Kendo Kashin

Tokimitsu Ishizawa (石澤 常光 Ishizawa Tokimitsu), better known by his ring name Kendo Kashin (ケンドー・カシン, Kendō Kashin), is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is also known for his forays into mixed martial arts, where he defeated Gracie Jiu Jitsu fighter Ryan Gracie in PRIDE Fighting Championship.

Career

Ishizawa was an outstanding Amateur wrestling star of Waseda University before being scouted and initiated into the New Japan Pro Wrestling promotion on September 21, 1992, wrestling against Tiger Mask. During the NJPW vs. UWFi feud, he was taught the shoot style by Kazuo Yamazaki. After defeating Yuji Nagata to win the 1996 Young Lion Cup, he left on a learning excursion to Austria's CWA promotion, where he disguised himself under a mask and called himself Kendo Kashin.

He returned to New Japan as Kashin in May 1997 at the Osaka Dome, facing his mentor, Kazuo Yamazaki. Kendo Kashin quickly rose up the ranks of the Junior Heavyweight division, utilizing a cross armbreaker and other armbar techniques to quickly submit opponents. After defeating Koji Kanemoto to win the 1999 Best of the Super Juniors Tournament, he defeated Kanemoto again in August of that year to capture the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship for the first time.

In August 2000 Ishizawa ventured into the mixed martial arts world and fought under his real name and without the mask in PRIDE 10. He lost his match with Ryan Gracie by TKO in little more than two minutes. However, it is said that he was forced to fight in the PRIDE's ring by Antonio Inoki, the owner of NJPW at the time, without enough time to train for mixed martial arts fighting. Continuing to suffer many losses, Kashin took several months off from New Japan to train. In July 2001 Ishizawa challenged Ryan for a rematch at PRIDE 15. This time he TKO'd Ryan in under 5 minutes, which would advance his wrestling career more than ever. That same month he returned to New Japan as Kendo Kashin and won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title for the second time by defeating Masayuki Naruse in just 26 seconds.

Kashin would make a shocking move in January 2002 when, while he was still champion, he followed fellow New Japan stars Keiji Mutoh and Satoshi Kojima to rival promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling. In All Japan, Kashin quickly established himself as the Junior ace, submitting Masanobu Fuchi to win the vacant World Junior Heavyweight Championship. He also won the World Tag Team Championship with Yuji Nagata.

In 2004 Kashin split from All Japan to become a freelancer, taking one of the two World Tag Team Championship belts with him, with Nagata taking the other. The championship was later declared vacant by AJPW six months later. However, he kept the actual physical belt for himself, something which AJPW sued him in August, 2005. Kashin's tag partner, Yuji Nagata, gave one of those belts back to AJPW soon after it was declared vacant, when they requested it.

In 2005 he returned to New Japan as a regular for a few months, working through the Inoki Office agency. The agency's and New Japan's association ended in late 2005 due to disputes. Kashin returned the AJPW belts back to them in May 2006.

On April 2, 2005, Kashin competed under a mask as Dragon Soldier B in Ring of Honor's Best of the American Super Juniors Tournament. Despite not being American, he was booked to win and wrestled three matches, but performed poorly, prompting a "Don't come back" chant from the ROH fans. Kashin never returned to ROH.

After a long hiatus from wrestling, Kashin returned on December 20, 2007 at the Inoki Genome Federation's show in Tokyo and faced off against Kurt Angle for IGF's version of the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship in a losing effort.

Kashin's whereabouts were in question after the earthquake and Tsunami, but he has telephoned both Simon Inoki and Yuji Nagata to say he is fine.

Kendo returned to the ring for IGF in 2012. In March 2014, Kashin returned to All Japan Pro Wrestling, announcing his participation in the 2014 Champion Carnival.^[1]

Kashin will make his debut for Superstars Of Wrestling (UK) IN October 2016

In wrestling

• Finishing moves
  • Cross armbreaker,^[2] sometimes while flying to an opponent sitting on the top turnbuckle^[2]

• Signature moves
  • Double wristlock
  • European uppercut
  • Frankensteiner, sometimes from the top rope
  • Fujiwara armbar
  • KV Kneelock (Rolling cradle transitioned into a figure four leglock)
  • Various illegal attacks
  • Vertical suplex
  • Victory roll^[2]

• Entrance themes
  • "Cubisme" (NJPW; 1993-1997)
  • "Sky Walk" (NJPW; 1997-2001)
  • "Sky Walk (Problem Remix)" (NJPW / AJPW / Freelance; 2001–present)

Wrestlers trained

• American Balloon^[3]
• Hartley Jackson^[4]
• Principe Orion^[5]

Championships and accomplishments

• All Japan Pro Wrestling
  • World Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Yuji Nagata
  • January 3 Korakuen Hall Junior Heavyweight Battle Royal (2003)^[6]

• Catch Wrestling Association
  • CWA Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• Dramatic Dream Team
  • DDT Extreme Division Championship (1 time, current)

• European Wrestling Promotion
  • EWP Intercontinental Championship (1 time)^[7]
  • EWP Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Toru Yano

• New Japan Pro Wrestling
  • IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
  • IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Dr. Wagner, Jr.
  • Best of the Super Juniors (1999)^[8]
  • Young Lion Cup (1996)^[9]

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked him #83 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 2003^[10]
  • PWI ranked him #351 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the PWI Years in 2003

• Ring of Honor
  • Best of American Super Juniors (2005)

Mixed martial arts record

References