As in the previous article we will look at some of the fights held in 2019. One more year have come to and end, many strong achievements tons of fights, tournaments and championships. It shouldn’t be necessary to mention, but the level in total increases, and it will continue to do so if the circumstances are right, and if conditions are adequately organized. Many really impressing fights – and we have some more here..
We will start with a really good fight between two of the best in the game: Lili Mező / Hungary vs Inga Mikštaitė / Lithuania. Semifinal in the Shinkyokushin EC held in Lithuania. The veteran Mikštaitė has been among the top fighters of the world for the last years. Nine times European Champion Shinkyokushin, Kwu EC and World champion – and recently topping it all: vice champion 12th World Open Championship Shinkyokushin. Mező has just started her career – and what a start! Entering the senior division with 3rd place in EC, following up with victory in the EC Open-weight a couple of month later.
IKO Kyokushinkaikan World Championship will be next. In this final both fighters was from Japan, Miyuu Nagayoshi vs Nanami Sato. These two did also face each others in last All Japan Open, then as now in the final. We witness a very even final, and it is fair to say that it the dramatic nerve raise to the max into the last. And as earlier mention, these set of rules makes it different than we are use to see.
The 3rd WKB European Kyokushin Karate Championship we had a clip in the men’s division, and we will show the final in the women as well. The women division had only one open category, instead of three like the men’s division. Even so that this was a European championship, Canada was represented in the final. Julie Lamarre / Canada, has been fighting for a long time. About then years ago, 2009, Lamarre entered 4th place in the World Championship IKO Kyokushinkaikan. Some years later, 2013, she became the world champion in middleweight. After that tons experience has been achieved. Swedish young fighter Agnes Westrin do not have the same experience and merits – but she will, it is just a matter of time. Very skilled athlete, growing stronger as we speak.
The JFKO in Japan will be our next stop, and also this time we goes for the final. In a thirty fighters category packed with good fighters, one must have extraordinaire skills to be the one who makes it to the top. And when the two finalists are ready, it is clear that we will whiteness a rerun from the final in the 6th World Championship in weight categories back in 2017: champion Juri Minamihara versus Sayaka Kato.
The 12th World Karate Championship in Japan, and this time we have the fight between Irina Valieva / Russia vs Yui Kikukawa / Japan. From Russian and Valieva, this was the best achievement ever one in the women category. Fighting top 4 spots in this tournament tells us an eminent level – and the Technical Award came in as a prov to this. Kikukawa did also fight the 3rd place final four years back – in the 11th World Championship – and at that time she was awarded the Technical Award!
The 6th World Kyokushin karate cup (Rengokai) was held in Russia, October. We gave you a clip from the men’s division, and here is from the final in the middleweight, under 65 kg. The final was between Regina Meshkova / Kazakhstan versus Fukutoku Yumi / Japan. We do have to spoil (for those of you seeing this fight for the first time) This will be ended by warnings, as it sometimes happen. But in many cases – as in this one, it should not take the focus away from the fact that it is a good fight. The results in many cases overwhelm the good achievements that athletes make.
World Championship in Kazakhstan, 4th Kwu championship, just at the end of the year. Into the + 70 kg category, with ten fighters who will battle for the tittle. Brigita Gustaitytė / Lithuania vs Roxanne Ramselaar / The Netherlands. This is the final of the category. Gustaitytė has been very active this year, and not only that she have been quite successful as well. -and the same for Ramselaar, who took the European Championship tittle in the Kwf championship in October. Gustaitytė was close to doing so too, but became the runner up in the EC Shinkyokushin in the spring – now these two active fighters was up against each other..