Inside a real Kumite

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PuertoRican United States. Jun 07 2011 20:56. Posts 13104

Inside a real Kumite by Michael Schiavello. (click the link at the bottom of the page to read the rest of the article and see the Kumite video)

IN A GYM ON THE FOURTH FLOOR OF ICHIGEKI PLAZA IN TOKYO, Artur Hovhannisyan stands by a full-length window and looks down upon the streets of Ebisu though his thoughts are miles away. His white gi is pristine and a black belt adorns his waist with three gold bars on the tip (one for each dan ranking). With his shaved head and clean appearance, the 33-year-old Armenian could pass as a banker or an accountant. Indeed it’s not until you see his calloused knuckles and stare into the black abyss of his eyes that you realize who you’re really standing face-to-face with.

“It’s time,” says a voice from across the room.

“Osu!” grunts Hovhannisyan. He slams his @257;st into his palm, lets out a loud breath and is led out of the gym by two officials with all the solemnity of wardens leading a death-row inmate to the chair. Hovhannisyan enters the tiny Honbu (headquarters) dojo and the wooden door slides shut behind him. The eerie thud of a Taiko drum renders the room silent. As he gazes around the dojo his eyes widen; only now does he truly comprehend the gravity of what lies ahead. On the @258;oor sit one hundred black and brown belts, legs crossed, perfectly postured. They’re bare knuckled and hungry, like a pack of jackals ready to rip Hovhannisyan apart at the limbs.

At 13:00 Kancho Shokei Matsui, Kyokushin Karate’s global leader, addresses the dojo. His voice is soft and melodic, unbe@257;tting of a man who twenty-three years ago steamrolled his way through the Hyaku-Nin Kumite (100-Man Kumite) with a record 76 knockouts. He directs attention to a small altar and invokes the blessing of Kyokushin’s late founder, Sosai Mas Oyama, or God. Perhaps both — though one wonders how any sort of spiritual serenity can exist in the masochistic madness that is about to unfold. Then again traditional Karate is as much a spiritual pursuit as it is a physical one. The small ceremony, precisely worded in Japanese and conducted with complete attentionto detail, seems to still the ego, empty the mind, and raise the vibrational energy of the room in an almost shamanistic way.

http://www.hd.net/blogs/2011/01/1-vs-...-a-real-kumite-by-michael-schiavello/

0 votes

Rekrul is a newb

DvoBoardRider Afghanistan. Jun 07 2011 22:13. Posts 849

Highcard Canada. Jun 07 2011 22:27. Posts 5428

too bad the writing is so poor, sounded interesting

I have learned from poker that being at the table is not a grind, the grind is living and poker is how I pass the time

Funktion Australia. Jun 08 2011 05:37. Posts 1638

Didn't realise the video was at the end. The article makes it sound like each bout is all out for 90 seconds. The reality is it's throw a pulled kick or punch then pause or walk around, lame.

whamm! Albania. Jun 09 2011 00:08. Posts 11625

thought this was an underground last man standing type thing. only looks like a tough belt awarding exercise