K-1

K-1 began in 1993 and is a kickboxing platform and martial arts brand well-known worldwide mainly for its heavyweight division fights. On January 2012, K-1 Global Holdings Limited, a company registered in Hong Kong, acquired the rights to K-1, and is the current organizer of K-1 events worldwide.

Name

The letter K in K-1 is officially designated as a representation of words karate, kickboxing and kung fu. Nevertheless, some reports suggest that it represents the initial K found in competing disciplines such as karate, kickboxing, kung fu, kempo, kakutougi (the generic Japanese term for "combat sports"), and [tae] kwon do. Yet another theory claims that the K simply comes from kakutougi and the "1" component pertains to the single weight division (in earlier competition) and the champion's unique position. Nevertheless, the promotion held several tournaments under K-2 and K-3 banners from 1993 to 1995.

History

K-1's predecessor Seidokaikan Karate was formed in 1980 by Kazuyoshi Ishii, a former Kyokushin karate practitioner who had formed his own organization to help promote the best stand-up martial artists. Seidokaikan arranged several successful challenge events against other martial arts organizations, originally using rules based on the Kyokushin Knockdown karate rules, but gradually adapting and changing closer to kickboxing rules. In 1993, Mr. Ishii founded the K-1 organization exclusively as a kickboxing organization, closely cooperating with, but independent from Seidokaikan.

Grand Prix

Grand Prix (French pronunciation: ​[ɡʁɑ̃pʁi], meaning Grand Prize; plural Grands Prix) may refer to:

Sports competitions

K-1 World Grand Prix

K-1 World Grand Prix, also known as the K-1 World GP, is an elimination kickboxing tournament that has been held annually since 1993 by the K-1 organization. Each year, K-1 holds various 16-men, 8-match grand prix style tournaments throughout the world to determine which 16 fighters will compete in the K-1 World GP. This tournament has had nine different winners with Ernesto Hoost and Semmy Schilt each winning four times.

Match-Ups

Usually combatants of the quarter-finals of a 16-man 8-match tournament are paired by drawing. In the case of the Final in the Tokyo Dome it is widely different. The whole event is combined with a ceremony and a press conference. The process looks like a lottery show in the beginning with all the fighters pulling a ball from a glass bowl. The balls represent numbers 1 to 8, which determines the fighters' order in choosing a position from a giant tournament tree figure by standing in front a drawn bracket (from A to H) on the poster, which represents the fighter's corner-color and the line-number of the match. The next fighter does the same, but he can now choose between challenging the one on the stage or an "empty" section. This procedure goes on until one fighter remains who has no choice just to fill to one slot left next to the one lone fighter. This system gives a freedom of choice and tactics to the fighters with the help of a little luck.

World Grand Prix

World Grand Prix may refer to:

Badr Hari

Badr Hari (Arabic: بدر هاري‎; born 8 December 1984) is a Moroccan-Dutchsuper heavyweight kickboxer from the Netherlands, fighting out of Mike's Gym in Oostzaan. He is a former K-1 Heavyweight champion (2007—2008),It's Showtime Heavyweight world champion (2009-2010) and K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 finalist. Hari has been a prominent figure in the world of kickboxing and considered one of the best kickboxers in the world, however he has been involved in a number of controversies relating to his "unsportsmanlike conducts" in the sport and alleged crimes of violence outside of the ring.

Hari has been officially praised by the King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, since 2009 for his outstanding accomplishments in the sport.

Early life

Born in Amsterdam, Badr Hari began practicing kickboxing at the age of seven, under the guidance of former World Champion Mousid Akamrane. As a teenager he trained at the Sitan Gym of Mohammed Aït Hassou. When the Sitan Gym moved to Rotterdam, he joined the famous Chakuriki Gym ran by Thom Harinck. Under Harinck, Hari developed into one of the greatest kickboxing talents of the Netherlands. Badr Hari was fighting under the Dutch flag till he lost his match against Stefan Leko in 2005. It was the first time his parents attended one of his fights and he asked for the microphone to say some words to the Dutch audience. Hari couldn't be understood as the audience proceeded to boo him, after which Hari was quoted saying "I thought to myself, I have never witnessed such ungratefulness". From that day Hari decided to represent Morocco and stopped working with Tom Harinck. Mike Passenier became his new coach.