Karate Flashback #1: Glaube Feitosa vs. Hajime Kazumi

Last Updated on Tuesday, 12 February 2013 17:56 Tuesday, 12 February 2013 16:50

Written by Chad Sanderson

When the word "karate" is mentioned in casual conversation, most fight fans have a tendency to roll their eyes. Traditional arts get a significant amount of disrespect in the contemporary combat sports community, and much of the scepticism is deserved. However, all too often these same individuals are so quick to praise the values of "K-1 Level Striking," unaware that K-1 itself was founded by the creator of Seidokaikan Karate, Kazuyoshi Ishii. 

Seidokaikan is one of the many disciplines of Knockdown Rules Karate that branches from Kyokushin. From under the Kyokushin umbrella emerged fighters like Andy Hug, Semmy Schilt, Sam Greco, Musashi, Masaaki Satake, Francisco Filho, and the fighter I'm featuring in this video- Glaube Feitosa.

Every week, I would like to take a closer look at Karatekas that helped influence the landscape of kickboxing. While all the above named athletes made a successful transition to K-1 in the 1990's, many great fighters remained in Kyokushin to compete under full contact rules for the entireity of their careers. Hajime Kazumi is such an individual.

Hajime Kazumi is one of the most famous Kyokushin practioners in Japan, and that's saying something. He is the 2nd World Tournament Heavyweight champion, and has captured six All Japan Championships. In this match, Kazumi takes on future K-1 star Glaube Feitosa. Feitosa is widely regarded as one of the best fighters in K-1 to never earn a championship, with wins over Ruslan Karaev, Musashi, and Alistair Overeem.

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