Kyokushin-kan European Cup Tournament, Hungary 2007

We have lots of material here to show you! We've divided the pictures and text into the following topics. Please feel free to click on each one to go straight to that location in the presentation, or simply read from the top. Enjoy!

Part One : Cooperation

The success of Kyokushin-kan's first European Cup Tournament can be best summarized with the words "unity" and "cooperation." The leaders of multiple Kyokushin organizations worked together to make the day's events successful.

Our new Kyokushin-kan Country Representative Sandor Brezovai (uchi deshi of Mas Oyama 17 years ago, and Country Representative of Matsui's IKO for 12 years) hosted two tournaments on the same day. The first was the "Hungarian Junior Olympics" for all Kyokushin Junior fighters (under 18 years old). This tournament was open to all Kyokushin organizations, and there were representatives from no less that eight organizations present. The second tournament, held in the evening, was the Kyokushin-kan European Cup, which included Kyokushin-kan adult fighters from 9 countries, including Hungary, Poland, Ukraine, Spain, and Belarus in addition to Russia, the United States and South Africa. This latter tournament was open to other organizations, but was primarily made up of Kyokushin-kan fighters. The same Kyokushin-kan Russian team that dominated the Kyokushin-kan World Tournament in Moscow in 2005 dominated this tournament as well, taking first place in all adult male divisions: light, middle, and heavy.

Kancho Royama is seen here with Kyokushin-kan Country Representative of Hungary, Sandor Brezovai.

There is a law in Hungary that forbids any Kyokushin tournament organizer from awarding a "Hungarian Champion" title unless the tournament is open to all Kyokushin organizations. Thus, it's only possible to have one Kyokushin Hungarian Champion and to win that title he has to compete against fighters from the other groups as well. It was likely this law that led to an environment unique in Europe, and in the world, in which the leaders of all Kyokushin groups are able to cooperate and work together to support the same tournaments. Kancho was impressed by this development and expressed the hope that Hungary will start to serve as a model for Kyokushin all around the world.

In Hungary this week, we bore witness, time and time again, to the leaders of until-now competing Kyokushin organizations expressing their desire to cooperate and work together to sponsor tournaments in the future. "This is the first step," Kancho said, "to unifying all of Kyokushin as one as it was intended by Sosai."

The judges for the Hungarian Children's Olympics (Junior Karate Tournament), held during the day, represented many Kyokushin organizations including Matsui's IKO and groups led by Matsushima, Midori, and others.

Kancho is seen here having lunch with the Mayor and Vice Mayor of Szentes, the city where the tournament was held. At Kancho's left is Kyokushin-kan's new Country Representative in Hungary, Sandor Brezovai. Kancho was accompanyed to Hungary by Shihan's Kaneko and Ishijima (at Kancho's right).

Here Kancho and Kaneko Shihan from Japan conduct a judging seminar on the eveing prior to tournament to present the various rule changes that have occured during start of the Kyokushin-kan era.

The Opening Ceromony including all fighters for both tournaments, with Kancho at front and Branch Chief representatives from many Kyokushin Organizations present.

The confident Russian team enters the arean. These three were the champions of Kyokushin-kan's world tournament in Moscow in 2005.

The host country team.

On the day following the tourament Kancho hosted a seminar at Sensei Sandor Brezovai's dojo. Some participants came from other organizatins and Kancho spent the first hour discussing the chain of events from the time of Sosai's death that led to the creation of Kyokushin-kan.

Behind Kancho here are representatives from South Africa and America, as well as Sensei Brezovai.

We only had about 90 minutes for training, and Kancho concentrated on the basics.