Flashback: 9th 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).

Back in 2007 the 9th Kyokushin World Open Tournament IKO1 took place in Japan. 192 karatekas from 65 countries participated in the competition.

The final clash was between Brasil's Ewerton Teixeira and Czech Republic's Jan Sokup, as for the first time in history there is no Japanese fighter in the final.