37 Facts About Terutomo Yamazaki

Terutomo Yamazaki is a Japanese karateka from the Kyokushin Kaikan and professional lightweight kickboxer.

Terutomo Yamazaki is the founder of Gyakushin-Kai and a Director of Karate in Japan.

Terutomo Yamazaki presides over the International Budo Karate Organization Gyakushin-Kai from the headquarters of the organization in Omiya-ku, Saitama, Japan.

Terutomo Yamazaki is highly skilled at and an authority on fighting and breaking.

Terutomo Yamazaki has shown off his mixed karate and Muai Thai style of fighting at both full contact karate open championships and kickboxing, and has been noted internationally as a prominent fighter in karate's history, appearing in Black Belt Magazine in the United States.

Terutomo Yamazaki was born on July 31,1947, in the village of Yamato, Yamanashi.

Terutomo Yamazaki began the study of Kyokushin karate as a student in high school at the headquarters of Kyokushin Kaikan at Ikebukuro, Tokyo, where founder Masutatsu Oyama taught.

Terutomo Yamazaki practiced with the senior pupils who were Shigeru Oyama, Yasuhiko Oyama, Tadashi Nakamura and Hideyuki Ashihara at the time.

For two and a half years Terutomo Yamazaki commuted three hours from his house to the dojo, and reached the rank of shodan on April 15,1967.

Terutomo Yamazaki reached the rank of nidan on October 10,1967.

Terutomo Yamazaki instructed pupils of novice, intermediate and advanced levels at the headquarters of Kyokushin and the US Army Camp Zama besides his own practice.

Terutomo Yamazaki later said that it was good experience for him to instruct at Camp Zama as the pupils of the US Army were larger than Japanese fighters.

Terutomo Yamazaki fought in the lightweight or welterweight division at kickboxing.

Terutomo Yamazaki gained a knock out win over Kannanpai with a right cross punch in the first round.

Samanso got knocked downs sixteen times from Sawamura, but Terutomo Yamazaki fought and knocked out Samanso in the first round.

Terutomo Yamazaki was able to learn Muay Thai from the coach and the boxers at the matches.

The kickboxing promoters wanted to keep Terutomo Yamazaki at kickboxing because Terutomo Yamazaki was a strong and good-looking fighter, and he had been very popular.

Terutomo Yamazaki fought ten kickboxing matches with a record of eight knock out wins and two losses.

Terutomo Yamazaki admitted that the mental pressure was considerable, but he dealt with the pressures.

Terutomo Yamazaki fought six matches and won five by ippon and one by judgment at this championships tournament, and thus became the first champion of the All-Japan Full Contact Karate Open Championships.

Terutomo Yamazaki participated in the Second, Fourth and Fifth All-Japan Full Contact Karate Open Championships, winning 2nd place, 4th place and 2nd place, respectively.

Terutomo Yamazaki had not planned to compete in the All-Japan Open Championships any further and did not enter for the Third All-Japan Open Championships.

Many of the spectators came to watch Terutomo Yamazaki's fight, so at the request of Oyama, Terutomo Yamazaki returned to competition at the Fourth All-Japan Open Championships in 1972.

All concerned in Kyokushin and the mass media said "Terutomo Yamazaki is a genius" at what he does.

Terutomo Yamazaki made a deliberate decision to retire from the All-Japan Open Championships and reported it to Masutatsu Oyama after the Fifth All-Japan Open Championships.

Terutomo Yamazaki left a steady record of wins in all of the All-Japan Open Championships in which he participated.

Terutomo Yamazaki consulted with Masutatsu Oyama and Oyama obtained clearance for Terutomo Yamazaki to open a karate dojo at Omiya in 1977.

The dojo was managed by volunteers because Terutomo Yamazaki did not wish to earn money by professional karate.

Terutomo Yamazaki established a Fuurinnkazan or nonprofit organization called International Budo Karate Organization Gyakushin-Kai in 1995.

Terutomo Yamazaki was skilled in advanced techniques and very strong and fast at the basic techniques of front kick, roundhouse kick and knee, as well as the elbow and the cross punch.

Terutomo Yamazaki was not only an expert at kumite, but an expert at breaking.

Terutomo Yamazaki broke four boards by punching, seven by kicking, six by knifehand strike and seven by elbow with a total of 24, and won the breaking championship at the Fifth All-Japan Open Championships in 1973.

Terutomo Yamazaki broke five boards by punching, six by kicking, eight by knifehand strike, and seven by elbow with a total of 26.

However, all concerned in Kyokushin and the mass media pointed out that Williams was 196 centimeters in height and 100 kilogram in weight, while Terutomo Yamazaki was 177 centimeters in height and 62 kilograms in weight with a difference of almost 40 kilograms, while the number of the broken boards was only different by two.

Terutomo Yamazaki was not only a strong fighter but became a respected teacher.

Some fighters who have benefited by studying under Terutomo Yamazaki are Katsuaki Sato, Miyuki Miura, Seiji Isobe, Howard Collins, Toshikazu Sato, Takashi Azuma, Makoto Nakamura and Shokei Matsui.

Oyama and Terutomo Yamazaki had discussed the method of the organizational operation for quite a while before Oyama's death.