SENSHI – a Bridge between Past, Present and Future
The legend, Masutatsu „Mas“ Oyama was the first to introduce full contact Karate. He has always asserted that the genuine technique is the one that you can use well and defeats the enemy. After years of vigorous training and isolation in the mountains, Sosai completes his martial art and wants to assess its effectiveness. At the Oyama school, the free Kumite was heavily represented.
The practitioners hit and expected to be hit during practice. Head strikes were still allowed, but they were dealt only with the palm of the hand or with a towel-wrapped fist. Grappling, throwing and groin kicks were not unusual. The sparring would continue, until one of the fighters admitted defeat. Injuries happened daily with 90% knock-outs.
After they defeated the remaining schools in Japans, Oyama and his students faced the challenge of Promoter Noguchi – „Karate vs. Thai Boxing“ in Thailand following their rules. The karatekas accepted and departed for the Kingdom. The Japanese won by 2:1. Kyokushin Karate was victorious back in 1964 and proved the strength and versatility of the martial art.
Kyokushin Karate forms the base of many combat styles and their ruling systems – Ashihara Karate– Hideyuki Ashihara, Kickboxing – Kenji Kurosaki, Kyokushin Budokai – Jon Bluming, Seidokaikan – Kazuyoshi Ishii, Kudo – Takashi Azuma, Shidokan – Yoshiji Soeno, Enshin kaikan – Joko Ninomiya. Seidokaikan founder, Kazuyoshi Ishii also promoted the most attractive and popular contemporary discipline, K-1.
KWU International Professional League brings us back to the glorious past of Kyokushin. At the SENSHI ring, we can see the rules as they were in the very beginning – full contact, in three different competitive disciplines KWU FULL CONTACT, KWU SENSHI и KWU OPEN.
Along with gala fight nights, SENSHI also hosts training seminars for referees, instructors, and fighters organized by the KWU International Professional League, led by some of the greatest stars in combat sports who contributed massively for their development:
– Semmy Schilt – four-time K-1 Champion
– Ernesto Hoost – four-time K-1 Champion
– Peter Aerts – three-time K-1 Champion
– Shihan Aleksandr Pitchkounov – Secretary-General of KWU, the largest Kyokushin organization, runner up at the K-1 World GP 2007 and 2008, a Bronze medal from the World Karate Kyokushin Championship in 1999 absolute category, a Silver medal from Kyokushin Championship in Russia, 2004 and winner of the Kyokushin Cup in Russia, 2001.
– Shihan Ivo Kamenov – Chairman of KWU International Professional League and Chairman of the National Martial Arts Association in Bulgaria.
– Shihan Ramil Gabasov – President of the All Style Karate Federation Russia, Chairman of the Russian Union of Martial Arts (RUMA).
Shihan Aleksandr Pitchkounov is SENSHI Chief Referee and the legends Aerts, Hoost, and Schilt – certified referees.
The following is a short summary of the rules:
KWU SENSHI Full Contact:
What’s allowed: all kinds of boxing punches, spinning back fist, all kinds of kicks; one knee kick to the head after a two-handed grab; clinching up to 5 seconds; sweep kicks; leg grab and kick without pulling or pushing the opponent.
What’s forbidden: strikes to the groin, the back of the head, the spine, with the inside of the glove; strikes to the knee joint; headbutts; hitting fallen opponent; hitting while lying down, elbow strikes; throws; groundwork; choking; biting;
KWU SENSHI:
What’s allowed: all kinds of boxing punches, spinning back fist, all kinds of kicks; one knee kick to the head after a two-handed grab; clinching up to 5 seconds; sweep kicks; leg grab and a strike; elbow strikes, throws.
What’s forbidden: strikes to the groin, the back of the head, the spine, with the inside of the glove; strikes to the knee joint; headbutts; grabbing the head of the opponent with one hand and hitting it with the elbow of the other hand; hitting fallen opponent; hitting while lying down; groundwork; choking; biting;
KWU OPEN:
What’s allowed: all kinds of boxing punches, spinning back fist, all kinds of kicks; clinching up to 10 seconds; sweep kicks; leg grab and a strike; elbow strikes, throws; groundwork twice up to 30 seconds per round; choking on the ground; locks on the ground (of the leg only on the achilles, without twisting the ankle or knee joint); strikes with arms or knees to the body only on the ground.
What’s forbidden: strikes to the groin, the back of the head, the spine, with the inside of the glove; strikes to the knee joint; headbutts; hitting a fallen opponent from a guard; attacking with elbows and knees in the head on the ground; biting; throws that cause the opponent to fall on his head and along the spine with falling on the opponent.
