اصفهان میزبان مسابقات قهرمان قهرمانان سبک کیوکوشین شد

نماینده سازمان جهانی سبک  ماتسوشیما در ایران از برگزاری مسابقات قهرمان قهرمانان سبک کیوکوشین به میزبانی اصفهان خبر داد.

ترجمه انگلیسی

The representative of the Matsushima World Karate Organization in Iran announced the upcoming Champions of Champions Kyokushin Karate tournament, which will be hosted in Isfahan.

Dariush Bagheri told reporters about the tournament, saying it will bring together top karate champions from across the country, with around 100 elite competitors participating in three weight categories, competing individually.

He added that the tournament will take place next Thursday and Friday at the Water and Wastewater hall in Isfahan, featuring adult competitors from various provinces, and the top performers will qualify for the World Championships in Japan next year. There will also be cash prizes for the winners, with the first, second, and third places set to receive 15, 10, and 5 million Tomans, respectively.

The head of Kyokushin style in Iran emphasized that 11 provinces have already expressed readiness to send their representatives to this competition, with champions from Tehran, Isfahan, Yazd, Fars, Ardabil, Alborz, and Mazandaran set to compete; according to the schedule, a judging seminar will be held on Thursday, and the competitions will take place on Friday, December 2nd.

He noted that the Champions of Champions tournament in Kyokushin takes place every four years, but it could not be held during the pandemic, and now, after eight years, it is set to resume.

Bagheri mentioned that Kyokushin is quite popular, with competitions streaming live in countries like Japan; fortunately, Iran has significant potential and capacity in this sport, with our champions consistently stepping onto the podium.

He reminded everyone that in karate, we have three styles: controlled, fighting, and ring styles. The ring styles haven’t gained much popularity in Isfahan due to the required infrastructure, but we have 25 free styles in the province, with the Matsushima (Kyokushin) style boasting the most athletes at both the provincial and national levels.

Bagheri, in another part of his speech, stated that unfortunately, martial arts in Isfahan are solely focused on making money. He mentioned that these disciplines gather many people under the guise of world and Asian competitions, while not a single foreign country participates in these events. This can be seen as a deception to the public and harms the future of martial arts, resulting in a decline in adult level martial arts. He questioned how someone who has practiced karate for only a month can win an Asian medal, emphasizing that karate requires years of effort for both body and spirit to be prepared.

He also touched on the state of this discipline at the provincial and national levels, saying that on the global stage, all countries welcome Iran’s presence in this style because Iranians are physically impressive. However, for instance, a Japanese must train for 5 years to reach the physical level of a novice Iranian athlete, and fortunately, in international competitions, we usually rank among the top three.

The representative of the Matsushima World Style Organization in Iran added that nowadays, sports need money, and Isfahan is an economic province. Despite this, we have many champions in this style, and athletes from Isfahan have achieved good standings in international events, with 15 athletes from the province participating in these competitions.

Bagheri continued, mentioning that about 6 years ago, the Middle East Cup was held in the province with the participation of 8 countries, and next year, Asian competitions are scheduled to take place.

In another part of his speech, he referred to the budget for these competitions, stating that the budget for this round is around 200 million tomans, with part of it coming from competition entry fees and the rest funded by sponsors. This discipline is active in 20 provinces of the country, but not all provinces have champions who are qualified to compete in these events.

Regarding the status of women in this style, Bagheri said that women have almost surpassed men in all sports categories, with 1500 participants in last year’s competitions.