Noji vs. Musashi come true! New martial arts starts by Kyokushin's lead

The first performance interview of new martial arts event "K-Network" was held in Metropolitan Hotel in Ikebukuro (Tokyo, Japan) on October 25. It was established for Kyokushin fighters to try actual matches with the idea, "Don't accommodate ourselves to the times, but we have to adapt to it." The director Shokei Matsui of the executive committee chairman said, "I'd like to make it the place of organization's exchange, professional and amateur's exchange and techniques' exchange. K of K-Network means karate, kick and kung-fu or the like as Seido Kaikan and K-1 director Kazuyoshi Ishii already says.

I am inclined to suppose that K of Kyokushin also contains. " It will become the place where Kyokushin fighters battle against world top-class fighters as he says.

K-Network uses an octagonal ring with a rope differently from other professional martial arts. They want fighters to avoid standoff at the corner of a square ring and to fight by their techniques at a large ring. And VT rules matches like Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Mirko Cro Cop of K-1 vs. Team Inoki are also held as well as standing matches based on K-1 rules. It can be said that this is Kyokushin Karate's setting to seek out the availability of karate in all situation.

The big card Ryuta Noji vs. Seido Kaikan ace fighter, Musashi is held in the first performance match "ICHIGEKI" at Yoyogi Second Hall (Tokyo, Japan) next year January 11. Noji has fought in All Japan Kick and won three successive victories as a heavyweight boxer. He is opening the the frontiers. Musashi who was defeated by Nicholas Pettas of Kyokushin on August has the best chance to revenge. Musashi said, "It is my responsibility that Japanese fighters cannot fight in K-1 WORLD GP this year. I'm not interested at all in VT that the director Ishii is working on now. I think this is no time to do it. I will beat Noji to drag Pettas out first." Musashi disclosed his hard time that he could not do anything for three weeks after he was beaten by Pettas and he had been only devoted to karate after that. At last he is likely to see the light at the end of the tunnel by this offer. He dares to turn his back on K-1 vs. Team Inoki that made a monopoly of martial arts world's topic and made up his mind to venture into the enemy's territory. Musashi, he might turn over a new leaf, cropped his hair short. He will fight in standing match rules based on K-1 rules.

K-Network plans to hold the tournament twice a year in the future and to enter Noji and others, and Garry O'Neill and others in kick match. K-1, PRIDE, All Japan Kick and Kokushi-kaikan fighters will have matches in it. We watch how this tournament that aims at devotion of karate techniques in a new way will have an effect in increase of professional martial arts.


K-NETWORK PRESENTS "ICHIGEKI" The first performance match
Date: Friday, January 11, 2002
Gate open: 17:00/Fights start: 18:30
Place: National Yoyogi Stadium Second Hall
Promoters: K-NETWORK Office/First Wave Co. Ltd.


Submitted By: Hideto Ida
Engilish translated by: Mayuko Konno

Last Update : 11/07 05:11