Powergate: Gate 3 - katada vs. Matsuyama

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

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

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

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

A buttload of photos and coverage coming soon.





Eda Kosuke warming up Kanayama Yasuhiro.