It probably reminds you of Takumi Yano.
What is Koppo?
Koppo is a martial art developed in China.
But one man says Koppo was created in Japan.
His name is Masashi Horibe. (Yano's mustache is a parody of Horibe's.)
Around 1995, many traditional martial arts tested from one man: Rickson Gracie.
Many traditional martial artists challenged Vale Tudo to make a name for themselves.They also felt pressure from students who wondered, "is this martial art really effective?"
Many old martial arts failed to survive in MMA.
But a few martial artists survived in MMA and created a new wave in Japanese martial arts.
Yoshinori Nishi from Karate challenged Rickson Gracie in Vale Tudo Japan '94 and lost. After that, he developed a group named Wajyutsu Keisyukai.
Nishi said, "I recognized that refusing to fight for fear of defeat is shame.I want to aim my dream 'to be strong man' no matter what happens in my life."
Koppo is one martial art hoping to survive in MMA. Horibe says Koppo skills are effective in MMA.
They send two fighters to MMA event.
It was named "Universal Vale Tudo Fighting 2."
But the Koppo fighters were defeated badly. After that, Horibe decided they wouldn't try MMA again. Many students left Koppo in disappointment.
Takumi Yano is one of those Koppo students.
In 2005, featherweight rankings were crushed by one pupil. His name was Hideo Tokoro.Tokoro knocked out Alexandre Franca Nogueira (known as "Pequeno") by backfist.
After the fight, one interviewer asked him:
"Where did you learn the backfist?"
Tokoro answered:
"I learned it from Oyaizu-san."
Hiroshi Oyaizu was one of the Koppo guys defeated in Universal Vale Tudo Fighting 2. He quit Koppo in 1999 and moved to Paraestra. Oyaizu taught MMA for many guys. He returned to MMA at ZST in 2006.
I don't want to defend Koppo. Horibe lied about Koppo's effectiveness in MMA.But sometimes cult Martial Arts can be effective in MMA. And you should know it.
Of course, the backfist isn't Koppo's originally.
I don't guarantee this information.
I worked hard on this. I'd like to get your response.
Koppo Headquarter
original forum post 09/12/2006
Big thanks to Chris Nelson (from Bloody Elbow) for English editing.
What are your sources for this?
ReplyDeleteThat's backfist story told by Tokoro himself after fight interview.
ReplyDeleteKoppo story is famous at Japan. Many ex Koppo student talk about how Koppo was.