Terutomo Yamazaki

Terutomo Yamazaki (山崎 照朝) is a Japanese karateka from the Kyokushin Kaikan (極真会館) and professional lightweight kickboxer.

He is the founder of Gyakushin-Kai (逆真会館) and a Director of Karate in Japan.

He presides over the International Budo Karate Organization Gyakushin-Kai from the headquarters of the organization (honbu) in Ōmiya-ku, Saitama, Japan.

His title as head of the Gyakushin-Kai organization is “Kancho” (Grandmaster - 7th Dan).

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

He began the study of Kyokushin karate as a student in high school at the headquarters (honbu) of Kyokushin Kaikan at Ikebukuro, Tokyo, where founder Masutatsu Ōyama taught.

Yamazaki practiced with the senior pupils who were Shigeru Ōyama, Yasuhiko Ōyama (both from The World Ōyama Karate in the United States - Shigeru is Sōshu and Yasuhiko is Saikō Shihan), Tadashi Nakamura and Hideyuki Ashihara at the time.

Televised kickboxing was a huge boom from 1965 to 1975 when it was broadcast on the four TV stations, TBS, Nippon Television, TV Asahi and TV Tokyo all over Japan.

For two and a half years Yamazaki commuted three hours from his house to the dojo, and reached the rank of shodan (1st degree black belt) on April 15, 1967.

This was an unusually short time period of only two years because of his level of talent and effort.

He reached the rank of nidan (2nd degree black belt) on October 10, 1967.

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

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

Several pupils measured over 200 centimeters in height and weighed over 90 kilograms, and practicing with these students led him to develop new ways to fight and knock out larger opponents.

Yamazaki is a first champion of the All-Japan Full Contact Karate Open Championships in 1969, and has promoted Kyokushin famous through his accomplishments.

Because he fought and defeated Muay Thai boxers, he created a reputation for Kyokushin before the First All-Japan Open Full Contact Karate Championships was held.

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

When he fought someone, it was usual that he knocked them out without receiving any injuries himself.

He is nicknamed “The Genius Karate Fighter” or “The Dragon of Kyokushin", and when he was an active fighter, he was the most popular figure of the time. He 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.

TV Asahi requested a player from Kyokushin in February, 1969, and Masutatsu Ōyama elected Yamazaki and Yoshiji Soeno to enter the competitions.

Ōyama also founded a kickboxing gym called Kyokushin Gym where they practiced kickboxing about two months before entering the kickboxing competitions in April, 1969.

Yamazaki fought in the lightweight or welterweight division at kickboxing.

At the first competition, Soeno fought Kannanpai who was one of the strongest boxers of Muay Thai and had won over Tadashi Sawamura a half a year before their match.

Soeno was defeated by Kannanpai, and the next match was Yamazaki and Kannanpai.

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

Also one of the strongest boxers of Muai Thai with knockout wins over Sawamura was Samanso from Lumpinee-ranked boxers.

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

After these fights, Yamazaki wanted to learn Muay Thai because it is a strong and technical martial art.

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

As his Muai Thai techniques improved, especially his front kick, roundhouse kick, elbow and knee (strike), he included these techniques in his karate training.

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

The promoters presented Yamazaki with good contract terms, but Yamazaki refused the offer, responding that he had never fought martial arts for the money.

It was the life style of bushido that matters to his thinking.

Many offers and persuasions came again and again, and finally he signed to participate in kickboxing matches.

But TV Asahi stopped broadcasting kickboxing, and he returned to karate after only one year.

He fought ten kickboxing matches with a record of eight knock out wins and two losses (two lost on a decision).

Kyokushin was planning to hold the First All-Japan Full Contact Karate Open Championships at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium in September 1969.

It was not only a karate championship, but martial artists of various kinds also participated in this competition.

Athletes included Gidon Gaddary who was an Israeli judo player weighing over 100 kilograms; Paul Jackson who was a heavyweight boxer from the United States; and three Muay Thai boxers from Lumpinee-ranked boxers including Birahon, Sakao and Samanso.

The competition was fighting against other combative arts.