Kazuyoshi Ishii
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is a Japanese
master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...
of
Seidokaikan is a traditional full contact karate derived from Kyokushin by Kazuyoshi Ishii. Seidokaikan organized the first professional full contact karate tournament named the Karate World Cup. The Karate World Cup had special extension rounds; if the j ...
karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...
and founder of the K-1 fighting circuit, a widely televised international martial arts competition combining
Muay Thai Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterised ...
, karate,
sanshou Sanda (), formerly Sanshou (), also known as Chinese boxing or Chinese kickboxing, is the official Chinese kickboxing full-contact combat sport. Sanda is a fighting system which was originally developed by the Chinese military based upon the s ...
,
taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. T ...
, kenpo,
boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
, and
kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...
.Maylam, J. (2001)
K-1 hits the spot: Ultimate fighters pack a punch
''The Japan Times'' (October 21, 2001). Retrieved on March 4, 2010.
Tashiro, H., & Tyrangiel, J. (2001)

''TIME'' (September 3, 2001). Retrieved on March 4, 2010.
His karate training began with
Kyokushin karate is a style of karate originating in Japan. It is a style of stand-up fighting and is rooted in a philosophy of self-improvement, discipline, and hard training. Kyokushin Kaikan is the martial arts organization founded in 1964 by Korean-Jap ...
, but he formed his own karate organization in 1980, began promoting televised karate competitions, and started staging K-1 events in 1993.


Early life

Ishii was born on June 10, 1953, in
Uwajima 270px, Uwajma City Hall 270px, Aerial view of Uwajma city center 270px, Japan National Route 320 in Uwajma city center is a city located in Ehime Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 70,440 in 35429 households and a ...
,
Ehime Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Ehime Prefecture has a population of 1,342,011 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 5,676 km2 (2,191 sq mi). Ehime Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the northeast, Toku ...
, Japan.Patton, J. P. (1997): "The K-1 Tournament: Where the world's greatest fighters meet to decide who is No. 1." ''Black Belt'', 35(6):48–55.Soldwedel, A. (2003): "21st Century Shogun: K-1 founder Kazuyoshi Ishii is striving to unify the martial arts—first in Japan and then around the world!" ''Black Belt'', 41(1):54–59.Karate Kyokushinkai Valencia: Kazuyoshi Ishii
(''c.'' 2009). Retrieved on March 31, 2010.
He is one of three siblings. As a boy, he was interested in
sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...
and baseball,Vargo, K. (2003): "Man of the Year: Kazuyoshi Ishii." ''Black Belt'', 41(1):154. and was also introduced to gymnastics. While Ishii was in junior high school, a book by
Masatoshi Nakayama was an internationally famous Japanese master of Shotokan karate.DF_56_of_80">("S_...,_who_were_known_as_kenjutsu_instructors,_from_the_Nagano_Prefecture.html" ;"title="kenjutsu.html" ;"title="DF 56 of 80/nowiki>">DF 56 of 80">("S ..., who were k ...
sparked his interest in
Shotokan karate is a style of karate, developed from various martial arts by Gichin Funakoshi (1868–1957) and his son Gigo (Yoshitaka) Funakoshi (1906–1945). Gichin Funakoshi was born in Okinawa and is widely credited with popularizing "karate do" throug ...
, but a
Sonny Chiba , known internationally as Sonny Chiba, was a Japanese actor and martial artist. Chiba was one of the first actors to achieve stardom through his skills in martial arts, initially in Japan and later before an international audience. Born in Fuku ...
film later inspired him to pursue training in Kyokushin karate.


Karate career

Ishii began training in Kyokushin karate under
Hideyuki Ashihara was a Japanese master of karate who founded Ashihara karate in 1980 with the emphasis on ''Sabaki''. He is often attributed as one of the originators of the ''tai sabaki'' (whole body movement) method. He was known for his weapon skills includi ...
, who was then a senior instructor in Kyokushin's
International Karate Organization ,Habersetzer, G., & Habersetzer, R. (2004): ''Encyclopédie technique, historique, biographique et culturelle des arts martiaux de l'Extrême-Orient'' (p. 455). Paris: Amphora. ()
(IKO). By the time he was 16 years old, he had established a local Kyokushin ''
dojo A is a hall or place for immersive learning or meditation. This is traditionally in the field of martial arts, but has been seen increasingly in other fields, such as meditation and software development. The term literally means "place of the ...
'' (training hall) under his instructor's supervision. Six years later, in 1975, he opened a Kyokushin ''dojo'' in
Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...
, and this was a very successful venture. When Ashihara left the IKO a few years later, Ishii followed, but then left Ashihara's organization after only a few months. He founded his own organization, Seidokaikan Karate, in 1980. Ishii's organization had ''dojo'' in the
Kansai region The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropolita ...
. Within the next two years, he was promoting televised full-contact karate tournaments. In 1983, Ishii became the first Chairman of the newly formed All Japan Budo Promotion Association. Seidokaikan's reputation grew as Ishii's students, such as
Masaaki Satake is a Japanese former heavyweight karateka, kickboxer, professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is one of the pioneering heavyweight fighters in K-1, having been a member of Kazuyoshi Ishii's Seidokaikan school ...
, Toshiyuki Yanagisawa, and Toshiyuki Atokawa, earned tournament victories.


K-1 promotional career

Following almost a decade of development, Ishii staged the inaugural K-1 tournament in Yoyogi Hall, Tokyo, in April 1993.Anonymous (2001): "K-1 set for August in Vegas." ''Black Belt'', 39(10):108–110. According to ''
The Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...
'', the "K" element came from ''kakutogi'' (a Japanese collective noun for combat techniques) and the "1" element came from the competition's single weight division and the champion's unique position (given the single weight division). According to '' Black Belt'' magazine, Ishii said that he chose the "K" element since it was the first letter in the names of karate, kickboxing, kung fu, kempo, and many other combative arts. K-1's official website states that the "K" element also stands for "King."K-1 Official Website: About K-1
(2009). Retrieved on March 31, 2010.
Over the next ten years, the K-1 competition expanded to 24 events each year, across Japan, Europe, and North America. In January 2003, ''Black Belt'' magazine named Ishii as its Man of the Year for 2002. Together with late K-1 fighter
Andy Hug Andreas "Andy" Hug (7 September 1964 – 24 August 2000) was a Swiss karateka and kickboxer who competed in the heavyweight division. Considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight kickboxers of all time, Hug was renowned for his ability t ...
(1964–2000), Ishii supported the production of '' Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie'' (where he voiced the character of Fei-Long in the original Japanese audio) by creating fight scenes that utilized real-life combat techniques.Bozon, M. (2006)
Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie (uncut, uncensored, unleashed)
(June 30, 2006). Retrieved on March 31, 2010.
Anime Shippuuden: Street Fighter II – The Animated Movie
(January 23, 2009). Retrieved on March 31, 2010.
In the PlayStation video game titled ''K-1 Revenge'', he also appears as the fighting boss "Master Ishii", whose character can be unlocked in the video game when completing the single player mode for the first time.


See also

*
Sadaharu Tanikawa (27 September 1961 in Nagoya) is a Japanese combat sports promoter and the president of Fighting and Entertainment Group. Tanikawa graduated from Nihon University College of Law and worked as a journalist and executive at various sports media, mo ...
*
Pierre Andurand Pierre Andurand (born February 1977) is a French businessman and hedge fund manager. In 2008, Forbes Magazine placed him in its list of the top 20 highest-earning hedge-fund managers. His funds have approximately $2bn in assets under management a ...
*
Chatri Sityodtong Chatri Trisiripisal ( th, ชาตรี ตรีศิริพิศาล, ), known by the ring names Chatri Sityodtong ( th, ชาตรี ศิษย์ยอดธง, ) and Yodchatri Sityodtong ( th, ยอดชาตรี ศิ ...
* Simon Rutz *
Eduard Irimia Eduard "Edi" Irimia (born July 10, 1974) is a Romanian kickboxing promoter, television producer and businessman. He is the founder and CEO of Superkombat Fighting Championship (Superkombat) and has promoted some of the most prominent names in ki ...


References


External links


Seidokaikan Karate

K-1 Official Website

Ishii's Message


{{DEFAULTSORT:Ishii, Kazuyoshi 1953 births Living people Japanese male karateka Seidokaikan practitioners Karate coaches Martial arts school founders K-1 executives People from Uwajima, Ehime Sportspeople from Ehime Prefecture Kyokushin kaikan practitioners Japanese people convicted of tax crimes