Insanity
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
King of Purebred 2009
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
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
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Sorry
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
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.
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.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Tamura Yukinari vs. Satomoto Kazuya
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.
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
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.
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.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Sugimoto Hiroshi vs. Gypsy Taro
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.
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.
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