Flashback: 7th Kyokushin World Open Tournament IKO1 Final (VIDEO)

Boec.COM continues with the articles about some of the finest Kyokushin fights that ever happened.

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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'll be looking back at probably the most historic tournament of the mall. Back in 1999 Tokyo, Japan, is once again the host of the 7th Kyokushin World Open Tournament IKO1, as 192 competitors from 86 countries participated in the event. This time, ther's no all-Japan clash in the final battle. Brasil's Francisco Filho faces Japan's Hajime Kazumi.

Filho's win makes him the first ever non-Japanese winner of the prestigious tournament.