Boec.COM continues with the articles about some of the finest Kyokushin fights that ever happened.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6
Yes, we’re talking about the final battles of the biggest competition in Karate Kyokushin – the World Open Karate Championship.
Some of the biggest legends have participated in the tournament – Makoto Nakamura, Kenji Midori, Akiyoshi Matsui, Ewerton Teixeira, Andy Hug, Zahari Damyanov and many, many more.
Following the death of Masutatsu Oyama in 1994, IKO (International Karate Organization Kyokushinkaikan) split up in several fractions. The World Open Tournament has continued to be held but organized in parallel by IKO1 and WKO (World Karate Organization Shinkyokushinkai).
Today we’re going back to 2003 for the 8th Kyokushin World Open Tournament IKO1. 240 karatekas from 63 countries took part in the tournament. Japan’s Hitoshi Kiyama and Russia’s Sergey Plekhanov are the ones fighting for the ultimate prize.