I'm teaching what I've learnt about cardio drills, striking techniques, and fight psychology that helped me win my Bellator and Glory Kickboxing titles. Plus I'll be sharing my fight related travel experiences because this sport is taking me all around the world. Book Online Zoom Sessions GabrielVarga.as.me/ (availability is always changing depending on my training intensity)
I think this happened in 1963/1964 when Mas Oyama took 3 fighters to Thailand. 2 won by KO and one lost Kenji Kurosaki who is fighting in this clip. He later became an accomplished fighter and coach. Coaching the first foreigner to become a Muay Thai champion.
Later Mas Oyama sent some of his kyokushin students to fight Thais and they won, but as far as i know they did mainly thanks to throws and takedowns, recognizing they arent superior in striking (correct me if im wrong) I find those 1930-1970 style vs style fights fascinating, karate vs muay thai, vale tudo in Brazil, nice to see how our sports evolved
The Thai’s developed a martial art that is shaved right down to the bone. There is no fat, only exactly what works. Add the toughest training regime and you get the worlds most devastating martial art.
It's usually the kyokushin guys that get into kickboxing. You combine kyokushin + boxing, that's when they start really giving the Thai fighters trouble. But I've said it many times Gabriel, I am not a fan of Muay Thai. I prefer the other kickboxing styles such as Dutch, Sanda, Savate, and even FCK.
Thanks for your time, knowledge, education and opening up the world of combat sports to the masses. I love your channel and try to emulate myself after you! This footage from the 1960s is timeless!! Thanks again Mr. Varga! All the best for you! 👊💯🙏🥊
It's hard to open up against a good wrestler due to the takedown threat. If you put him and porier in a straight up striking match porier would win 100%.
The Kickboxing style that was developed after this lost for karate is a true redemption story. It's the true essence of martial arts, to face the biggest challenge and grow from experience
Hi coach could you watch some Bill Superfoot Wallace and Benny the Jet Urquidez, they were very different but their styles are very modern looking compared to who they were fighting in the 70s i think
I wouldn’t call Sawamura as a “top karate fighter”. He was a showman from the different time. Not to disrespect, but let’s keep it in perspective. On the other hand, his influence on later generations cannot be overstated. There is a value in entertainment.
Could you do a breakdown of Alex pereiras stance? I cant really tell if he’s bladed or squared. Its like his upper body is squared while his legs are bladed or something. Also cant tell if he’s keeping his back foot at a 90 degree angle or more 45 degree slightly slanted.
Its funny how alex was holding his hands up high a lot in this fight whereas Artem kept his hands low. Now these days Alex keeps his guard very low lol
Sawamura was a joker and never a good representative of 60s Karate or japanese kickboxing. He certainly was not a "japanese kickboxing superstar" by the time this fight took place, but a sport karate guy who was approached about getting into full contact after that 1964 Muay Thai vs. Karate tournament which the japanese ended up winning 2:1. The guy who promoted the whole thing, Osamu Noguchi, founded the Japanese Kickboxing Association in 1966, which actually originated the term "kickboxing". He brought Sawamura in. Like I said, that was in 1966, the very year the fight we're watching here took place, so Sawamura couldn't have possibly been an experienced kickboxer when he got stomped by Adisorn. He's not responsible for developing japanese kickboxing either. That was a different dude who also lost to a Thai fighter, Kenji Kurosaki. He was one of the guys on the japanese team at the aforementioned Muay Thai vs. Karate tournament, and after his loss he switched his focus 100% to kickboxing and founded the original Mejiro Gym in Tokio. Kurosaki trained Jan Plas who went on to open the Mejiro Gym in Amsterdam, and that was the beginning of the dutch style, which again is a whole different story ..
After winning fo so long, realising he had no answer to a new style must have been so shocking. Props to the guy for being intrigued and wanting to learn instead of just avoiding it for the rest of his life. The gloves really impair a traditional non-points karateka, though, as a natural karate answer for muay thai would be to crash inside and judo the hell out of the opponent in the clinch (traditional karate has its fair share of throws, even without cross-training).
True. I remember the first time I had to use the bigger boxing gloves for sparring. It was hard to get used to and I was fighting the gloves more than my opponents. It was a rough transition.
In karate you can sweep the opponent to the ground and follow up. This is Thai/kick boxing rules where there’s no follow up when the opponent hits the floor.
The problem with karate is the culture. Adopting a specific karate style and all your master says, skips the most important part of learning how to fight. A deep understanding of fight mechanics. If you are taught how to do things but not the full picture of why you're doing it, when you face an unfamiliar challenge you can't adapt, and this just shows you did not really know how to fight. You just know how to throw strikes. Karate does not give enough space for the experimenting that needs to take place for you to learn how to fight. This fight is a perfect example. The karate dude just mentally gave up. He just let the other dude kick him. If that would happen to a fighter I'm cornering, I'd tell him: "fuck the game plan, fuck the strategy, you gotta go. Just blitz." This comment is already too long. I know the advice is flawed, but you gotta do what you gotta do.
Yes im very scared. I also struggle with feeling like i suck because lets face it - compared to you I do. I also have competing priorities/bills/interests that make it hard to balance out. But I think all of that is common
It all comes down to pressure testing techniques and sparring. I’m a Karate guy and not all dojos are created equal. The great thing about videos like these and today’s technology is that we have the knowledge to learn and grow as Martial Artists. We also know it’s not the style but the individual person.
Jesse Enkamp did a great video on the French Savate influence on sport karate in the early 20th century. Since watching it I've always wondered how karate would have evolved if the Japanese maintained the full-contact aspect of Savate, instead of changing to the current point system.
There was always a point aspect to it as far as I know. The difference between now and then (savate influenced karate) is that they didn't held back. There was alot of contact in contrast to now where there is like 3 inches before contact.
