Kumite (組手) means sparring, and is one of the three main sections of karate training, along with kata and kihon. Kumite is the part of karate in which you train against an adversary, using the techniques learned from the kihon and kata.

Kumite can be used to develop a particular technique or a skill (e.g. effectively judging and adjusting your distance from your opponent) or it can be done in competition.

Gohon Kumite and Jiyu Kumite

Since the word "kumite" refers to forms of sparring, it covers a vast range of activities. In traditional Shotokan karate, the first type of kumite for beginners is ''gohon kumite''. The defender steps back each time, blocking the attacks and performing a counterattack after the last block. This activity looks nothing like the ''jiyu kumite'' (or "free sparring") practiced by more advanced practitioners, which is far closer to how karate would look if used in a real fight, especially because it is not choreographed. Karate and other forms of martial arts have various other types of kumite (e.g. 3-step, 1-step, semi-free, etc.) which span this large range in

Types of Kumite

''Ippon kumite'' - one step sparring, typically used for self defense drills

''Sanbon kumite'' - three step sparring, typically used to develop speed, strength, and technique

''Kiso kumite'' - structured sparring drawn from a kata

''Jiyu kumite'' - free sparring

Delivering strikes

Many schools feel it is important that karateka "pull their punches". Karate training is designed to give its practitioners the ability to deliver devastating power through techniques like punches and kicks. Often the aim of training is that each single strike should be enough to subdue the opponent. However, this clearly would make it difficult to train due to the possibility of injury. Many beginners, while sparring, will be instructed to develop control and accuracy first, then speed and power later. In doing this, it may seem like the student is pulling his punches, when actually, he is developing technique first. For injury purposes, certain targets are discouraged, like strikes to the knee and face contact for low ranks. Many schools prohibit strikes to the groin, while others allow it completely. Some schools might limit contact to light contact all around, while others may employ power usage based on rank.

Some karate schools focus more on sparring whilst wearing protective gear so that strikes can be delivered with their full power. Most karate clubs and most styles of karate make use of some sparring with control and some sparring with protective gear (from just gloves and feet gear up to full head and even chest guards such as with Tae Kwon Do). Even in full contact karate, punches are often "pulled" to some slight extent in training to minimize the occurrence of injuries that would interrupt practice for the participating students, but usually that will depend on rank, age, gender and school. Nevertheless, it is believed by many that practicing either type of sparring allows the martial artist to develop both control and experience in delivering powerful strikes against an opponent. However, many practitioners of full contact karate believe that full contact/full force strikes and kicks should be employed as much as possible because they believe that "pulling" the strikes can have a negative effect on the striking power of the karate practitioner.

However, a few more traditional clubs that never use protective gear for sparring (except groin and mouth guards that protect against accidental injuries) argue that a karateka will not be able to make their most powerful strike when sparring in the dojo (against a friend whom they no doubt do not want to injure) even if this opponent is wearing protective clothing. Therefore, the karateka will still be using some level of control, as is obviously necessary, and cannot truly capture the spirit of one lethal strike whilst sparring. Except for a life or death self-defense situation, the spirit and power of the single lethal strike can only be achieved when a karateka does not have to avoid injuring their training partner. The traditionalists therefore argue that there is no benefit to sparring with more forceful strikes.

Competition

In some forms of competition kumite, punching ("tsuki") and kicking ("geri") techniques are allowed at the head ("jodan") and abdomen ("chudan"). In some tournaments, groin strikes are allowed as are face contact with advanced ranks. One example of a scoring system is that the first competitor to take eight points in three minutes wins the bout.

Kumite is an essential part of karate training, and free sparring is often experienced as exciting, because both opponents have to react and adapt to each other very quickly.

In tournaments Kumite often takes place inside of a 'ringed' area similar to that of a boxing ring. If a karateka steps out of the ring, they are given a warning. If they step out of the ring two times, the other person gains a point. Many international tournaments use a "point sparring" form of kumite that requires control ('pulling punches') and therefore warnings can be dealt for excessive force on techniques to the head, or sensitive areas. Full contact is permitted to the torso area of the body only. Some tournament rules allow for light contact to the head, whereas other rules do not allow this.

Kumite also includes a series of 'guidelines' that if followed correctly, result in a clean and safe fight. These are some of those guidelines:

A karateka must remain in some form of proper fighting stance and in the Kamae-Te position (hands up, ready to fight position)

A karateka must be aware of all obstacles around him/her

A karateka must never deliberately endanger themselves by turning their back to their opponent

A practiced and well trained karateka must concentrate on stance and footwork

For the last point about stance and footwork: it is often taught that a karateka who wishes to be fast and agile while competing in Kumite should always be 'pulsing.' Pulsing is where the karateka remains almost bouncing on the 'balls' of their feet to maintain minimal frictional contact with the ground, allowing them to move quickly.

Another aspect of Kumite which is often seen in international tournaments, as well as many local competitions is what is referred to as "Clashing." Clashing is where both opponents throw techniques against each other at the same time, often resulting in both getting hit with the techniques. This creates a problem for referees as they are unable to make out which technique was quick, on target and recoiled - all the things that constitute a clean technique that is scored. Because of clashing, most modern day Karateka's are taught to practice kumite in a 'one for one' situation where one attacks, then the other attacks and so on. However due to the speed of these techniques, and the speed of the footwork of each Karateka, to the casual observer it may appear that they are still clashing when in fact they are not. When opponents are considered to be clashing, the head referee should declare "aiuchi" (eye oochee) which means "simultaneous slaying". When a winner is decided, the referee will announce "no kachi (No-ka-chee)" which means "winner".

The tournament rules of full contact or "knockdown" styles of karate often don't award any points for controlled techniques delivered to the opponent. In fact, they usually don't award points for full-force techniques delivered to the opponent either. Instead, points are only awarded for knocking, sweeping, or throwing your opponent to the floor. Kyokushinkai and its "offshoot" karate organizations are the styles usually known to promote knockdown tournament rules. They believe this type of tournament competition is closer to "real life" personal combat, although still in a tournament setting with rules.

Criticisms against point sparring or tournament sparring are many and widespread. The most obvious is the quickness vs. skill argument whereas the tournament fighter learns how to shoot in quickly and deliver an unimpressive strike that gains him or her a point. This is seen mainly in Olympic style fighting such as with Tae Kwon Do. The other criticism is the face contact, which allows for disqualification if the opponent's face is discolored. This is a rather dubious requirement as it is oftentimes difficult to gauge the true intensity of the attack. Last, tournament or point sparring is seen as sport and sport alone. Traditionalists may dismiss it as "useless", but modern dojos often band with other dojos to form organizations that utilize a tournament circuit as a way to promote their dojos.

Points

Most high school karate associations use the following point scheme:

: 1 point: hitting the adversary's abdomen or head with your fists. : 2 points: kicking the adversary's abdomen. : 3 points: kicking the adversary's head.

International competition under the World Karate Federation also includes the following point scoring:

: 2 points: punching or kicking the adversary's back. : 3 points: for a sweep/takedown with a follow up technique such as a stomp or a punch. ¹

¹: Any sweep/takedown that is not followed up with a technique may be ruled to be a dangerous technique that can result in a warning against the instigator of that sweep/takedown.

Popular culture

Kumite is the name of the freestyle fighting tournament, portrayed in the 1988 Jean-Claude Van Damme movie ''Bloodsport'', based on the story of Frank Dux.

The Kumite was referenced extensively in the Boondocks episode Attack of the Psycho Kong Fu Killer Wolf Bitch. Everytime the word "Kumite" was uttered by any of the characters, a yelling noise (such as "hoo-ah!", "woo-tah!", "hi-ya!") would be subsequently heard.

References

See also

100-man kumite

Category:Karate

ast:Kumite ca:Kumite cs:Kumite da:Kumite de:Kumite es:Kumite fa:کومیته fr:Kumite hr:Kumite it:Kumite lt:Kumite nl:Kumite ja:組手 (空手) pl:Kumite pt:Kumite ro:Kumite ru:Кумитэ sr:Кумите fi:Kumite sv:Kumite

Name	Jean-Claude Van Damme
Birth name	Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg
Birth date	October 18, 1960
Birth place	Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Brussels, Belgium
Yearsactive	1984–present (acting)
Occupation	Actor, martial artist, director
Spouse	1 child)and (1999–present); 2 children) }}

Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (born 18 October 1960), professionally known as Jean-Claude Van Damme, is a Belgian martial artist and actor, best known for his martial arts action films, the most successful of which include ''Bloodsport'' (1988), ''Kickboxer'' (1989), ''Double Impact'' (1991), ''Universal Soldier'' (1992), ''Hard Target'' (1993), ''Timecop'' (1994), and ''JCVD'' (2008). He is known as "The Muscles from Brussels", "JCVD" and "Van Damage".

After studying martial arts intensively from the age of ten, Van Damme achieved national success in Belgium as a martial artist and bodybuilder, earning the "Mr. Belgium" bodybuilding title. He immigrated to the United States in 1982 to pursue a career in film, and achieved success with ''Bloodsport'' (1988), based on a story written by Frank Dux. He attained subsequent box office success with ''Timecop'' (1994), which grossed over $100 million worldwide and became his most financially successful film.

Early life

Van Damme was born in Sint-Agatha-Berchem, Brussels, Belgium, the son of Eliana and Eugène Van Varenberg, who was an accountant and owned a flower shop. He began martial arts at the age of ten, enrolled by his father in a Shotokan karate school. His styles consist of kickboxing, Shotokan karate, Muay Thai and Taekwondo. He eventually earned his black belt in karate. He started lifting weights to improve his physique, which eventually led to a Mr. Belgium bodybuilding title.

Career

Name	Jean-Claude Van Damme
Other names	The Muscles from Brussels JCVD Van Damage
Birth name	Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg
Birth date	October 18, 1960
Birth place	Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Brussels, Belgium
Nationality	Belgian
Years active	1976–1982 (martial arts)
height
weight	(currently) (fighting weight)
style	Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Shotokan Karate, Taekwondo
rank	''black belt in Shotokan''
trainer	Claude Goetz Dominique Valera
kickbox win	5
kickbox kowin	5
kickbox loss	0
am win	26
am loss	4
updated	}}

Kickboxing and Full-Contact Matches

Van Damme has five matches which were fought under kickboxing or full-contact rules.

In 1976, he over-came being staggered to knockout Toon Van Oostrum in one round.

In 1979, on his second day in Tampa, Florida, Jean-Claude faced Sherman Bergman, a kickboxer from Florida, USA. Van Damme was knocked to the canvas after absorbing a powerful left hook. However, Jean-Claude climbed off the canvas and with an ax-kick, knocked Bergman out in 56 seconds of the first round.

In 1980, after knocking out Georges Verlugels in two rounds, Jean-Claude caught the attention of the European martial arts community. ''Professional Karate Magazine'' publisher and editor Mike Anderson, and multiple European champion Geet Lemmens, tabbed Jean-Claude Van Damme as an upcoming prospect. However, Jean-Claude's ambitions now focused in the direction of acting.

Van Damme made a comeback in 1981. In his first match he knocked out Henk Besselman of Holland in one round, and at the 1st Journée Des Arts Martiaux. Next, Van Damme knocked out Lenny Leikman in 3 rounds.

Van Damme will make a return to fighting and is scheduled to fight former boxing Olympic gold-medalist Somluck Kamsing in November 2011. Early reports have named Las Vegas, USA, Moscow, Russia and Macau, China as locations for the bout but it now seems that the fight will take place at the Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. At the prospect of being the first man over the age of 50 to kickbox professionally, Van Damme stated that "it's kind of dangerous, but life is short." The fight is postponed to 2012.

Hollywood

In 1982, Van Damme and childhood friend, Michel Qissi, moved to America in the hope of becoming action stars. They both were cast as extras in the film, ''Breakin'''. After a small part in ''Missing In Action'', Van Damme was next cast in the film ''No Retreat, No Surrender'', as the role of the villain, Ivan the Russian. Van Damme worked for director John McTiernan for the 1987 film ''Predator'' as the titular alien, before being removed and replaced by Kevin Peter Hall. His breakout film was ''Bloodsport'', based on the alleged true story of Frank Dux. Shot on a 1.5 million dollar budget, it became a U.S. box-office hit in the spring of 1988. He then starred in the smaller budgeted film ''Cyborg''. His last role for 1989 was Kurt Sloane in the successful ''Kickboxer''. In this film, his character fought to avenge his brother who had been paralyzed by a Thai kickboxing champion (Qissi).

''Double Impact'' featured Van Damme in the dual role of Alex and Chad Wagner, two brothers fighting to avenge the deaths of their parents. This film reunited him with his former ''Bloodsport'' co-star, Bolo Yeung. He then starred opposite Dolph Lundgren in the action film ''Universal Soldier''. While it grossed $36,299,898 in the U.S., it was an even bigger success overseas, making over $65 million, well over its modest $23 million budget, making it Van Damme's highest grossing film at the time.

Van Damme followed ''Nowhere To Run'' and ''Hard Target'' with ''Timecop'' in 1994. The film was a huge success, grossing over $100 million worldwide. In the film, Van Damme played a time traveling cop, who tries to prevent the death of his wife. It remains his highest grossing film to date.

After his role in the poorly received ''Street Fighter,'' his projects started to fail at the box office. ''The Quest'' (1996), which he directed; ''Maximum Risk'' (1996) and ''Double Team'' (1997) were box-office flops.

The 1999 film ''Universal Soldier: The Return'' which was also a box-office flop, and Van Damme's last theatrically released film until 2008. In 2003, Van Damme employed his dancing training in the music video for Bob Sinclar's ''Kiss My Eyes''.

He returned to mainstream with limited theatrical release of the critically acclaimed film ''JCVD'' in 2008. ''Time'' magazine named Van Damme's performance in the film the second best of the year (after Heath Ledger's The Joker in ''The Dark Knight''), having previously stated that Van Damme "deserves not a black belt, but an Oscar". Van Damme indicated while promoting the film, he experienced a period of homelessness "sleeping on the street and starving in L.A."

Van Damme reprised his role as Luc Deveraux in the 2009 film ''Universal Soldier: Regeneration''.

He was offered a lead role in Sylvester Stallone's latest film ''The Expendables''. Stallone called Van Damme personally to offer him the role, but Van Damme turned it down. He has a series of film projects scheduled for 2011, including another ''Universal Soldier'' movie which will appear between 2011 and 2012, and the role of a villain in the sequel to ''The Expendables''. On June 30, 2011, Van Damme confirmed his participation in ''The Expendables 2''.

In 2011, Van Damme participated in various commercials for Coors Light beer, in which he is located on a snow-covered mountain, wearing a sleeveless denim jacket. Also in 2011 he appears in commercials for washing powder "Dash".

Personal life

At the age of 16 he took up ballet, which he studied for five years. According to Van Damme, ballet "is an art, but it's also one of the most difficult sports. If you can survive a ballet workout, you can survive a workout in any other sport." In the French-speaking world, Van Damme is well known for the picturesque aphorisms that he delivers on a wide range of topics (personal well-being, the environment, etc.) in a sort of Zen franglais. Most famous and often quoted was his repeated use of the English word ''aware'' during an interview for a French channel, to convey the notion of self-awareness as a key to success.

He is training for his upcoming fight with cage fighters Chris 'Ball-Breaker' Banister, Jules 'Crown Jewels' Fox and the champion Paul 'Pistol-Fists' Shah in his home country Belgium.

Van Damme has been married five times, including two marriages with bodybuilder and fitness competitor Gladys Portugues. Van Damme is the father of three children: Kristopher Van Varenberg (born 1987), Bianca (born 1990), and Nicholas (born 1995).

Health and addiction

Van Damme had troubles with cocaine that started during 1995. He entered a month-long rehabilitation program in 1996 but left it after only one week. In 1996, he spent up to $10,000 a week on cocaine. He is also reported to have experienced bipolar disorder. A turning point in his health issues came in late 1997, after having signed divorce papers charging him with spousal abuse, and drug addiction.

After the filming of the 1998 film ''Knock Off'', Van Damme was diagnosed with rapid cycling bipolar disorder after becoming suicidal and started treatment on the mood stabilizer, sodium valproate.

Fight Record Controversy

When Jean-Claude Van Damme became an action film star, there were many doubts as to his claims of a fight record. According to Howard Hanson, President of the World Karate Association, he found evidence of Jean-Claude Van Damme competing in only one amateur bout. Writers from Black Belt Magazine labeled him (Van Damme) a "complete fraud."

On the 12th of November, 1993, the syndicated tabloid show Inside Edition implied that the star's karate credentials were bogus. Van Damme's office supplied a list of four European karate trophies that he earned under his real name, Van Varenberg, between 1978 and 1981: the Hope Cup; the Cup of Antwerp; World Championship, WAKO; and the Gala International. George Anderson, president of the Pan-American Union of Karatedo Organizations, said, "They're all minor awards, but that Van Damme's only crime is hyping them too much. ''Nobody has really clearly proven him to be a liar,''" Anderson says.

Van Damme's lawyer, Martin Singer, made a public statement defending his client: "There are records to document his martial-arts acclaim. He's the one who does those splits on chairs. He doesn't have a stunt man do that."

However, with the internet, photos and videos disproved the view that Van Damme was a fake or fraud. Numerous photos on-line, showed his various matches with such credited fighters as Patrick Teugels, Michael J. Heming and Sherman Bergman.

With the announcement that Van Damme was going to return to fight competition after decades of retirement, and meet Thailand's Somluck Kamsing, his fight record was again attacked as being "hyped".

Van Damme's record is posted on the net as 20-2 (20 knockouts). Paul Maslak of the STAR System World Kickboxing Ratings researched this record and came up with facts that showed that most of these fights were really semi-contact matches. However, photos and newspaper reports have also supported that Van Damme indeed had full-contact/kick-boxing matches.

Semi-Contact Karate and Tournament Competition

At the age of 11, Van Damme joined the ''Centre National De Karaté'' (National Center of Karate) under the guidance of Claude Goetz in France. Van Damme trained for four years and he earned a spot on the Belgian Karate Team.

In 1976, Jean-Claude is reported to have started his competive career in Ingelmunster, Belgium in a semi-contact match which was sanctioned by the European Karate Union. He defeated fellow Belgium Roland Vedani.

The following year, Van Damme remained undefeated with victories over Maurice Devos, Andre LeMaire and fellow team-mate Patrick Teugels in non-tournament matches sanctioned by the World All-Styles Karate Organization. In his first tournament competition, Van Damme placed second at the Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials). Jean-Claude defeated 25 opponents in the three day tournament (including Eric "Bruno" Strauss, Michel Juvillier, and Orlando Lang) before losing in the finals to fellow team-mate Angelo Spataro. In 1978, Van Damme fought Patrick Teugels in a bid for the Belguim Sem-Contact Leightweight Title. However, the more experienced Teugels won the decision in 2-rounds. Next, Van Damme failed to place at the WAKO World Championships, losing in the opening match.

Van Damme travelled with the Belgium Team to Tampa, Florida in the United States in November 1979. Van Damme earned the berth on the team by defeating Andre Robaeys, Jacques Piniarski and Rolf Risberg. In Tampa, Van Damme lost his first semi-contact match and is eliminated from placing in the WAKO World Championships for the second consecutive year. Promoter Mike Anderson recalled Van Damme as a "flashy fighter" at the championships.

Upon his return to Europe, Jean-Claude was a member of the Belgium Team when it won the European Championship on the 26th of December, 1979 at La Coupe Francois Persoons Karate Tournament in Brussels, Belgium. Van Damme defeated British and European Middleweight Champion Michael J. Heming in the finals; enabling his team to take the championship.

'''Jean-Claude Van Damme'' ended his semi-contact career on the 8th of March, 1980 at the Forest National in Brussels. Van Damme knocked Patrick Teugels down and scored a first round technical knockout victory. Teugels suffered a nose injury and was unable to continue. Newspaper reports list the fight as a "light-contact" match which is awarded to Van Damme by "L'abandon" (forfeit) after Teugels is unable to continue.

Filmography

Van Damme has been cast in "dual roles" in a single film many times during his career. Most cases involve two distinct characters, but others (such as ''Timecop'') involve the same character from different periods of time-travel. These scenes often necessitate special editing or blue-screen cinematography to have two versions of the actor interacting in the same scene.

TV

Tournament Record

|- style="margin:0.5em auto; font-size:100%;"

Result	Record	Opponent	Method	Date	Round	Time	Event	Location	Notes
style="text-align:center;" Win								Brussels, Belgium	Light-Contact (Teugels suffers a broken nose and is unable to continue.)
style="text-align:center;" Win								Brussels, Belgium	Semi-Contact
style="text-align:center;" Win								Brussels, Belgium	Semi-Contact
style="text-align:center;" Win								Brussels, Belgium	Semi-Contact
style="text-align:center;" Win								Brussels, Belgium	Semi-Contact
style="text-align:center;" Win								Woluwe, Brussels, Belgium	Semi Contact
style="text-align:center;" Win								Brussels, Belgium	Semi-Contact (Dias suffers ankle injury and is unable to continue.)
style="text-align:center;" Win								Ingelmunster, Belgium	Semi-Contact
style="text-align:center;" Win								Opprebais, Belgium	Semi-Contact
style="text-align:center;" Win								Mulhouse, Belgium	Semi-Contact
style="text-align:center;" Loss								Arena Deurne, Antwerp, Belgium	Semi-Contact
style="text-align:center;" Loss								Brussels, Belgium	Semi-Contact
style="text-align:center;" Win								Izegem, Belgium	Semi-Contact
style="text-align:center;" Win								Izegem, Belgium	Semi-Contact
style="text-align:center;" Loss								Antwerp, Belgium	Semi-Contact
style="text-align:center;" Win								Antwerp, Belgium	Semi-Contact
style="text-align:center;" Win								Antwerp, Belgium	Semi-Contact
style="text-align:center;" Win								Antwerp, Belgium	Semi-Contact
style="text-align:center;" Win								Antwerp, Belgium	Semi-Contact
style="text-align:center;" Win								Antwerp, Belgium	Semi-Contact
style="text-align:center;" Win								Antwerp, Belgium	Semi-Contact
style="text-align:center;" Win								Antwerp, Belgium	Semi-Contact
style="text-align:center;" Win								Antwerp, Belgium	Semi-Contact
style="text-align:center;" Win								Izegem, Belgium	Semi-Contact
style="text-align:center;" Loss								Izegem, Belgium	Semi-Contact
style="text-align:center;" Win								Antwerp, Belgium	Semi-Contact
style="text-align:center;" Win								Antwerp, Belgium	Semi-Contact
style="text-align:center;" Win								Antwerp, Belgium	Semi-Contact
style="text-align:center;" Win								Antwerp, Belgium	Semi-Contact
style="text-align:center;" Win								Ingelmunster, Belgium	Semi-Contact

Kickboxing Record

|- style="margin:0.5em auto; font-size:100%;"

Result	Record	Opponent	Method	Date	Round	Time	Event	Location	Notes
								Bangkok, Thailand	Kickboxing
style="text-align:center;" Win								Brussels, Belgium	Kickboxing
style="text-align:center;" Win								Brussels, Belgium	Kickboxing
style="text-align:center;" Win								Brussels, Belgium	Kickboxing
style="text-align:center;" Win									Kickboxing (Non-Tournament match. Van Damme climbs off floor to win.)
style="text-align:center;" Win								Brussels, Belgium	Kickboxing

References

Further reading

(Wako) (PKA World Heavyweight Title) (Eku)

External links

Sites

Official Page on Facebook

Rodin Entertainment

Fansite

Interviews

Interview with Patri(c)k Teugels

Category:1960 births Category:Living people Category:People from Sint-Agatha-Berchem Category:Belgian expatriates in the United States Category:Belgian film actors Category:Belgian emigrants to the United States Category:Belgian karateka Category:Belgian kickboxers Category:Middleweight kickboxers Category:Belgian Muay Thai practitioners Category:People with bipolar disorder

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name	Bolo Yeung
birth date	July 03, 1946
birth place	Guangzhou, China
occupation	Actor
yearsactive	1970–2008 }}

Yang Sze (; born July 3, 1946 in Guangzhou), better known as Bolo Yeung, is a former competitive bodybuilder and a martial arts film actor. Primarily cast as the villain in the movies he stars in, he is best known for his performances as Bolo in ''Enter the Dragon'' and as Chong Li in ''Bloodsport'', and also for his many appearances in martial arts B-movies.

Biography

Bolo began his martial arts training at the age of 10 in Guangzhou, China, where he studied under several kung fu masters. Growing up he took an interest in bodybuilding. Later he became Mr. Hong Kong bodybuilding champion. He held the title for ten years. Because of his impressively muscular physique he was chosen for several bad guy roles in films produced by Shaw Brothers Studios such as ''The Heroic Ones'', ''The Deadly Duo'', ''Angry Guest'' and others. He left Shaw Brothers in 1971.

Bolo met Bruce Lee while the two were filming a Winston cigarettes commercial. A friendship emerged and Bruce invited him to star in ''Enter the Dragon'', where he became known as Bolo. They were really close friends and during the filming of ''Enter the Dragon'', Bruce and Bolo worked very closely on technique training. In fact, he once stated in an interview, many years after Lee's death, "''There will never be another Bruce Lee, and I am privliged to have had the honor of calling him friend''."

During the 1970s and '80s, Bolo starred in numerous kung fu films, but his breakout film was ''Bloodsport'', based on the alleged true story of Frank Dux. Shot on a 1.5 million dollar budget, it became a U.S. box-office hit in the spring of 1988. Jean-Claude Van Damme had the leading role as Frank Dux and Bolo Yeung played the bad guy role of Chong Li.

Another film ''Double Impact'' featured Yeung in the bad guy role of Moon, one of the gangsters who was responsible for the parent's death. Due to a strong friendship formed between the two actors on the set of ''Bloodsport'', Jean-Claude Van Damme wanted no one but Bolo to play the lead villain in this film.

The Canadian action film actor, director and producer Jalal Merhi met Bolo in Hong Kong while shooting his first film ''Fearless Tiger'', then they met again on the set of ''Double Impact''. Jalal was impressed with his personality and ability and decided to create a part with Bolo in it. Later Merhi worked with Yeung on more films such as ''Tiger Claws'', ''TC 2000'' and ''Tiger Claws 2''.

In 2007 Bolo played a good guy role in ''Blizhniy Boy: The Ultimate Fighter'' and Jalal Merhi directed the first 60 minutes of the film that they shot in Toronto, but he was very busy and could not travel and do the Russia shoot and the producer Erken Ialgashev had finished directing but this film is still not released because of legal issues.

It has been reported that actor Sylvester Stallone has talked with Yeung about a possible appearance in the sequel to ''The Expendables'', ''The Expendables 2'', starring with former ''Bloodsport'' actor, Jean-Claude Van Damme and others.

Bolo Yeung confirmed to star in the upcoming action film ''Trigger Reaction''.

Filmography

{| cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4" border="1" |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" ! Year || Film || Role |- | TBA || ''Trigger Reaction'' || Uncle Wong |- | 2007 || ''Blizhniy Boy: The Ultimate Fighter'' || Erik's Trainer |- | 1997 || ''Tiger Claws II'' || Chong |- | 1996 || ''Fists of Legends 2 Iron Bodyguards'' || Mongolian fighter |- | 1995 || ''Shootfighter 2'' || Shingo |- | 1994 || ''Fearless Tiger'' || Master on mountain |- | 1993 || ''TC 2000'' || Master Sumai |- | 1992 || ''The Magnificent Duo'' || Bolo |- | 1992 || ''Tiger Claws'' || Chong |- | 1992 || ''Ironheart'' || Ice |- | 1992 || ''Shootfighter: Fight to the Death'' || Shingo |- | 1992 || ''Mega Force from Highland'' || The Wu Tang Swordsman |- | 1991 || ''Double Impact'' || Moon |- | 1991 || ''Breathing Fire'' (as Bolo Young) || Thunder |- | 1989 || ''Bloodfight'' || Chang Lee - The Vietnamese Cobra |- | 1988 || ''Bloodsport'' || Chong Li |- | 1988 || ''One Husband Too Many'' || Dung Ken - Muscleman |- | 1987 || ''Killer's Nocturne'' (''No-Evening Day'') || ??? |- | 1987 || ''To Err is Humane'' (aka ''To Err is Human'') || ??? |- | 1987 || ''Shanghai Express'' (aka ''Millionaire's Express'', ''Wealthy Train'', ''Nobles' Express'') || ??? (cameo) |- | 1986 || ''Legacy of Rage'' || Thug |- | 1986 || ''Lucky Stars Go Places'' (aka ''Luckiest Stars'') || Movie patron |- | 1994 || ''Seven Angels'' || Bar customer in green shirt |- | 1985 || ''Bruce Lee's Dragons Fight Back'' || ??? |- | 1985 || ''My Lucky Stars'' (aka ''Lucky Stars Superior Shine'' or ''Winners and Sinners 2'') || Millionaire Chan |- | 1985 || ''Working Class'' (aka ''Hit Work Emperor'') || Giant kickboxer |- | 1985 || ''Lucky Diamond'' (aka ''Wish You Good Luck'') || ??? |- | 1985 || ''Way of the Dragon 2'' (as Sze Yang) || ??? |- | 1984 || ''Silent Romance'' || ??? |- | 1983 || ''Just for Fun'' || ??? |- | 1983 || ''The Boxers Omen'' (aka ''Mo'') || Mr Bu Bo - The Thai Boxer |- | 1982 || ''The Supergang'' || Big King |- | 1982 || ''The Ninja Strikes Back'' (aka'' Bruce Le Fights/Strikes Back'' or ''Eye of the Dragon'') || ??? |- | 1981 || ''All the Wrong Clues (for the Right Solution)'' || ??? |- | 1981 || ''(Mad) Cold-blooded Murder'' || ??? |- | 1980 || ''Enter the Game of Death'' (aka ''The King of Kung Fu'') || ??? |- | 1980 || ''The 36 Deadly Styles'' || Cheungs Brother |- | 1980 || ''(Bruce) the King of Kung Fu'' (aka ''Revenge of the Dragon/s'') || ??? |- | 1980 || ''Fearless Hyena 3'' (as Yang Tze) (aka ''Fearless Master'') || ??? |- | 1980 || ''Challenge of the Tiger'' (as Yang Sze) (aka ''Dragon Bruce Le'' or ''Gymkata Killer'') || ??? |- | 1980 || ''Invincible'' (aka ''Fighting Dragon'') || ??? |- | 1980 || ''Treasure of Bruce Lee'' (aka ''King Boxer 2'') || ??? |- | 1979 || ''Bruce the Superhero'' (as Yang Sze) || Peter Sze The Bullkiller |- | 1979 || ''Ruthless Revenge'' (aka ''Invincible Kung Fu'' or ''The Two Tricky Kids'') || ??? |- | 1979 || ''(The) Dragon, the Hero'' (aka ''Dragon on Fire'') || ??? |- | 1979 || ''Enter Three Dragons'' (aka ''Three Avengers'') || ??? |- | 1979 || ''The Fists, the Kicks, and the Evil'' || Master Lung |- | 1979 || ''Snake Deadly Act'' || The Giant |- | 1979 || ''Writing Kung Fu'' (as Sze Yang) || Ah Yen |- | 1978 || ''Bruce (Li/Lee) in New Guinea'' (aka ''Last Fist of Fury'') || ??? |- | 1978 || ''Amsterdam Connection'' (as Yang Sze) || Big Louie |- | 1978 || ''Bruce Le's Greatest Revenge'' || ??? |- | 1978 || ''Black Belt Jones 2'' (aka ''Tattoo Connection'') ||Tan Yu Lu's henchman |- Master Killers (1978) | 1978 || ''The Image of Bruce Lee'' (aka ''Storming Attacks'') || Kimura |- | 1977 || ''10 Magnificent Killers'' (as Yang Szu) || Ling Chu |- | 1977 || ''Bolo the Brute'' (aka Bolo) || Bolo |- | 1977 || ''The Clones of Bruce Lee'' || Martial arts trainer |- | 1977 || ''Bruce and Shaolin Kung Fu'' (aka ''Bruce vs Black Dragon'') || Lam Chi Chu |- | 1976 || ''A Queen's Ransom'' (aka ''International Assassin(s)'') || Ram |- | 1975 || ''Hong Kong Superman'' (aka ''Bruce: Hong Kong Master'') || ??? |- | 1975 || ''Seven Blows of the Dragon 2'' (aka ''108 Heroes'', ''7 Soldiers of Kung Fu'', ''All Men are Brothers 2'', ''7 Kung Fu Assassins'', ''Turbulent Invade Record'') || ??? |- | 1975 || ''Kung Fu Massacre'' (as Yang Sze) || ??? |- | 1975 || ''G-Men '75'' (TV series) || ??? |- | 1975 || ''He Loved Once Too Many'' (as Bolo Yeung Tze) || ??? |- | 1975 || ''The Fighting Dragon'' (TV series) (aka ''The Fighting Dragon'') || Red Tiger |- | 1974 || ''Super Kung Fu Kid'' (as Sze Yang) || Tiger |- | 1973 || ''Chinese Hercules'' || Chinese Hercules |- | 1973 || ''Thunderkick'' || ??? |- | 1973 || ''Kung Fu's Hero'' (as Sze Yang) || ??? |- | 1973 || ''Soul of Chiba'' (aka Soul of Bruce Lee) || The White Haired Assassins Bodyguard |- | 1973 || ''Enter the Dragon'' || Bolo |- | 1973 || ''Freedom Strikes A Blow'' (as Yang Sze) || Chiang Tai |- | 1973 || ''Greatest Thai Boxing'' || ??? |- | 1973 || ''Tiger'' || ??? |- | 1973 || ''Ninja Killer'' (as Yang Sze) || Mr Yang |- | 1972 || ''Man of Iron'' (aka ''Iron Man'' or ''Warrior of Steel'') || Jin Xi Fu |- | 1972 || ''Trilogy of Swordsmanship'' || ??? |- | 1972 || ''Young People'' || ??? |- | 1972 || ''King Boxer'' (aka ''5 Fingers of Death'', ''Invincible Boxer'', ''Iron Palm'', ''Hand of Death'') || Pa Tu Er, Mongolian fighter |- | 1972 || ''Angry Guest'' (aka ''Kung Fu Killers'') || Sze Yang |- | 1971 || ''The Rescue'' || Chief Cha Te |- | 1971 || ''The Lady Professional'' || Bald Killer |- | 1971 || ''The Oath of Death'' || Officer Shi |- | 1971 || ''The Deadly Duo'' || The River Dragon of Jin |- | 1970 || ''Heroic Ones'' (aka ''Shaolin Masters'', ''13 Fighters'', ''13 Warlords'') || General Meng Cheih Hui |- | 1970 || ''The Wandering Swordsman'' ||Unicorn Du Kuo Lung |- |}

See also

List of Cantonese-related topics

References

Further reading

Hong Kong Action Cinema by Bey Logan (21 Sep 1995)

Martial Arts Illustrated (UK), 1990 September, Vol 3, Num 4

Inside Kung Fu, 1991 September, Vol 18, Num 9

Inside Kung Fu, 1992 June, Vol 19, Num 6

Martial Arts Illustrated (UK), 1992 November, Vol 5, Num 6

Inside Karate, 1993 January, Vol 14, Num 1

Masters of Kung Fu, 1993 December, Vol 1, Num 7

Inside Karate, 1994 March, Vol 15, Num 3

External links

Bolo Yeung Biography

Bolo Yeung in the upcoming action film

Category:1946 births Category:Living people Category:Chinese wushu practitioners Category:Chinese martial artists Category:Chinese weightlifters Category:Hong Kong actors Category:People from Guangzhou

cs:Bolo Yeung de:Bolo Yeung es:Bolo Yeung fr:Bolo Yeung hy:Բոլո Յանգ it:Bolo Yeung he:בולו יאנג nl:Bolo Yeung ja:ヤン・スエ pl:Bolo Yeung pt:Bolo Yeung ru:Боло Йен sk:Bolo Yeung fi:Bolo Yeung sv:Bolo Yeung tr:Bolo Yeung

name	Hirokazu Kanazawa
birth date	May 03, 1931
birth place	Iwate Prefecture, Japan
martial art	Shotokan Karate
teacher	Gichin Funakoshi, Masatoshi Nakayama
rank	10th ''dan'' karate
website	Shotokan Karate-Do International Federation
footnotes	}}

is a world-renowned Japanese master of Shotokan karate. He is the Chief instructor and President of the Shotokan Karate-Do International Federation, an organisation he founded after he left the Japan Karate Association (JKA). Kanazawa is ranked 10th ''dan'' in karate.

Early life

Kanazawa was born on 3 May 1931 in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. He trained in judo during his school years, and held the rank of 2nd ''dan'' in that martial art. He began training in karate whilst at Takushoku University under the then-head instructor of Shotokan karate, Masatoshi Nakayama. Kanazawa also learned from the founder of the Shotokan style, Gichin Funakoshi, and is one of the few living ''karateka'' (practitioners of karate) to have done so.

Kanazawa was promoted to the rank of 1st ''dan'' in Shotokan karate with less than two years of training in the art; promotion to 2nd ''dan'' came three years later. In 1956, he graduated from university and joined the JKA. That same year, he was promoted to 3rd ''dan''. Kanazawa won the inaugural All Japan Karate Championship’s ''kumite'' (sparring) championship in 1957. He reportedly won the ''kumite'' competition with a broken hand. That same year, Kanazawa was among the first to graduate from the JKA's instructor training programme. In 1958, Kanazawa won the ''kata'' (patterns) title and shared the ''kumite'' title with Takayuki Mikami. Mikami and Kanazawa had been classmates and roommates for a long time and, because they knew each other well, they launched a minimal number of attacks, mainly just circling until the time was up; thus, they shared the ''kumite'' title.

Promoting Shotokan across the world

In January 1961, the JKA sent Kanazawa to Hawaii to establish karate schools there. He was ranked 5th ''dan'' at the time. He established a ''dojo'' (training hall) and served as the inaugural President of the Hawaii Karate Congress. In May 1963, he left Hawaii to teach in Europe and Japan. In 1966, Kanazawa became Chief Instructor of the Karate Union of Great Britain, and the JKA promoted him to the rank of 6th ''dan'' that year. In 1973, the All Japan Karate Federation promoted him to 7th ''dan''.

In 1977, Kanazawa left the JKA and founded the Shotokan Karate-Do International Federation (SKIF). Since then, he was taught and promoted karate through the SKIF, including the organisation of several karate world championship competitions. Despite leaving the JKA, he is reported to maintain some ties with former colleagues in that organisation. In 1990, Kanazawa demonstrated his art at the 10th Traditional Karate Tournament International, held in Las Vegas. In 1994 and 1995, he demonstrated his art at the 14th and 15th Traditional Karate Tournaments International.

Kanazawa has written several books on karate, which include: ''Kankudai'' (1969), ''Moving Zen: One man's journey to the heart of Karate'' (2001, co-authored), ''Karate: My life'' (2003), ''Karate fighting techniques: The complete kumite'' (2004, co-authored), and ''Black Belt Karate'' (2006). He has featured in Paul Walker's book, ''Lessons with the Master: 279 Karate lessons with Master Hirokazu Kanazawa''.

The International Martial Arts Federation promoted Kanazawa to 8th ''dan'' in 1978, 9th ''dan'' in 1988, and 10th ''dan'' in 2002. Within the SKIF, he holds the rank of 8th ''dan'', attained in 1998.

See also

List of Shotokan organizations

Malcolm Phipps

References

External links

Shotokan Karate-Do International Federation

Category:Living people Category:1931 births Category:Japanese karateka Category:Karate coaches Category:Martial arts school founders Category:Martial arts writers Category:People from Iwate Prefecture Category:Shotokan practitioners

bg:Хироказу Каназава cs:Hirokazu Kanazawa da:Hirokazu Kanazawa de:Kanazawa Hirokazu fr:Hirokazu Kanazawa it:Hirokazu Kanazawa he:הירוקזו קנאזאווה ja:金澤弘和 pt:Hirokazu Kanazawa ro:Hirokazu Kanazawa ru:Канадзава, Хирокадзу sr:Хироказу Каназава zh:金澤弘和

name	Akiyoshi (Shokei) Matsui
birth place	Japan
residence	Japan
martial art	Kyokushin Karate
teacher	Mas Oyama
rank	8th ''dan'' karate
students	}}

, also known by his Korean name of Moon Jang Gyu (Hangul: 문장규; Hanja: 文章圭), is a master of Kyokushin karate and current ''Kancho'' (Director) of one faction of the International Karate Organization (IKO) founded by Mas Oyama (1923–1994).

Matsui was born in 1963 and started training in Kyokushin karate at age 13. In 1976, he joined the Kita Nagare-Yama Dojo in Chiba Prefecture and attained the rank of 1st ''dan'' black belt in a little over one year. Matsui's tournament achievements include:

1980 — placed 4th in the 12th All Japan Open Karate Championships, when he was just 17

1981 — took 3rd place in the All Japan Open Karate Championships

1982 — took 3rd place in the same event

1983 — placed 8th place in the same event

1984 — placed 3rd in the same event

1985 — placed 1st in the same event

1986 — placed 1st in the same event and completed 100 man kumite

1987 — won the 4th World Open Karate Tournament, becoming the youngest champion ever

Matsui completed the 100-man kumite in 1987, when ranked 4th ''dan''. In May 1992, Matsui opened his own ''dojo'' in Asakusa, Tokyo, and was later appointed as a Branch Chief by Oyama.

Near the end of his life, Oyama named Matsui (then ranked 5th ''dan'', and clearly junior in rank to several senior instructors) to succeed him in leading the IKO. Reportedly, a letter by senior Kyokushin instructor Peter Chong noted that Matsui was surprised to hear that he had been appointed to succeed Oyama, but also that Oyama had earlier named Matsui before several other people as the leading candidate to succeed him. Matsui then became ''Kancho'' (Director). Following a dispute over the veracity of Oyama's will, Kyokushin karate as an organization divided into three main groups, led by Matsui, Kenji Midori, and Yoshikazu Matsushima.

Matsui is currently ranked 8th ''dan'', and leads one of the IKO groups, supported by Yuzo Goda, Bobby Lowe, Peter Chong, and Seiji Isobe. Loek Hollander had previously supported Matsui, but withdrew his support in August 2010.

References

External links

International Karate Organization Kyokushinkaikan International Karate Organization Kyokushinkaikan

Category:Living people Category:1963 births Category:Japanese karateka Category:Karate coaches

lt:Šokei Macujis ja:松井章圭 no:Shokei Matsui pl:Shōkei Matsui ru:Мацуи, Акиёси