HKL on Kickboxing: Kazuyoshi Ishii's Dream, the Formation of K-1

There has been some rumblings of late of people who want to know more about K-1's history and style; how it differs from regular kickboxing as well as some of the roots. Unlike promotions like UFC, where fans have been following it closely for years and have seen its history online, in books, on TV, etc., K-1 remains a mystery to a lot of fans. I am in the camp of K-1 being the premier kickboxing league in the world today, while some kickboxing purists will beg to differ due to rule disputes and the mission statement, so if I intertwine kickboxing and K-1 understand where it is coming from.

Unlike many of the other of the collected art forms in Mixed Martial Arts, kickboxing and Muay Thai remain somewhat of a mystery. Fans are adept enough to know that most of the stand-up fighting they see in MMA or learn in a MMA gym is more of a baseline when it comes to kickboxing than it is a definitive knowledge of the techniques and history. Since K-1 is the premier league for kickboxing, it would be a good idea to explain what and why K-1 exists.

Seidokaikan's Formation
Kazuyoshi Ishii is a Seidokan Karate master who was best known for his success as a bareknuckle "knockdown" or Kyokushin karate career. Japan has always taken its martial arts seriously, as reflected in a culture where Sumo Wrestling still exists as a viable sport and Karate tournaments are still taken very seriously, even with K-1 and MMA's existence. At the time there was no K-1 or MMA, so karate tournaments were what fans were attracted to in its stead. In 1979 Ishii distanced himself from Kyokushin tournaments and followed Hideyuki Ashihara who was looking to found his own style of karate. This did not last long, as Ishii saw more of a future for himself being in control of his own destiny and making himself a name. In 1980 Ishii established his own Seidokan Karate schools, forming along with the Seido Kaikan (Seidokan governing body) a tournament system to establish the greatest fighters. Masaaki Satake was the first breakout star made by these tournaments. 

Rise of Kickboxing and K-1's Formation
By the early 90's professional wrestling started getting more "real" with the help of self-proclaimed shooters like Akira Maeda and Nobuhiko Takada and the need for karate tournaments was less and less, with a fascination of more "realistic" professional wrestling, which was full of big characters and hard hitting action. Kickboxing was becoming more popular in Japan, with the All Japan Kickboxing Federation being established in 1987 and focusing more on the strict rules of kickboxing than the knockdown karate style Ishii was using. Ishii became fascinated with Akira Maeda, a former New Japan wrestler who worked for his own promotion UWF and later RINGS, one of the first companies to promote MMA fights. Maeda, who is still a big name in the fight game today, was full of personality and was known for making pro wrestling "real" by doing things like getting frustrated with pro wrestling star Riki Choshu during a predetermined bout and kicking him in the face full blast, giving him a concussion. (Continued...)

The friendship with Akira Maeda did a few things, the most important was led Kazuyoshi Ishii to abandon the cut-and-dry world of knockdown karate and create a new tournament format that would revolve around promoting the personalities who compete in the ring as much as they promote the action in the ring. Unlike promotions like AJKF who adhered strictly to promoting kickboxing as a sport, Ishii worked with Maeda to come up with an idea of creating a spectacle. In 1993 Ishii ran his first show under the K-1 banner, a show which would feature a mixed ruleset of Kickboxing and Kyokushi Karate, as well as some traditional fights. The success of this first show, headlined by his student Masaaki Satake led to an event the very next month, featuring standouts from the worlds of Kickboxing, Muay Thai and Karate.

K-1 World Grand Prix
This tournament would be the first of many K-1 World Grand Prix events, with the concept of the tournament ripped right from the script of Enter the Dragon with Bruce Lee: Take the best competitors from around the world, place them in a single elimination tournament and find out who is the best fighter in the world. Such a simple concept, but promoted on a grand stage. The K-1 WGP '93 saw the introduction of Peter Aerts, Ernesto Hoost, Maurice Smith and Branko Cikatic who went on the be the first K-1 World Grand Prix champion. K-1 continued to hold events throughout the year, ending it with a K-2 World Grand Prix for Light Heavyweights, won by Ernesto Hoost. As of the time I write this, it is 2010 and the 2009 Grand Prix is in the books, the tournament still exists and is still one of the biggest events in combat sports worldwide, showing the staying power K-1 has had.

Ishii's Sad Prologue/Current Day K-1
K-1's success and longevity of course does not mean that Kazuyoshi Ishii is still the face of the company. The first Dynamite show was actually where the downfall of Ishii began in 2002. The power structure for K-1 was a complete mess, with Mike Tyson a free agent and K-1 seeing the acquisition of Tyson as a way to finally break into the United States market, going as far as there potentially being a forged contract and Yakuza fixers involved in K-1's upper management. It wasn't long before officials were investigated K-1 and Ishii, and in December of 2002 Kazuyoshi Ishii went to prison for tax evasion. Former pro wrestling and MMA writer Saduharu Tanigawa took over the operations from Ishii while in prison (while Ishii was writing letters instructing him on what to do from prison), and in an attempt to severe ties from the shamed name of Ishii, formed an umbrella company named FEG, Fighting Entertainment Group, to handle K-1. Ishii has since stated since getting out of prison that he has no wishes of producing K-1 anymore and has his sights set on the International K-1 Federation (FIKA) and setting up a feeder system for K-1 as well as producing a K-1 World Cup with 32 countries involved, but there has been nothing but Ishii's talks to support this so far.