K-1

K-1

Type	Private
Industry	Martial-arts promotion
Founded	1993^[1]
Founder(s)	Kazuyoshi Ishii^[2]
Headquarters	Tokyo, Japan
Website	Old K-1 , New K-1

K-1 is a world-wide kickboxing promotion based in Tokyo, Japan founded by Kazuyoshi Ishii, a former Kyokushin karate practitioner. K-1 combines stand up techniques from Muay Thai, Karate, Taekwondo, Savate, San Shou, kickboxing, western-style boxing, and other martial arts.^[2] Its rules are similar to those of kickboxing but they have been simplified to promote exciting matches that may end in a knockout win.^[3] The main difference between K-1 rules and kickboxing is the use of knees, allowed in K-1 but not in International kickboxing.

There are K-1 Regional Elimination Tournaments which qualify fighters for the K-1 World Grand Prix, along with licensed K-1 Fighting Network events designed to develop new talent internationally and there is also a 70 kg (154 lb) Middleweight division called K-1 MAX ("Middleweight Artistic Xtreme"). In 2007, K-1 introduced two new Title belts separate from K-1 World GP Champions, Super Heavyweight World Title for fighters over 100 kg/220 lbs and Heavyweight World Title for fighters under 100 kg/156–220 lbs.

The letter K in K-1 is officially designated by the organisation as a representation of words karate, kickboxing and kung fu.^[3]

History

Main article: History of K-1

K-1's predecessor Seidokaikan Karate was formed in 1980 by Kazuyoshi Ishii, a former Kyokushin karate practitioner who had formed his own organization to help promote the best stand-up martial artists. Seidokaikan arranged several successful challenge events against other martial arts organizations, originally using rules based on the Kyokushin Knockdown karate rules, but gradually adapting and changing closer to kickboxing rules. In 1993, Mr. Ishii founded the K-1 organization exclusively as a kickboxing organization, closely cooperating with, but independent from Seidokaikan.^[4]

Broadcast deal

On November 21, 2008 HDNet Fights announced its partnership with then owner Fighting and Entertainment Group to air K-1 events in North America.^[5]

On March 30, 2010 K-1 has teamed up with one of their broadcast partners, Fuji TV, to film the K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 in Yokohama in 3D, being the first combat sports show to be filmed fully in 3D.^[6]

Financial Problems

Starting in 2010, multiple stories began to surface regarding the financial troubles of K-1 and their parent company FEG.^[7] Simon Rutz, the owner of the Dutch-based kickboxing promotion It's Showtime, claimed in January 2011 that some fighters from It's Showtime had not been paid for fights in K-1.^[8]

In early 2011, the company publicly announced that they were facing financial problems and would take some months off to restructure. It has been speculated that the financial problems are severe, so FEG can end up losing the ownership of K-1.^[9]

The organization along with most of its trademarks (with the notable exception of K-1 MAX) was sold to Japanese real estate firm Barbizon Co. Ltd. on July 28, 2011.^[10]

K-1 Grand Prix

Main article: K-1 World Grand Prix

Throughout the year there are 6 K-1 World Grand Prix tournaments and 4 main K-1 MAX events. The winners will qualify to the K-1 and the K-1 MAX WGP Final Eliminations held in Osaka Dome, Japan. From there the final top 8 fighters will compete in the K-1 World GP Finals in Tokyo Dome, Japan.

List of K-1 events

Main article: List of K-1 events

Qualification and match-ups

The system of K-1 changes from time to time as a response to growing popularity in different parts of the world.

In the beginning, the K-1 series was a single tournament in Japan with fighters participating by invitation. K-1 has now branched out to all parts of the world and has been divided into preliminary Grand Prix-s, Fighting Networks and qualifiers. There are six regional GPs on all continents (except Africa and Antarctica) and all of them have the exclusive right to send the winners to the Final Elimination. Preliminaries are organized in countries with minor attendance and consists of tournaments where the winners qualify to the regional GPs.

K-1 attempted to gain popularity in the United States by holding two GPs, however only a few Americans have ever qualified for the Finals. In 2006 one of the American GPs was relocated to Auckland, New Zealand. Additionally the K-1 Paris GP lost its qualifying right in favor of Amsterdam.

The Final Elimination is an event where 16 participants compete for the final eight spots in the Finals. The line-up is made up of 6 new GP winners, the eight finalists from the previous year's Final, plus 2 fighters selected by the K-1 organization. In 2006 there were some minor modifications because Peter Aerts was replaced by Glaube Feitosa who reached the final match, therefore he was included in the 2006 Final Elimination.

Match-ups

Usually the combatants of the Elimination 16-men 8-match super fights are paired by drawing. This is done differently at the Tokyo Dome, however. The event is combined with a ceremony where the fighters pull a ball from a glass bowl with a number on it. The balls are marked with numbers 1 through 8, determining fighter order. The fighter with the number 1 ball will choose first "empty" section. This procedure goes on until all the fighters have selected their first quarterfinal opponent.

Restructuring

In 2007 the K-1 organization introduced two new title belts and restructured the qualification system. The two titles can be acquired through single fights. One was created for the heavyweights under 100 kg fighters and the other for the super-heavyweights. Meanwhile, the well-known 8-man tournament system remains and the GP titles are still handed out.

The new tournament qualification system will be: the 8 finalists of last year, 4 new Grand Prix winners and two new single title champions; if some of the fighters hold more than one title, then the extra ones will be chosen by the organization. The last two spots will be selected by K-1 and the votes of fans from around the world.".^[11]

Tactics

The principal objective of K-1 is to win either by a knockout or by a split or unanimous decision. Victories are usually achieved by kicks to the legs, head or midsection or using traditional boxing punches, such as the jabs, hooks or uppercuts.

The classic defensive boxing stance is rather ineffective against leg kicks, and fighters are more or less forced to constantly move and counterattack. The traditional clinch, often used in boxing, is not allowed, which has led to a very high knockout ratio in the K-1, since the fighters in other stand-up fighting sports often use the clinch to gain time to recover if they have been hit. The traditional Muai-Thai clinch (two hands grabbing the back of the opponents neck or head) is not allowed in K-1 rules. However, a single handed Muai-Thai clinch is allowed. If a fighter grabs an opponent with the intent of using a knee-technique he must let go after one single blow. In Thai Boxing, the fighters often hold on to each other to continuously use their knees and elbows. The same is said for Karate and Tae Kwon Do, though they consider clinch knees and elbows more circumstantial and only when the opponent is weakened to avoid neck and groin counters.

The rules themselves are constantly adapting and changing to create a competition which allows for participants of different styles to fight in a fairer manner, although these rules accommodate kickboxing rules as the main basis.

Rules

Each match is three or five rounds in duration, with each round lasting three minutes.
The match can end by Knockout, Technical Knockout, Decision, Disqualification, Draw or No Contest.
Both the referee and the ring doctor have full authority to stop the fight.
The fight is scored by three judges on a ten-point must system (The winner of each round receives ten points, and the loser receives nine or less. If the round is even, both competitors receive ten points).
If there is a draw after three rounds, the judges' scores are thrown out and one or two extra three-minute rounds are contested. The judges' decision will then come from the scoring of each extra round only. If, after the extra round(s), there is still a draw, the judges will decide a winner based on the flow of the entire match, considering even the slightest difference. A fight can only end in a draw if both fighters go down at the same time and cannot get up, or in the case of accidental injury in the late stages of the contest.
The three-knockdown rule is in effect (three knockdowns in a round results in a technical knockout).
The mandatory eight count is in effect (the referee must count to at least "eight" on all knockdowns).
The standing eight count is in effect (the referee has the right to declare a knockdown on a fighter who appears to be in a dangerous condition to continue in the match).
A fighter can be saved by the bell only in the last round.

In K-1 single elimination tournament matches:

Each match is three rounds in duration.
The three-knockdown rule becomes a two-knockdown rule for all matches except the final.
One or two reserve fights are held prior to the single elimination matches. If for any reason a fighter who wins and advances through the brackets is unable to continue, a reserve match competitor, or the fighter's opponent from the most recent match, takes his place. There are certain exceptions to this rule (i.e. a fighter who lost a match by knockout might not be eligible to replace another fighter).

Source: K-1 Website

Fouls

The following actions in K-1 are considered fouls:^[12]

Using the head or elbow to deliver a blow
Attacking the opponent in the groin
Delivering wrestling or judo throwing or submission techniques
Thumbing, choking or biting the opponent
Punching the opponent in the throat
Attacking the opponent while he is down or in the process of getting up
Attacking the opponent after the referee calls a break
Holding the ropes
Using offensive language to the referee
Attacking the back of the head with a punch
Attempting to cause the opponent to fall out of the ring
Voluntarily exiting the ring during the course of a match
Attacking an opponent who turns around and shows his back (unless the opponent loses his will to fight)
Delivering a backspin blow in an unauthorized area
Charging inside the opponent's arms with the head held low (inducing a head-butt)
Fighting in a passive manner (without attacking), including continuous holding and clinching
Attacking more than once while holding the opponent's kicking leg, or while holding the opponent's neck with both hands

A fighter is penalized as follows:

Caution – verbal reprimand by the referee
Warning – fighter is shown a yellow card
Point Deduction – fighter is shown a red card

Two cautions result in one warning. Two warnings result in a point deduction, and three point deductions in one round can result in a disqualification.

A red card is shown automatically if a fighter commits a foul with malicious intent.

Reception

The sport is very popular in Japan, Korea, Brazil and in Europe but enjoys only limited popularity in the United Kingdom and the United States. K-1 is rarely broadcast on English television, and the majority of US states does not sanction fight events, therefore K-1 fights are banned. To date, all K-1 tournaments in the US have taken place in Las Vegas or Honolulu (with one exception: Milwaukee 2001).

The events are frequently shown on Tokyo Broadcasting System and Fuji TV in Japan, XTM in South Korea, Combate, Combate HD and SporTV in Brazil, HDNet ("HDNet Fights") in the United States and on Eurosport in Europe. Reruns of older events are also aired on The Fight Network in Canada and Star Sports in India. Smaller K-1 sanctioned events are also broadcast in other countries by national and local sport channels.

There have been a few alleged nationality biased controversies as well. On May 13, 2006, an all-Dutch judging panel decided in favor of Remy Bonjasky from Netherlands against Jerome Le Banner from France at the K-1 World Grand Prix in Amsterdam. Many thought Jerome Le Banner had won the contest but judges had a slim majority decision in favor of the Dutch fighter Bonjasky (30–30, 29–28, 30–28). Le Banner filed a protest and K-1 officials from Japan and the United States reviewed the match based on current K-1 Grand Prix judging criteria and two weeks later on June 30, 2006, the result was reversed and Jerome Le Banner was officially announced as the new winner.

List of K-1 world champions

Full list of all the K-1 tournament champions see List of K-1 champions.

K-1 World Grand Prix Champions

Year	Champion	Nationality	Runner-up	Nationality
1993	Branko Cikatić	Croatia	Ernesto Hoost	Netherlands
1994	Peter Aerts	Netherlands	Masaaki Satake	Japan
1995	Peter Aerts	Netherlands	Jérôme Le Banner	France
1996	Andy Hug	Switzerland	Mike Bernardo	South Africa
1997	Ernesto Hoost	Netherlands	Andy Hug	Switzerland
1998	Peter Aerts	Netherlands	Andy Hug	Switzerland
1999	Ernesto Hoost	Netherlands	Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović	Croatia
2000	Ernesto Hoost	Netherlands	Ray Sefo	New Zealand
2001	Mark Hunt	New Zealand	Francisco Filho	Brazil
2002	Ernesto Hoost	Netherlands	Jerome Le Banner	France
2003	Remy Bonjasky	Netherlands	Musashi	Japan
2004	Remy Bonjasky	Netherlands	Musashi	Japan
2005	Semmy Schilt	Netherlands	Glaube Feitosa	Brazil
2006	Semmy Schilt	Netherlands	Peter Aerts	Netherlands
2007	Semmy Schilt	Netherlands	Peter Aerts	Netherlands
2008	Remy Bonjasky	Netherlands	No runner-up (Badr Hari disqualified)
2009	Semmy Schilt	Netherlands	Badr Hari	Morocco
2010	Alistair Overeem	Netherlands	Peter Aerts	Netherlands

K-1 World Grand Prix Tables

Fighters	Titles	Runner-up	Third place	Appearance in Finals
Ernesto Hoost	4 (1997, 1999, 2000, 2002)	1 (1993)	3 (1995, 1996, 2006)	11 (1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006)
Semmy Schilt	4 (2005, 2006, 2007, 2009)	0	1 (2010)	5 (2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010)
Peter Aerts	3 (1994, 1995, 1998)	3 (2006, 2007, 2010)	2 (1997, 2003)	17 (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010)
Remy Bonjasky	3 (2003, 2004, 2008)	0	3 (2005, 2007, 2009)	7 (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009)
Andy Hug	1 (1996)	2 (1997, 1998)	0	5 (1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999)
Branko Cikatić	1 (1993)	0	1 (1994)	2 (1993, 1994)
Mark Hunt	1 (2001)	0	1 (2002)	2 (2001, 2002)
Alistair Overeem	1 (2010)	0	1 (2009)	2 (2009, 2010)