Tadashi Sawamura

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Tadashi Sawamura (沢村忠, January 5, 1943) is a Japanese former kickboxer whose real name is Hideki Shiraha (白羽秀樹). He was one of the first popular participants in the sport, and is sometimes (dubiously) reputed to be the world's first kickboxer.

He enjoyed great fame throughout his career, and is sometimes credited for sustaining the early boom in the popularity of kickboxing in Japan.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Hideki Shiraha was born in Manchuria, China, 1943. He practiced rugby during university.

He debuted as a professional kickboxer on April 11, 1966.

He retired on October 10, 1977.

He now manages his automobile-related company. He also enjoys teaching karate to children in his free time.

[edit] Record

  • 241 total fights
    • 232 wins
    • 5 losses
    • 4 draws

[edit] Career

  • Oriental Lightweight champion
  • Oriental Middleweight champion

[edit] Anime rendition

His exploits were the basis of an anime series called Kick no Oni (which means "The demon of kickboxing", written by Ikki Kajiwara), and he was also a guest on an episode of the series Ultraman.

His anime series also became intensely popular in Brazil during the 70's and early 80's featuring 26 episodes under the name "Sawamu, o Demolidor". In this series, Tadashi Sawamu (Brazilian translation), was an arrogant karate fighter who was defeated by a kickboxer, leaving Sawamu in a mild coma. Once in the hospital and recovering from the comatose, his opponent's kickboxing trainer Noguchi, came to his hospital room and convinced Sawamu to become a kickboxer. To which after some rigorous training, he learned a devastating finishing move: "The Jumping Vacuum Knee" (Shinku tobi hiza geri)

The Japanese name for Hitmonlee, a Pokémon character, is Sawamurā, which is most likely a reference to Sawamura.

[edit] See also

Preceded by
Katsuaki Matsumoto		 Japan Professional Sports Grand Prize Winner
1973		 Succeeded by
Sadaharu Oh


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