On 31 August 2012 in the sports hall at Staffa 3/5 Street, the 6th Edition of Kokoro CUP was held.
Participants from Belarus, Lithuania, Japan, Spain, Armenia and Poland took part in the tournament. The first demonstration fight was between the multiple European Champion – Tomasz Najduch – and Noi Mnatskanian from Armenia. The referees decided that the victory should go to Tomasz.
The selection phase was dominated by the participants from Poland, for whom the tournament was a chance to qualify to open-weight European Championships.
In the 1/8 of the final, Maciej Mazur, owing to his large experience and confidence, won against Piotr Kazimierczak.
In the next round, Dzymitry Patseyuk (Belarus) met with Saiya Sugiura (Japan). The duel was particularly interesting, mainly due to the breathtaking technical skills displayed by the Japanese fighter. It did not come as a surprise that Saiya qualified to the next round.
Everyone expected the fight between Marek Odzeniak and Rafał Zając (Tarnowskie Góry), mainly because an important difference in height and weight between the both participants. It seemed that the victory would go to Rafał, but eventually it was Marek who, as a truly experienced fighter, managed to gain a waza-ari and until the end of the fight won control over his opponent. The duel between Marek and Rafał was considered one of the most impressive fights of the tournament.
In the last quarter-final, the current -80 kg champion of Europe, Orest Proc (Lithuania) met with Kazuya Yamamoto (Japan). The young Japanese fighter, whose main goal is to become the World Champion, gave a display of his impressive skills and great determination, showing himself as a dangerous opponent to the European fighter. Nevertheless, with a direct jodan ushiro mawashi geri, Proc gained a considerable advantage and consequently won the fight.
In the first semi-final, Maciej Mazur met with Saiya Sugiura. The skillful Japanese fighter was unable to protect himself against powerful hits of Maciej, who consequently won by points.
The fight between Marek Odzeniak and Orest Proc may be perceived as a kind of continuation of the fight from 2011 in which the Lithuanian participant lost to the Polish fighter. The duel was very close and both fighters could not manage to gain an important advantage during the scheduled time. During the last 2-minute extra round, the dominance of Proc came into evidence and the Lithuanian fighter qualified to the finals.
During the break between fights, the audience hand an occasion to admire a breath-taking show prepared by an acrobatic duo from the V6 Theatre. The performers demonstrated amazing skills and a complicated choreography. Another interesting element was the performance by Rafał Brzozowski, who sang some of his best known songs, including the latest hit “Tak blisko”.
The second part of the tournament started with a duel between Saiya Sugiura and Marek Odzeniak who fought for the third place. Once again, the Japanese fighter showed that he was a dangerous opponent. Nevertheless, Marek’s strength and precision had no match. A successful gedan mawashi geri brought him point advantage and victory.
Before the final fight, a performance prepared by Shihan Jesus Talan took place. Many agree that Talan’s performance was one of the brightest points of the entire cup.
The final fight between Maciej Mazur and Orest Proc stirred everyone’s interest. The drummer Wojciech Bylica took care to maintain the audience’s excitement.
After the 3 first minutes of the duel everybody knew that it would not end soon. Orest was striking Maciej with strong punches in order to make place for quick kicks. Maciej paid him back with effective knee attacks and strong kicks. After the first round an additional round of 2 minutes took place and the situation completely changed. During the last 30 seconds the Lithuanian fighter seemed to gain advantage, but it was not pronounced enough for the referees to make an unanimous decision. Two referees decided a tie, and the other two decided that the victory should go to Proc. Eventually, by the decision of the main referee, Shihan Kobayashi, the victory went to the Lithuanian fighter.
The event was attended by prominent guests, including:
Vice-President of WKO, Shihan Isao Kobayashi 6th dan (Japan)
Vice-President of EKO, Shihan Romas Vitkauskas (Lithuania)
Shihan Jesus Talan 6th dan (Spain)
Shihan Jan Bulow 6th dan (Denmark)
Sensei Kunihiro Suzuki 3rd dan (Japan)
The audience, the referees, and the fighters praised high level of organisation of the event and its numerous values, not only in terms of sport rivalry, but also its artistic character.
Official results of the 6th edition of Kokoro CUP
1st place: Orest Proc
2nd place: Maciej Mazur
3rd place Marek Odzeniak
4th place: Saiya Sugiura
5th place: Kazuya Yamamoto
6th place: Piotr Kaźmierczyk
7th place: Rafał Zając
8th place: Dzymitry Patseyuk
Best Technique: Kazuya Yamamoto
At the same time, Karate Shinkyokushinkai Summer Camp took place in Warsaw. The camp was attended by over 200 karatekas from Japan, Armenia, Belarus, India, Denmark, Spain, France, Lithuania, Kazakhstan and Poland. The trainings were led by Shihan Isao Kobayashi (6th dan), Sensei Kunihiro Suzuki (3rd dan, Japan), Shihan Jan Bulow (6th dan, Denmark) and Shihan Jesus Talan (6th dan, Spain). Polish Branch Chiefs were also present: Krzysztof Borowiec (5th dan), Roman Kęska (4th dan), Mariusz Godoś (5th dan), Wiesław Gwizd (5th dan), Remigiusz Karpiński (5th dan), Wiesław Gwizd (5th dan), Mariusz Mazur (4th dan), Tomasz Basiak (4th dan) and Jacek Lamot, who gained his 4th dan during the examination conducted at the camp.
At the camp, hard work mixed with great fun and amazing atmosphere. The participants could work on their skills under the watchful eye of experienced trainers from all over the world. Diversified trainings, great fun during the Sayonara party, the karate demonstration in the heart of the Warsaw’s Old Town, and a particularly demanding examination were the elements that the participants won’t easily forget.
The next day after the camp, a meeting between the Minister of sport, Katarzyna Sobierajska and the Vice-President of WKO, Isao Kobayashi, the 2003 World Champion, Kunihiro Suzuki, including the representatives of PFKS: Bogdan Lubos (President), Wojciech Radziewicz (Secretary General) and Mariusz Mazur, took place in the building of the Ministry of Sport. The meeting passed in a cordial atmosphere, full of mutual understanding.
We would like to thank all the guests, camp participants and a large audience, whose support and praise give us the greatest possible satisfaction and encourage to further work on development and promotion of Shinkyokushinkai Karate in Poland.
