhists and we don't want animals to go to waste." "We can't import rice from California because real rice can't be grown outside Japan." "We can't bury power cables because Japanese soil is unique." I hate it and I have had enough of it. But.....But.... I am going to make a little excuse for Aoki Shinya.

Here is my argument. Flicking someone off in Japan, which is part of what Aoki did wrong the other night, does not mean what it does in the U.S. What does it mean here (in Japan)? I don't know. You know who else doesn't know? Japanese people. When I lived out in the middle of nowhere I used to play mini-volleyball, which is the silliest non-sport going. One guy on my team was trying to explain to me that I should stop trying to spike on every play and try to pass more. As he was telling me this he was flicking me off the whole time. My reaction was to try and kill him but I repressed that and left the little concrete gym and never went back. When I asked other people who were there about what had happened, they couldn't figure out what I was upset about. "So?" They would say, honestly at a loss about what could be upsetting. My friend was crossing the street one day in Miyazaki as an old man passed by him smiling and raising his middle finger. What was he on about? Who knows?

In the last few years teaching at particularly bad junior highs I have seen the bird flicked at least once a week. When it has been directed at me I usually say, "I'm not going to get mad this time but if you do it again, we have trouble." This has invariably been followed with "Sensei, what does doing that (insert offensive gesture here) mean?" I respond, "If you don't know what it means then why do you do it." Of course no one gets this, it is Japan. Why do people who don't smoke pot keep head shops in business? Why do girls with flat asses make booty videos? Why are there Buddhists Rastafarians? Who knows? I usually tell people that in America it means you want to fight someone, which, while being a paltry explanation, would be the result. It is the closest you can get to spitting on someone in terms of getting a reaction.

Am I claiming that Aoki Shinya is an innocent who might as well have held up his thumb like he was flagging down a ride, or made hook-'em horns, that it would have all been the same meaning to him? No. What I would claim about Aoki, and I don't know the man personally, is that he is kind of a dork. He seems like a guy, from listening to him talk, who is not the most socially acute gentleman in the academy. I have a feeling that this wasn't his first uncalculated action. I say this based off of lots of guys I know in MMA in Japan. A lot of them are my friends. A lot of them are good people. A lot of them are not suave young masters parting the seas of civil society. A pro-fighter of my acquaintance often flicks me off while calling me a "stupid foreigner." Would this seem okay to me in America? Not in the least. But I consider this man a friend and a bit of a hopeless loser, although a good fighter. I could say the same of Aoki.

As I alluded to above, I see teenage boys flick of their friends all day long in class and giggle at each other. They will knock on the window passing by and flick off their friends. I just hang my head in futility. I noticed Takaya's fan section flicking off the cameras as he made his way through the lightweight tournament. They didn't look angry, they looked happy. As I saw the replays of Aoki running around the ring chunking the half-deuce like a true moron I had the same reaction I usually do to this stuff. The same reaction I have when a club full of kids raised at cram schools and living with their parents shout along with gangster rap and shout "pull-off" to every reggae song. I hang my head, rub my eyes with my fingers and shake my head slowly at a culture without any context.

If you are going to get mad at Aoki get mad at him for not caring about the meaning of what he was doing, not for thinking he was a macho badass, I doubt it even occurred to him.

Tamura Yukinari vs. Satomoto Kazuya

2009-03-11T18:16:00.000-07:00

I have seen this happen several times, but I am always slightly surprised by it; two Paraestra fighters squaring of against each other. True Tamura "Hibiki" Yukinari fights out of Paraestra Osaka and Satomoto Kazuya fights out of Paraestra Hiroshima, but you would think they might avoid these conflicts. I guess it really isn't a big deal. One thing I will say about Paraestra fighters, regardless of their gym, they seem to be very well trained and coached and fight much more in control of themselves than a lot of Shooto competitors. I always enjoy watching them at work. Hibiki Tamura is a long limbed fighter who can strike from range. Satomoto is much more compact. He come off as a little slow, but this could be a misreading of his deliberateness.

Hibiki (in the red tights) worked single punches and several kicks from range. Satomoto bided his time.

Satomoto's main method of attack in the 1st (and again I apologize for the quality of these photos) was to latch on to Hibiki's right arm Sakuraba style and try to implement the standing Kimura. It was an interesting strategy and kept the match tied up and awkward, but not unexciting.

As poor as the next shot is it communicates the speed with which the rounds last actions played out. Failing to get his Kimura, Satomoto fell to the ground with Hibiki. He immediately spun for an armbar.

It was a good struggle, but time was, ultimately, on Tamura's side and the bell rang out.

The 2nd round was a lot more of the same with Satomoto refusing to give up on the standing Kimura.

Hibiki worked the fight back to striking but Satomoto was game there. I am not sure what landed, but blood began to erupt from the middle of Hibiki's forehead. Satomoto's corner yelled, "It was that knee!" But someone asked me, "Did you get a shot of that punch?" I have evidence of neither so let's settle on it being... something.

The doctor called a stop to the fight. Neither Tamura or his corner seemed to object. Satomoto advances in the welterweight tournament.

Ono Takayoshi vs. Kimura Tsuneo

2009-03-11T17:10:00.000-07:00

Looking back there were a lot of weird fights that bright, Sunday afternoon in BFE Osaka. The next in line was Kimura "Jacknife" Tsuneo out of Shooting Gym Osaka taking on Ono "Kogan" Takayoshi who represents Gon's Gym. Tsuneo came out like an F'ing zoo animal. Sitting next to the ring I felt myself actually want to back away from a man much smaller than myself. He was stomping and screaming and pacing like he was trapped in a cage. Leaping to the apron he began working up power by firing himself backwards and using the ropes to launch him back forwards, much like the kid in Superman 2 at Niagra Falls. On his last attempt, having gained the power to shoot him over the ropes, Tsuneo missed and fired himself into the audience. I tried not to laugh as I had so recently been afraid of a man who was now made pitiable. He finally made it into the ring the traditional way.

Where he continued to stand, stooped and threatening sporting a sweet mohawk and banging his feet into the canvas.

Ono came out incredulous. The look on his face was the exact appropriate one for the moment and one that wouldn't have occured to me. He swayed from side to side, head cocked, lip flaring like Billy Idol.

The two looked ready to explode and I began to get nervous thinking about the clash at hand which launched itself into this:

Loads and loads of clinching against the ropes. Don't get me wrong, clinching is a struggle, but I have never seen to people so fired up to fight suddenly looking like the last thing they wanted to do was throw down on each other. I don't think it was timidity, it was probably just playing it safe and cancelling each other out.

The fight on the ground was a stalemate.

Tsuneo had a good sprawl and Ono was good at maintaining guard and getting back to standing.

I felt that Ono's strikes were much more effective than the sout-paw Tsuneo. They were a little circular, between a hook and a straight, but they were more powerfull and more prone to landing. He also took better angles and had a nice right hook. When Tsuneo hit the ground, Ono scored some nice kicks to his legs and looked to make a KO punch.

On the ground, Tsuneo's guard was also too hard a problem for Ono to solve.

So Ono opted for standing.

Tsuneo looked to clinch whenever possible.

Towards the end of the 1st round, Ono got on top of Tsuneo in front of his own corner. They began to tell him, "That's it. You've got it! Lock it in." To which Tsuneo's corner wondered, "What has he got? I don't think it is anything." I shared their sentiment, but I couldn't see the far side.

The 2nd round saw more of the same, with Ono mixing in foot stomps from the clinch.

This is where I make the disclaimer that I have made before. To photograph an event and to experience an even are very different things. My pictures can tell me, accurately, what color shorts the fighters were wearing and where they place their feet on a guard pass. But, what they can't give me, is the same impression that standing watching a fight. I thought, I knew, I assumed, that Ono had won the fight easily. The decision went to Kimura "Jacknife" Tsuneo. I don't get it. Apparently neither did Ono. He left the ring immedietly. Ikeda (I beleive it is) the head of Chokushinkai and a scary old man/former pro-wrestler ordered him and his crew back into the ring to soak in his own doo-doo.

Other people told me later that they thought Jacknife had won clearly. I don't see it. I didn't see it, but I accept that the lense alters reality.

Sugimoto Hiroshi vs. Gypsy Taro

2009-03-10T19:30:00.000-07:00

As much as the previous fight was one of the great fights of the year, Gypsy Taro vs. Sugimoto squaring of against each other will go down as one of the most absurd. Sugimoto is my friend and fights out of Purebred Kyoto. Taro is a solid fighter with a bad record who represents Shooting Gym Osaka.

Sugimoto had been practicing his Sammy Sosa entrance for over a month.

Sugimoto (In White) comes from a Kyokushin base, and is quite strong.

What had impressed me when I saw Gypsy Taro last year was his strong striking defense, a rarity in Shooto. It would be a necessity in this fight.

Sugimoto came out looking for blood and slipped in his enthusiasm. He was running around the ring, jumping into his punches and leaping in the air for no particular reason. He had Taro backing up however. Taro's counters were somewhat effective, but Sugimoto's punches were full of power and doing serious damage to Taro's face. Even his shoulders were looking worse for the wear.

Sugi began to sense how much damage he was inflicting and upped the pace, getting a sweetly demonic look on his face.

This fight, a circus of one-two power punching punctuated by feigned knees and leaping into the air, was all over the place.

Taro went for the clinch and landed a knee or two. These however, didn't appear to slow down the action.

The end of round one took place against the post of a neutral corner. Feeling the fight, Sugi went for something he has been doing in practice lately, the old, Ryo Chonan flying scissor heel hook. I should mention at this point that Sugimoto has absurdly strong legs. I thought it was just me who thought that but other pro fighters have been mentioning it lately. So it isn't so crazy that he could pull this move off.

Sugi failed and spent the last 20 seconds trapped in the corner eating a punch or two.

Nakakura helped Taro to regroup for the 2nd. Possibly there was some ice down the pants.

While Taro was clearly damaged, Sugimoto was clearly worn down. His hands were low and all he could muster were some one-twos. They still had a good deal of power and Sugi's left had been scoring all night. This is where Taro's defense started to prove effective.

Both fighters were worn out.

A mutual doctor's break was called. Taro was bleeding and red.

Sugi had little left to give.

A vicious barfight broke out.

Sugimoto could no longer keep his hands up and stood in front of Taro, taking his beating.

A Taro slip brought the fight to the ground. Sugimoto looked re-energized and got the fight to half-guard. Then fatigue set in and he was held there until the fight was stood back up. Sugimoto's last chances were slipping away as, even though he had inflected more damage, spending a round with your hands below your waist will not win a judge's decision.

Both fighters remained game however. The crux of the fight was Taro's ability to maintain a competent boxing stance; a scarce commodity in the world of Shooto and something I would advise others to work on. My old bass teacher used to tell me that when you looked like you were playing well, you often were. Boxing is no different. Sugi's power was clearly superior but standing around looking like you are trying to bum a smoke cannot earn you a victory.

At this point the fight became so absurd that photographs, at least the kind I had the ability to take at the moment could no longer communicate the mood. Here is a video I took of the last 30 seconds or so.

Needless to say, Sugimoto lost the fight and Gypsy Taro, with Hokazono in his corner, moved on in the Rookie Tournament. If this fight comes out on video, watch it. It makes little sense and is all the more thrilling because of it.

Yoshida Keita vs. Kawamata "Geostar" Joji

2009-03-09T07:25:00.000-07:00

I'm going to tell you from the beginning that this might be fight of the year. This match was insanely good and exciting in every moment. Great, great effort on both fighter's parts. No shame in the whole affair. Kawamata Joji, billed as George "Kawamata" Geostar, fights out of Paraestra Osaka and wore the black shorts. Yoshida Keita, in the blue shorts, fights out of Cobra Kai.

Kawamata is a south-paw who used the ropes well to escape. He is also the only fighter I have seen whose corner wore rash guards.

A good deal of the fight took place in Kawamata's corner. He was well coached.

Kawamata employed a technique that is fairly common in Shooto which is beating the stew out of someone who is in your guard while you are on the bottom. I like it. It is effective. He did a lot of damage to the right side of Yoshida's head. It was getting to Yoshida but he couldn't work out of it. Kawamata's corner kept shouting, "It's getting to him! He doesn't like it."

Yoshida worked to pass Kawamata's guard, but "Geostar" was the noticeably better grappler.

Yoshida was the more powerful striker, but Kawamata was cagey and careful. This fight had an awesome pace and alternated between standing and the ground.

Kawamata threatened with foot-sweeps through the first round.

Both fighters regrouped between rounds.

Kawamata seemed relaxed and was in control of the fight.

The second round saw lots of clinching against the ropes, especially in the corners.

Toward the end of the round Yoshida connected with a huge right kick to the body. Kawamata was visibly hurt. Yoshida, who had looked exhausted up to this point was energized and the momentum changed.

After the kicks, Kawamata's takedowns became desperate attempts to get out of stand-up exchanges. He ended up desperately clinging to Yoshida's ankle and taking a beating on the head.

The fight was accurately judged a draw with Yoshida advancing in the tournament. Kawamata had given all he had to give and left the ring sobbing. It was a truly great fight.

Masuda "Bull" Teppei vs. Ron

2009-03-09T04:48:00.000-07:00

Ron (Black Shorts) fights out of Jiu-Jitsu Brothers. Masuda (In Pink) is a member of Cobra Kai. This fight was at bantam weight and Ron definitely looked like a small, small man. Masuda, resembled his nickname and appeared very physically strong.

A lot of this fight was fought in a clinch against the ropes. Ron hung in and tried for a few foot sweeps but was out-muscled by Masuda. The Cobra Kai corner and supporters were very vocal. The Jiu-Jitsu Brothers offered very little advice.

Even if Ron got Masuda off balance, "Bull" would roll him over immediately and take top postion.

Ron's gurad was pretty effective but no submissions came.

Ron wouldn't give up and gave it a good fight.

Ron eschewed a stool for the floor.

Ron came out aggressive in the 2nd round, trading knees with Masuda.

On the ground Masuda bullied Ron with his forearm, keeping his head pressed to the canvas.

The decision went to Masuda who was too strong for Ron's competent jiu-jitsu.

Shooto Border 1

2009-03-09T03:54:00.000-07:00

I awoke hungover with a smattering of vomit on my floor and hopped on the train to dirty, dirty, boondocks Osaka where shit gets weird. Not puking on the train I calmed my constitution with a block of cheese from the dollar store and watched a pedestrian try to fight a motorist.

The vibe was odd, like a meeting of pro-wrestlers and mobsters; which, essentially......

There was a larger crowd than this. I must apologize in advance. My camera had a little issue so a lot of shots that should have been bad-ass came out looking like snapshots. But as the Rooster says, "There ain't nothin' you can do about right now, so shut the fuck up!"

Quick Results:

Masuda vs. Ron
Yoshida vs. Kawamata (Draw)
Sugimoto vs. Gypsy Taro
Ono vs. Tsuneo
Tamura vs. Satomoto
Tanaka vs. Eda (Draw)
Ikoma vs. Kitahara

Fukuoka Amateur Shooto (update)

2009-02-11T20:05:00.000-08:00

Danny won both of his fights.

The 1st by RNC in the first round.

The 2nd by TKO in the first round.

Fukuoka Amateur Shooto

2009-02-10T09:15:00.000-08:00

This Wednesday is a national holiday here in Japan. Fukuoka is taking the opportunity to hold some amateur Shooto. This is not Kansai, so it is a bit out of my coverage objectives but my friend and occasional training partner Danny Brooking is competing in a freshman bout. Danny also trained for two weeks at Purebred so there is a vague connection.

Danny came to MMA from rock climbimng and has been winning every amateur tournament he has entered. This year he finally entered as a heavyweight, fighting at his usual 75kg. Here is some footage from his last tournament in Fukuoka.

Good luck to Danny. Miyazaki MMA represent.

Random Notes: Post Powergate

2009-02-10T06:36:00.000-08:00

Kanayama Yasuhiro, coming off of his victory over Yokosai and his subsequent request for a title match will apparently get his wish. The deal isn't final, but Kanayama looks to face amateur shooter Ozaki from Tottori.

Kanayama's opponent Yokosai, was hospitalized with damage to his eye after their fight, although he had no concussion.

Sakashita Yusuke, better known around the gym as "Jurassic Armbar", or "Jurassic" + whatever he is doing at the moment, will be leaving Kyoto and Purebred for Grabaka in Tokyo. He is a trainer at Gold's Gym so can transfer to any location in the country. He has a pretty good record so wants to take this chance to see how far he can go. Good luck to him.

Kaneshima Yoshikazu from Purebred will be fighting in Rings: The Outsider on March 15th. That event looks nuts. Apparently you have to have a body check to get in.

Both Eda Kosuke and Sugimoto Hiroshi, from Purebred will be fighting on the March 8th Shooto Border 1 card in Osaka. I am working on passes for this one. Eda has a chance to get ranked with a victory over Tanaka and Sugimoto will be facing Gypsy Taro, whose fights I find entertaining. Shooting Gym Osaka and Paraestra Osaka are large presences on this card.

Late

2009-02-10T06:30:00.000-08:00

This is late but,

Congrats to Sato Takuya who defeated Okuno Taisuke at Shooting Disco 7 l the Saturday before last. Takuya seemed to have injured his arm but is fine now and was back in the gym going light yesterday.

Takuya is expected to move into the rankings after this upset.

Powergate- Final

2009-02-05T21:00:00.000-08:00

Here I am closing it all up almost a week after it happened. Thanks for bearing with me. I am trying to figure out how I want all of this to run while having a busy week at work. I think Powergate is a solid event for something local at an accessible price. The match-ups weren't too one sided. The production values were better than what I expected. To tell the truth they were better than any Shooto event I have been to. Going as a photographer definitely warps reality. Photos tell the truth but they also lie. I can look back and know for sure what color tape someone has on their gloves but I might be mistaken by what round they won in.

At the bottom there is the upcoming Powergate schedule. MMA in Wakayama is a rare thing so you should make a day of watching the fights and protesting whaling. I will try and be at the Osaka event in April so say hey if you see me there.

Powergate: Gate 10 Kishimoto vs. Umezono

2009-02-03T07:28:00.000-08:00

Umezono Fumihira wandered, tottered towards the ring with a heavily bandaged left knee. He was the crowd favorite, representing Paraestra Osaka. He looked like a man walking to his death. A man who would have rather been somewhere else. The crowds enthusiasm for Umezono was matched by Kishimoto Hideki's, out of Ground Core, enthusiasm for the upcoming lightweight clash. Although not as favored by the crowd, Kishimoto came in with the better record and the lightweight belt. Although they both stood 173cm, Umezono had a 6kg weight advantage. He looked around as if someone might come up and tell him he didn't have to go through with it. Kishimoto bounced off of the ropes.

At the bell Umezono's extended hand was met with a flying knee by Kishimoto. In the struggle Umezono ended up on the bottom.

And that's how the fight went down. Umezono, although having a cooler last name, was never in the fight. I am not sure how severe his knee injury was and how it effected his training but he brought nothing to the match, mentally or physically. After the fight he picked up the microphone and announced his desire to retire. A row of well dressed women in their late 30s occupying the front row shrieked in disbelief. Umezono said, "I want to retire, but there are those who will never forgive me. So I will take some time off and get my mind and my body right and try again. I don't really feel like it..." But then he called out Yamazaki. Hmmmm....

Powergate: Gate 9 - Goodman Tanaka vs. Tetsu-low

2009-02-03T07:05:00.000-08:00

Tetsu-low isn't the first genius to think this sort of appellation is the balls. I used to run with a DJ/Dentist named Chihiro who changed her genre to Chicano rap and went by the moniker Chihi-low. It was almost as clever then. Again, here at gate nine, I must iterate my oath of purity; I just see shit and then say that I saw it. I will make no value judgments. Except when I do. In this case I will not say that someone is a joker among a team of joker's. That he isn't special, just larger. A larger joker amongst a team. If only I could name that team.

Goodman Tanaka from Goodman Gym met up with Tetsu-low from Team Joker in a middle weight clash. Tanaka is the reigning middle weight champ. He illustrates well my point about Japanese dudes and weight classes. Tanaka is roughly my weight but looks like he could break me in half, crush the pieces together and store them in his ample belly. How are we similar in tonnage? Maybe it is because he stands 172 cm. Tetsu-low comes in at 87kg and 180cm. 4kg over Goodman. Goodman was clearly the crowd favorite making a big entrance. Low was clearly his team's favorite, being cornered by the earlier mentioned scrub, Matsuyama. I will only put up one picture of the bout, because it is the only one that matters. It tells the whole story. Here it is.

That is Tanaka on top in the camouflage man-panties with the Hinomaru on the side. Mr. Low is on the bottom, as it is the only place he was ever going to be. Conversing with a pro-fighter and a high level BJJ competitor after the show they pondered, "I wonder if that team practices?" I don't make those speculations, maybe they spend their time being jokesters. Tanaka, supported by massive legs, as well as the majority of the crowd, took Tetsu down at will and broke him. The ref stepped in to put a stop to the drubbing. Tetsu-low spied a fight he could fare a bit better in and began punching the ref and shoving him. This was directly in front of me. I am sorry there aren't pictures but here are the factors. I had three shots left. I was stuck between the turnbuckle, the officials, and this altercation. Being both a Southerner and a teacher at a violent school I automatically experienced the reflex known as "bowing up." Impotent, however, in this case, as I quickly realized I was watching a scrum between two pro fighters amidst a roomful of fighters. The role I would take in normal life, turned into a tail that I placed between my legs and replaced with a stern look of disapproval. Some teams jokes are truly tasteless. I have no doubt that if this fight was fought ten more times, Mr. Tanaka would never fail to force feed Low-san his man-panties at will.

Powergate: Gate 8 - Shiba vs. Hoshiko

2009-02-03T04:33:00.001-08:00

Shiba Hiroshi, out of Purebred Kyoto, is my buddy, but he has been in a slump. In 2007 he had been streaking racking up a win over Guy Delameau, among others. But he was coming off of three straight losses. Hoshiko Ryosuke (representing Robot Criminal K)is a fighter I have been hearing a lot about, not just for his improbable, but real, last name (it means Star Child) or his regal mohawk, but for his dedicated striking. I was also told that the whole Robot Criminal thing is made up and he really trains at a karate dojo five minutes from Purebred, and has no ground game whatsoever. Shiba, although a goofball who frequently appears to be taking jiu-jitsu about as seriously as I take Linkin Park, is one of the most dangerous and respected grapplers at grappling-centric Purebred. He is a very strong purple-belt. Strong in technique and strong physically.

Hoshiko (in the mohawk) had a very straight-up fighting style with no head movement. He seemed to have a hard time gauging the distance on the southpaw Shiba, who peppered him with low kicks. Hoshiko tried to take the initiative and get in the pocket. Shiba backed him off with two shots to the face and a hard left-hook to the body. Hoshiko seemed to be phased by Shiba's power and lost confidence and momentum. Shiba cut off the corner and threw a jumping knee.

Hoshiko backed-off and went on the defensive, still unsure of the correct range to use against the long limbed portsider.

Out of options, Hoshiko went for a takedown on the superior grappler, Shiba. It earned him some time in a tight guillotine.

The choke was set tight, but Hoshiko endured.

Shiba gave up on the guillotine and transitioned to a triangle.

As unequal as their ground abilities may be, Hoshiko was no easy submission.

After a triangle that threatened to turn into an armbar, Hoshiko finally made the slip.

The fight went back to standing and again, Hoshiko opted out of standing with Shiba. Which resulted in another triangle/armbar.

Hoshiko showed heart in persevering. Shiba used the triangle to pummel Hoshiko's head and face. The triangle had Hoshiko wheezing and turning purple, but not tapping or going out.
Shiba looked to the ref to see if the fight was going to be stopped. The ref didn't respond. Shiba rolled the triangle over to top position and continued to look to the ref. Seeing no signs of a stoppage, Shiba let go of the triangle, took Hoshiko's back off the scramble and continued to rain down hammer fists while gazing at the ref, one eyebrow raised inquisitively.

The fight was finally called and Shiba celebrated the win. He took the mic, acknowledged his slump and said he spent the New Year's holidays reconsidering his career and was ready to come back to fighting with a new commitment. He also took the opportunity to call out the champ.

Powergate: Gate 7 -Kanayama vs. Yokosai

2009-02-03T02:50:00.000-08:00

I will try and be unbiased in these cases. It is hard when people you train with fight. Not only does training together make you pull for people in ways that other kinds of contact can't, training at Purebed Kyoto has been nothing short of an amazing experience and all of the guys there are honestly great people. Kanayama is one of the quietest, kindest, most dedicated people I have ever met in MMA. He can seemed focused and scary and hesitant and reclusive and wounded all in the same moment. He is also one of the most physically gifted human beings I have ever come across. If you ordered a piece of granite to become a person, you would mistake it for Kanayama. But I can remove that bias. The bias of acquaintanceship, as we are not that close. The bias of camaraderie. The bias of vicinity. The bias of sacrifice. Because YOKOSAI has those same bonds too.

I have heard rumor after rumor of YOKOSAI's, ne Yokoyama Toshihiko from Philoctetes Niigata, prowess. His record, however does little to reflect it. Kanayama Yasuhiro, out of Purebred Kyoto, was the 2004 Amateur Shooto lightweight champion. His pro career has been shifting towards the bottom of a mixed bag. Kanayama was a college wrestler and teaches the wrestling classes at Purebred.

Kanayama and Yokosai (in pink trunks) came out pointing at each other before touching gloves.

Kanayama's corner urged him to take it slow and applauded his wrestling stance.

Yokosai looked poised to strike. His punches were answered.

Pressured by Kanayama"s punching power, Yokosai attempted to clinch with the wrestler against the ropes. He was answered with a vicious slam.

Kanayama wore on his opponent with shoulder slams and punches to the head and body.

Kanayama initiated the guard pass.

The fighters were eventually stood up. Kanayama seemed to have the momentum and the power.

When the fight ended up back in the clinch, YOKOSAI was barbarously thrown to the canvas. The slam hurt him. Not hurt in the sense of an injury to be dealt with but hurt like it cut that place deep inside him that makes people have the will to fight. He had nothing left and was pounded out.

As Kanayama celebrated with his fans and his corner, YOKOSAI struggled with consciousness. It was a losing battle.

As Kanayama accepted a Gi from Isami and a trophy from the one hot ring girl, whose eyes seem to constantly roam for opportunity, YOKOSAI was tended to by the doctor.

Victory and defeat are not always two sides to the same coin. Sometimes they are poverty and abundance. I believe Sato Takuya is staring at the ring girl's ample bosom, as they say in the vernacular.

Kanayama was encouraged by his corner to take the mic. He used the platform to say he was back as a force and requested a shot at the championship.

Powergate: Exhibition

2009-02-02T20:50:00.000-08:00

Next up was an exhibition (read: completely meaningless) match between Yamazaki Zenta from Team KGW, and Izumiya Takeshi (Tsuyoshi?) from M-BLOW. Yamazaki was bigger at 69kg to Izumiya's 65kg. None of this would be a factor as they sparred with leg pads at something I would estimate at 45% effort. Therefor the match was at times entertaining but inherently unsatisfying. Like marginally good food after you already ate. I could have done without it. The highlight would have to be Izumiya entering to Bon Jovi's "You give Love a Bad Name" while leaping the top rope. Yamazaki still wore his belt that he won last June in the grand-prix finals on a draw.

Izumiya (sporting dark green trunks) appeared to be the more complete striker, but put very little into it.

This halfhearted striking rendered the takedowns easy for Yamazaki, who shot double-legs and worked slams for the entire first round.

Izumiya worked to reverse the mount.

And was briefly successful.

Yamazaki worked the fight back to standing.

Grunted and laughed through a German Suplex to arm-bar transition. And the bout was over.

I should mention that this was in the second round, but the rounds were abbreviated due to it being an exhibition match.

An interview ensued and I realized that the small woman who had been keeping time and ringing the bell was just a small man with long hair.

Yamazaki said that he had gotten fat. "You pig!" Yelled a clever chap. Yamazaki continued that he had begun training again after the New Year and had a match coming up in April and would then put his built on the line in June. Izumiya said that he had spent two years off working and hanging out. That he had only trained stand-recently but was getting back to training and would start competing again.

Powergate: Gate 6 - Yoshida vs. Nagata

2009-02-02T20:27:00.000-08:00

This flyweight match proved one truth about flyweights; They are F'ing tiny. Tiny. Like little dolls made for small ballerinas to cradle in their narrow hands. Tiny like freshman at the bus stop. Tiny. But tiny is, in the end, quantifiable. Yoshida Tomohiko, representing G-FREE, is 160cm and 55kg. His competition, Nagata Yasunori, is a stringier 173cm and weighed in at 59kg.

Nagata came out in wrestling shoes and black trunks. These two were more dedicated to striking than anyone preceding them.　

　

Yoshida, the southpaw, finally shot a single leg and got the fight to the ground. His compact build allowed him to get low on his opponent Nagata.

Nagata became the first person I have ever seen try to work the rubber guard with wrestling shoes on. I suppose it would help one's grip, but It didn't help Nagata who was dominated on the ground.

Nagata earned a stand-up for his efforts.

Only to be taken back down.

And finally succumbed to a tight rear-naked choke.

Powergate: Gate 5 -Ikyu-san vs. Kaneyama

2009-02-02T20:18:00.001-08:00

Gate 5 featured Ikyu-san, a fighter named after an anime monk and Kaneyama Hiroki, a fighter named after a big mountain of money. Ikuya-san's only affiliation is the yakiniku restaurant he is trying to promote through fighting. Very, very Osaka. Kaneyama had an 11 centimeter height advantage, but Ikyu-san came in 2 kilograms heavier. Kaneyama seemed to be the particular favorite of the one ring girl who didn't look like she was escaping life across the tracks.

Kaneyama earned my support for coming in to Ripslyme's "Funktastic." Taking me back a few years to a purer, more drunken time. Ikyu-san came in to the Ikyu-san theme song. Somehow this stuff is never considered nut funny in Japan. Maybe because the term "played out" Hasn't been invented yet.

(Photos Later)

Sorry, there has been some technical difficulties with this photo set, so it will be all text like Zork.

Kaneyama was a southpaw and the better striker. He looked comfortable on his feet and his extra length was allowing him to land fairly regularly. Ikyu-san's stockiness enabled him to counter this striking with low, double leg takedowns. On the ground, Kanayama worked a half-assed rubber guard. A theme on the night.

In the 2nd round Ikyu-san continued to take Kanayama down and slam him while in the guard. A big slam from standing severely damaged Kanayama's elbow causing the fight to be stopped. It looked very serious.

As I was trying to photograph the action, I was looking through the view finder. I heard people start yelling, "Elbow! Elbow!" And Kanayama writhing in pain on the ground. I thought that he had been knocked out with an elbow and couldn't understand how Ikyu-san had got the win. It was all explained to me later.

No one was happier with their win than Ikyu-san. He took the mic and invited everyone to come to his yakiniku restaurant. He wandered around soliciting people to take photos of him. He seemed like a cool guy, but I didn't bite.

(Photos were lost in the matrix)

Powergate: Gate 4 - Russian Suzuki vs. Tsuda Tomoyuki

2009-02-02T06:35:00.000-08:00

Russian Suzuki from Cobra Kai faced off against Tsuda Tomoyuki from KFN in a welterweight bout.

This is the most exciting moment in the fight.

Tsuda (in blue trunks) came out and wandered around for a bit. When pressed by Suzuki, he threw two high kicks. They weren't effective, destructive high kicks. They looked lost. They weren't part of a combination. They looked like a guy saying, "Look, I can throw a high kick. Can I win?" He was taken down.

Russian Suzuki was strong from the top, but not strong enough to end the fight.

Tsuda's only defense was frantic attempts to get his feet between him and Suzuki and shove him off. Suzuki kept coming back.

A lot of guard sitting happened. Tsuda's corner had one command; "MOVE!"

I wandered off to get a new memory card from my bag. The fight went into a second round that looked like the first and Russian Suzuki won by decision.

Powergate: Gate 3 - katada vs. Matsuyama

2009-02-01T16:22:00.000-08:00

I didn't undertake this site in order to start beef over the Internet. I will simply describe you several incidents that occurred during the night and let you decide if one team is, indeed, full of jokers.

Katada Nobuaki from Bhairava was unusually relaxed as he came to the ring. Matsuyama Makoto, from Team Joker was sporting the requisite burkha. The bout was fought at lightweight.

Matsuyama (in the fire trunks) was a little ball of violence and movement from the outset; the commotion quickly fell to the ground.

Katada threw up a triangle but Matsuyama viciously slammed out of it.

Both men struggled for position, Matsuyama somewhat more violently.

Matsuyama took the back only to end up on the bottom.

Matsuyama forced the issue with a triangle.

The ref called a stop to the fight.

Katada was disappointed, but not disrespectful. He protested lightly that he was okay and had been working to get out.

Matsuyama got real dumb, real quick and went back after Katada, shoving the ref and yelling, "You want more? You want to go again?"Katada stood passively.

Matsuyama enjoyed his performance.

Powergat:e Gate 2 - Wakatsu vs. Miki

2009-02-01T07:06:00.001-08:00

Cobra Kai's Wakatsu vs. Miki from (team unknown) was a solid fight. Good technique all around. Lots of heart. Technical grappling.

Miki (in white) came out firing.

Until he hit Wakatsu with a hard low blow.

This brought about a yellow card and some time to regroup.

Miki seemed comfortable on the bottom. His guard was solid. Wakatsu showed a good base and was not phased by being in the guard.

Wakatsu tried to break the guard by standing up. Miki held firm.

Wakatsu finally gets out and goes for a Kimura.

Wakatsu went for the armbar and Miki got top position.

And went about the hard business of revenge.

Wakatsu defended with some interpretation of the rubber-guard.

Miki says no to Eddie Bravo.

Look, a blurry hooker. This must be the harbor. This must be round two.

Vicious, back-and-forth grappling ensues.

Miki uses a leg-lock attempt to administer some poundage.

Wakatsu rolls for an armbar.

Settles for some kind of crack-head control.

Considers the gogo.

Ends up with the tightest omaplata I have ever seen in MMA.

Miki's corner cries out that it is nothing. That he can handle it. He remains calm as Wakatsu uses the hold to pound his face.

Omaplata still locked, Wakatsu tries his corner's suggestion of alternating to the wrist-lock. Miki toughs it out to the bell.

Great fight. Wakatsu takes it on decision. Respect to both.

Powergate: Gate 1- Kazuya vs. Tatsu

2009-02-01T06:43:00.000-08:00

A featherweight bout pitting NJFK's Kazuya vs. Team Joker's Tatsu.

Tatsu, like the rest of his teammates entered the ring wearing a red bee-keeper's outfit. That has as much significance to you as it does to me.

There wasn't much striking in the fight. It was clinching, takedowns and submission attempts. Here Tatsu (in red trunks) tries for an ineffective single leg.

Katsuya went for guillotines off of the takedown attempts.

Tatsu tried the same tactic but had his guard passed for his troubles.

It got in pretty deep though.

Kazuya loosened Tatsu's grip with shoulder smashes.

Eventually Kazuya was out and on top.

Kazuya made Tatsu pay and the fight was called.

But it was all love.

Powergate: Overcoming 2009 -Intro

2009-02-01T06:24:00.000-08:00

Bad things happen at the harbor. I am from a harbor town. Down at the docks guys with one arm called "Lefty" splice rope with a marlin spike, a cigarette dangling out of their teeth and wrap-around sunglasses. Old dogs run around with one eye missing because they fought a pack of cats over fish scraps. Fisherman hide both pornography and shotguns under their reeking mattresses. Reeking of cigarette smoke, no showers and fish goo. Osaka's harbor is too dirty to enjoy and too clean to be interesting. It is a lifeless streetscape of concrete and cargo containers. It is where you switch trains and wait for a bus. I have always thought they should infuse every neighborhood with outdoor basketball courts and make all of he schools in the district magnets for basketball. Try to turn Minato-ku into Coney Island Asia. But that would make it interesting and the harbor has no momentum in that direction. It looks like they could hold fights on one of the rusted, brown, useless barges lining the river. However, at the end of a charmless street, under an elevated highway lies a small theater that looks like a large jazz club. The Sekaikan is attractive in all the ways the usual non-Tokyo Shooto matches, held in rec-rooms and community centers are spiritless.

Out back the Purebred crew were getting very Rocky. Eda, fresh off driving to Tokyo and back to corner Sato Takuya, was warming up Kanayama.

Shiba Hiroshi showed up to run some sprints.

The room and ring were small, but pretty much the right size for this type of affair. Anything more would have seemed unfriendly. Anything less would have been a punk show.

Powergate: Overcoming 2009

2009-02-01T05:45:00.000-08:00

A buttload of photos and coverage coming soon.

Eda Kosuke warming up Kanayama Yasuhiro.

Back in Time: Shooto Gig West 9 - Sasaki Shinji vs. Paolo Milano

2009-01-30T22:37:00.000-08:00

Sasaki Shinji (white trunks) Paolo Milano (Black Trunks)

My Write Up at the Time:

The last fight of the night was Sasaki Shinji vs. Paulo Milano. Sasaki fights out of BURST. Milano out of Paraestra Tokyo. I am not sure who picked the music for the entrances, but they hit a home run on this one. They rocked "Number One" by Busta Rhymes and Silk The Shocker from the Blade II soundtrack. This is the first time I have heard this song played out side of my radio show. I was stoked. Sasaki was a noticeably bigger, more solidly put together guy then Milano. No slight against Milano, who looks as if he was cut from marble, but I reckon that Sasaki, covered in second-rate tattoos looks like a bad-ass next to anybody. Now that Milano was in the blue corner, that fat man, who looked like he should be wearing a fanny pack, began shouting encouragement in English. English. To an Italian that trains in Tokyo. I would wager that Milano speaks English just fine, but the assumption is annoying. Now I couldn't tune this ignorant fucker out. He sounded like he listened to outtakes of a bad American commentary and then parroted it like a ....well...like a parrot.

I might be wrong, but Milano looked like he comes form a striking base. He moved very fluidly in the stand up. He landed some strikes on Sasaki. Sasaki appeared to have the bigger punches however. Milano stomped the feet out of the clinch, which I liked. Somewhere Ruas smiled. Once the fight was on the ground, Sasaki proved to be the stronger fighter. Milano's guard was solid, but Sasaki, through both force and skill would eventually pass it and administer a beating. Milano tried to attempt the rubber guard but failed to pull his other leg free, leaving it caught inside of his opponents body. While it worked as a stop-gap defense, it had no offensive potential. While Sasaki was attempting to pass at one point, Milano unleashed a vicious up-kick which caught Sasaki square on the jaw and on up his face. It appeared to hurt and stun him. It was also illegal. Sasaki was given time to recover, awkwardly still inside of Milano's guard. More groundwork followed. Off of a scramble, Sasaki took Milano's back and choked him out. Milano threw his mouthpiece in frustration and Sasaki celebrated. He thanked the Kansai fans for supporting him cheers followed. The hot girl in the grey sweat jacket, the black mini-skirt, black tights, and red high heels who I had been following more than the fights, clutched her phone and ran out a back door. Sasaki? Who knows.

Back in Time: Shooto Gig West 9 - KODO vs. Kibe Akira

2009-01-30T22:31:00.000-08:00

Kodo (in green)

My Write Up at the Time:

KODO from Shooting Gym Kobe faced off against Kibe Akira from NEX Sports in the next bout. Both guys came out throwing leather. I was trying to snap a picture of their big strikes when suddenly, Kibe was out cold in the corner from a giant right, his arms rigid in the air like tent posts. The crowd went nuts. So did Kodo. Sugimoto, who had changed clothes and was now sitting with us, loved it. He was a happy man anyway.

Back in Time: Shooto Gig West 9 - Hokozono Retires

2009-01-30T22:28:00.000-08:00

A retirement ceremony was held for Hokazono Akitoshi. He said some nice things about why he fought and how the level of Kansai fighters has grown. Ten bells rang him into retirement.

Back in Time: Shooto Gig West 9 - Aberle Tanaka vs. Fujikawa Nobuyasu

2009-01-30T22:22:00.000-08:00

Tanaka in the camo.

My write up at the time:

Aberle Tanaka Vs. Fujikawa Nobuyasu follwed. Tanaka fights out of Shooting Gym Kobe and Fujikawa out of Team Banana in Fukuoka. Fujikawa is making his debut at the age of 37. Admirable. I think I saw him fight amateur in Fukuoka. If that was him, it was a bloody, bare knuckle mess. Nakagawa reports that Fujikawa was smoking out front a la Gerard Gordeau. Tanaka's supporters launched annoying, whistling balloons to celebrate his introduction, one, however, struck him in the face and stuck there for a few awkward seconds. Both of these guys threw big punches. Tanaka showed the difference between big punching and effective punching. He put Fujikawa on the canvas twice in the first two minutes. Fujikawa was game and staggered back to his feet to the approval of the crowd. Tanaka was clever. Fujikawa was loading up for one last barrage, like a wounded Scott Smith. Tanaka approached and fired off a wicked inside leg kick, setting Fujikawa completely out of position, then Tanaka fired the winning right, forcing Fujikawa to the canvas for the third time prompting the ref to stop the bout.

Back in Time: Shooto Gig West 9 - Tamura Hibiki vs Gypsy Taro

2009-01-30T22:06:00.000-08:00

Tamura in the white trunks. Gypsy with the Mullet.

My write-up at the time:

Next up was Tamura Hibiki from Paraestra Osaka Vs. Gypsy Taro from Shooting Gym Osaka. Tamura is a south paw and fought very intelligently. He worked good kicks into his combos and threw in several back straight kicks. He was able to get several trip takedowns and had an interesting strategy of grasping his opponents lead hand with his lead right and throwing a straight left. It worked well for him. Gypsy Taro was able to get top position several times, but showed no ability to do anything from it. His punches were strong but always followed the same pattern of countering of Tamura's right kick. He worked his shoulders well from the clinch in the corner, both to create space, and to batter Tamura. In the end, Taro simply ran out of gas, and Tamura ran away with the fight.

Back in Time: Shooto Gig West 9 -Sugimoto vs. Kishimoto

2009-01-30T21:34:00.000-08:00

It has almost been a year since Sugimoto made his pro debut. Here are some photos from the event.

Sugimoto Hiroshi vs. Kishimoto Yasuyuki

Sugimoto uses a strategy of Ground and Pound from the bottom.

Kishimoto tried to punish Sugimoto but wasn't that effective.

Sugimoto's guard was not passable

The majority of the fight went like this.

Sugimoto was coated in Kishimoto's blood.

Sugimoto finishes with his hand raised.

My review at the time:

I don't get nervous for myself very much, but my boy, Sugimoto, who has been training at Purebred since he was 15, was set to make his debut, first on the pro card. Sugi was cornered by Eda, the former All-Japan Amateur Shooto champion, better known for wearing dresses and having funny haircuts, and Kaneyama, who teaches wrestling at Purebred. Sugimoto's opponent was Kishimoto Yasuaki who fights out of Cobra Kai in Osaka. This was a very good, 2-round fight that took place mostly on the ground due to Sugimoto's strategy of pulling guard out of the clinch. I can only assume that this has to do with Eda being in his corner and that is one of his favorite moves. Sugimoto used his guard very aggressively, not to go for submissions necessarily but to corral Kishimoto and beat him bloody from the bottom. Sugimoto initiated several guillotine attempts, but Kishimoto fought them off. Sugimoto sunk a deep triangle in the first that looked like it would end the fight. Kishimoto created some space to breathe by slamming Sugimoto to the canvas. Sugimoto maintained the triangle and proceeded to wail on Kishimoto's head from the bottom with vicious backhands. Kishimoto worked back to guard and tried some big punch attempts, which riled up the crowd, but failed to connect cleanly. The second round was more of the same. Sugimoto clinched, pulled guard with a guillotine attempt. When it didn't sink he used ground and pound from the bottom. At one point, so much blood was coming from Kishimoto that the doctors stopped the fight to have a look. They let it go on, only to see Sugimoto win by decision. He was a happy man, and so were the rest of us.

Thursday at Purebred Kyoto

2009-01-29T19:42:00.000-08:00

Ueta Yu works on the heavy bag.

Sato Takuya gets his hair cut correct like Anthony Mason.

And works his takedown defense in preperation for his January 31st clash with Taisuke Okuno at Shooting Disco 7.

Eda Kosuke and Kawakatsu Saburo go for leg-locks.

Eda stalks Kawakatsu. Eda will face Pacific 10th ranked Tanaka Hiroyuki on March 8th at Shooto Border Season 1.

Shiba Hiroshi shadowboxes in preperation for his Powergate fight Sunday agaonst Hoshiko, February 1st in Osaka.

Eda's gold gloves from his Shooto rookie championship.

Kaneshima works on his bridges.