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Kakutogi Road: The Complete History of MMA Vol.41 "Stormblast"
Stormblast Final1800×1000 734 KB
Editors Note: Mike Lorefice (of MMA/Puroresu mega-center quebrada.net) will have his comments be preceded by his initials.
HAYATE (疾風). A Japanese word that can mean hurricane, gale, tempest, or blast. There is also a connotation to the word that implies a suddenness, which is appropriate for what we are about to witness. Forces beyond all mortal comprehension are set to collide within the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium this evening, and we are fortunate enough to have a bird’s eye view. The date is 7-16-92 and FIGHTING NETWORK RINGS is set to offer up a main event featuring legendary 70s karateka, Willie Williams, and Akira Maeda. RINGS has been the most intriguing of the different promotions that we’ve been covering these last few months, not that they’ve necessarily been the most entertaining, but they have by far been moving the closest to full-blown MMA compared to PWFG and the UWF-I. They went as far as to have four (pre-UFC mind you!) shoots last month, so it will be interesting to see if they continue in this direction. This will also mark a new addition to our columns in that we are having our resident Japanese translator, Hebisasori, examine these events beforehand, in the ongoing quest to provide any interesting shoot-truths that may be missed due to my woeful inadequacy in understanding Japanese.
The festivities begin with all the competitors being weighed in, despite the lack of any weight classes, or even titles for that matter. Perhaps, RINGS has no need for any formally recognized titles, for Maeda is its eternal champion, as well as its raison d’être, and anything more would be superfluous. After the weights are tabulated, we are given a look at pensive Maeda, who is solemnly kicking his pads knowing that his hour of reckoning will soon be upon him. He must face one of his fellow Sediokaikan brethren in Williams, a man that he surely looked up to when he was merely a young aspiring karate practitioner in the 70s, so this trepidation is to be expected. While longtime MMA fans will probably not have many fond memories of Williams (who was already 41 when he joined RINGS) due to many of his slow and awkward matches, he truly was a force of nature in his prime as Mas Oyama’s (Sediokaikan karate founder) main American protégé. Like his master before him, he also made a name for himself fighting a bear, going as far as to earn the nickname, “The Bear Killer” in Japan. Even though he’s had three fights in RINGS leading up to this, one was a shoot where he still looked solid, and the other two were works that ended quickly, so he still had a lot of name value in Japan, going into this fight.
The evening will begin yet again in shame, as we are going to the same well for our third helping of Yoshihisa Yamamoto vs. Masayuki Naruse. I probably have no right to complain, as at least this doesn’t involve Takayama, but on the other hand, it doesn’t involve Kanehara either, so maybe I have a point in grousing. Still, the last two matches between these two were fine, if overlong, so the potential is here for a great match if they turn the intensity up. The match starts with some light kickboxing fare before Yamamoto takes down Naruse with ease and puts him in an ankle lock. After the escape, this pattern continues for a couple more minutes, and while fine enough, I keep waiting for some ill-intentions to be put behind some of their efforts. Eventually, Naruse turned up the volume and kneed the stuffing out of Yamamoto after being on the receiving end of a spinning back kick. Then our first interesting waza of the night appeared when Yamamoto put Naruse in something that I can only describe as a shoot-style version of a figure-four, which was cooler than that may sound on paper.
Yamamoto Sylin’n’Profilin
The rest of the match was a nice blend of grappling/striking, with some inventive submission attempts from both men. This was their best match yet, however, the only missing ingredient was that the first half lacked intensity but did heat up as it progressed. Perhaps I’ve been spoiled by the amazing series that Kanehara/Maeda put forth, as when they would go, it felt like their lives were on the line and nothing could stand in their way of outdoing the other, but here it oftentimes felt too polite. *** ¼
ML: Akira Maeda has become as lazy as Yuko Miyato, booking the same rookie match to open every show. Normally, I would want to see the great fighter in Hiromitsu Kanehara over the two decent ones in Yoshihisa Yamamoto & Masayuki Naruse, but Yoshihiro Takayama is so ungodly awful that this is clearly the more competent matchup of the two. This was another fine bout, but the intensity was so lacking it seemed more like an exhibition to show off some cool kicks and flashy combos. Yamamoto’s size advantage helped him a lot in the takedown department, but then he was also a lot more dominant on the mat than I expected him to be. Technically speaking, their standup, which Naruse has the advantage in when he can overcome Yamamoto’s reach, was much more evolved than their matwork, but both continued to show a lot of potential. It wasn’t exactly shocking to see these two go the distance given their other two matches were 15 minute draws as well.
Next up is Nobuaki Kikuta vs. Yukihiro Takenami. Kakuda is coming into this having lost a hard-fought shoot last month against Mitsuya Nagai, where Nagai was awarded a decision victory. I have been unable to discover much about Takenami, other than the fact that he once fought against Ernesto Hoost.
Before the fight, Kakuda gives an interview where he explains that he has been very disappointed with himself as he feels that he has been failing his fans by not obtaining a significant win in a while and that this fight is important to him to get back on track. It then cuts away to Akira Maeda talking about how his middleweight division is shaping up to be very interesting. This indicates to me that there must be more than meets the eye when it comes to any kind of formal weight classes. I don’t recall ever seeing any indication of weight classes being used in RINGS, but between the weigh-ins and Maeda talking about a middleweight division, it at least shows that this was a consideration of his at one point. I’m not exactly sure what to make of it, but it’s interesting, nonetheless.
The fight starts and we can instantly see that this is a shoot, and Kakuda means business. He has a possessed look about him, and whatever one can say of his eventual gatekeeper status in late 90s K1, this man was all heart. Takenami tries to cautiously feel Kakuda out but is eating several hard kicks for his trouble. Takenami eats another thunderous kick to his ribs when he decides that the ground is the much safer place and takes down Kakuda rather easily with a headlock throw. Sadly, his submission credentials seem to be of the “grab the head and squeeze” variety, which only works if you’re Mark Coleman. The rest of the round saw Kakuda get easily taken down by Takenami, but was never put in any trouble, due to the lack of any follow-up.
Round 2 starts and is over quickly as Kakuda just kept blitzing Takenami, knocking him down 3 times in less than 2-mins. Takenami was able to get a desperation double-leg takedown, but in vain as it was too close to the ropes. Interesting shoot that would have been better with a more seasoned opponent than Takenami. Kakuda lacks any takedown defense, which makes him a good pairing for a striker vs grappler matchup, but Takenami simply didn’t have the toolbox hand with Kakuda. After the fight, Kakuda shakes Takenami’s hand and tells him that he hasn’t felt that scared in a long time and gives him a show of respect.
ML: This match showed the shooting experience of Kakuda, who used his movement to take apart the debuting street fighter by just low kicking then getting out of range. Takenami still had some success in the 1st with the kubi-nage, so in the second round Kakuda became much more aggressive, coming forward and just destroying what was left of the leg for the quick finish from the third knockdown. An enjoyable shoot, though not super competitive.
Stormblast Final1800×1000 734 KB
Editors Note: Mike Lorefice (of MMA/Puroresu mega-center quebrada.net) will have his comments be preceded by his initials.
HAYATE (疾風). A Japanese word that can mean hurricane, gale, tempest, or blast. There is also a connotation to the word that implies a suddenness, which is appropriate for what we are about to witness. Forces beyond all mortal comprehension are set to collide within the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium this evening, and we are fortunate enough to have a bird’s eye view. The date is 7-16-92 and FIGHTING NETWORK RINGS is set to offer up a main event featuring legendary 70s karateka, Willie Williams, and Akira Maeda. RINGS has been the most intriguing of the different promotions that we’ve been covering these last few months, not that they’ve necessarily been the most entertaining, but they have by far been moving the closest to full-blown MMA compared to PWFG and the UWF-I. They went as far as to have four (pre-UFC mind you!) shoots last month, so it will be interesting to see if they continue in this direction. This will also mark a new addition to our columns in that we are having our resident Japanese translator, Hebisasori, examine these events beforehand, in the ongoing quest to provide any interesting shoot-truths that may be missed due to my woeful inadequacy in understanding Japanese.
The festivities begin with all the competitors being weighed in, despite the lack of any weight classes, or even titles for that matter. Perhaps, RINGS has no need for any formally recognized titles, for Maeda is its eternal champion, as well as its raison d’être, and anything more would be superfluous. After the weights are tabulated, we are given a look at pensive Maeda, who is solemnly kicking his pads knowing that his hour of reckoning will soon be upon him. He must face one of his fellow Sediokaikan brethren in Williams, a man that he surely looked up to when he was merely a young aspiring karate practitioner in the 70s, so this trepidation is to be expected. While longtime MMA fans will probably not have many fond memories of Williams (who was already 41 when he joined RINGS) due to many of his slow and awkward matches, he truly was a force of nature in his prime as Mas Oyama’s (Sediokaikan karate founder) main American protégé. Like his master before him, he also made a name for himself fighting a bear, going as far as to earn the nickname, “The Bear Killer” in Japan. Even though he’s had three fights in RINGS leading up to this, one was a shoot where he still looked solid, and the other two were works that ended quickly, so he still had a lot of name value in Japan, going into this fight.
The evening will begin yet again in shame, as we are going to the same well for our third helping of Yoshihisa Yamamoto vs. Masayuki Naruse. I probably have no right to complain, as at least this doesn’t involve Takayama, but on the other hand, it doesn’t involve Kanehara either, so maybe I have a point in grousing. Still, the last two matches between these two were fine, if overlong, so the potential is here for a great match if they turn the intensity up. The match starts with some light kickboxing fare before Yamamoto takes down Naruse with ease and puts him in an ankle lock. After the escape, this pattern continues for a couple more minutes, and while fine enough, I keep waiting for some ill-intentions to be put behind some of their efforts. Eventually, Naruse turned up the volume and kneed the stuffing out of Yamamoto after being on the receiving end of a spinning back kick. Then our first interesting waza of the night appeared when Yamamoto put Naruse in something that I can only describe as a shoot-style version of a figure-four, which was cooler than that may sound on paper.
Yamamoto Sylin’n’Profilin
The rest of the match was a nice blend of grappling/striking, with some inventive submission attempts from both men. This was their best match yet, however, the only missing ingredient was that the first half lacked intensity but did heat up as it progressed. Perhaps I’ve been spoiled by the amazing series that Kanehara/Maeda put forth, as when they would go, it felt like their lives were on the line and nothing could stand in their way of outdoing the other, but here it oftentimes felt too polite. *** ¼
ML: Akira Maeda has become as lazy as Yuko Miyato, booking the same rookie match to open every show. Normally, I would want to see the great fighter in Hiromitsu Kanehara over the two decent ones in Yoshihisa Yamamoto & Masayuki Naruse, but Yoshihiro Takayama is so ungodly awful that this is clearly the more competent matchup of the two. This was another fine bout, but the intensity was so lacking it seemed more like an exhibition to show off some cool kicks and flashy combos. Yamamoto’s size advantage helped him a lot in the takedown department, but then he was also a lot more dominant on the mat than I expected him to be. Technically speaking, their standup, which Naruse has the advantage in when he can overcome Yamamoto’s reach, was much more evolved than their matwork, but both continued to show a lot of potential. It wasn’t exactly shocking to see these two go the distance given their other two matches were 15 minute draws as well.
Next up is Nobuaki Kikuta vs. Yukihiro Takenami. Kakuda is coming into this having lost a hard-fought shoot last month against Mitsuya Nagai, where Nagai was awarded a decision victory. I have been unable to discover much about Takenami, other than the fact that he once fought against Ernesto Hoost.
Before the fight, Kakuda gives an interview where he explains that he has been very disappointed with himself as he feels that he has been failing his fans by not obtaining a significant win in a while and that this fight is important to him to get back on track. It then cuts away to Akira Maeda talking about how his middleweight division is shaping up to be very interesting. This indicates to me that there must be more than meets the eye when it comes to any kind of formal weight classes. I don’t recall ever seeing any indication of weight classes being used in RINGS, but between the weigh-ins and Maeda talking about a middleweight division, it at least shows that this was a consideration of his at one point. I’m not exactly sure what to make of it, but it’s interesting, nonetheless.
The fight starts and we can instantly see that this is a shoot, and Kakuda means business. He has a possessed look about him, and whatever one can say of his eventual gatekeeper status in late 90s K1, this man was all heart. Takenami tries to cautiously feel Kakuda out but is eating several hard kicks for his trouble. Takenami eats another thunderous kick to his ribs when he decides that the ground is the much safer place and takes down Kakuda rather easily with a headlock throw. Sadly, his submission credentials seem to be of the “grab the head and squeeze” variety, which only works if you’re Mark Coleman. The rest of the round saw Kakuda get easily taken down by Takenami, but was never put in any trouble, due to the lack of any follow-up.
Round 2 starts and is over quickly as Kakuda just kept blitzing Takenami, knocking him down 3 times in less than 2-mins. Takenami was able to get a desperation double-leg takedown, but in vain as it was too close to the ropes. Interesting shoot that would have been better with a more seasoned opponent than Takenami. Kakuda lacks any takedown defense, which makes him a good pairing for a striker vs grappler matchup, but Takenami simply didn’t have the toolbox hand with Kakuda. After the fight, Kakuda shakes Takenami’s hand and tells him that he hasn’t felt that scared in a long time and gives him a show of respect.
ML: This match showed the shooting experience of Kakuda, who used his movement to take apart the debuting street fighter by just low kicking then getting out of range. Takenami still had some success in the 1st with the kubi-nage, so in the second round Kakuda became much more aggressive, coming forward and just destroying what was left of the leg for the quick finish from the third knockdown. An enjoyable shoot, though not super competitive.