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Ikuhisa Minowa held an open workout on Dec 23 in a gym in Kawasaki, Japan. Minowa, who will meet Sokoudjou in the Super Hulk finals at Dynamite!! on Dec 31 in Saitama, admitted he has been employing a truly bizarre training menu.
Minowa's training session began with a weight circuit, which he had never made public before. "Sokoudjou weighs around 220lbs, but he's still got a lot of quickness, so I'm sure he's hitting the weights hard," said Minowa, who is now around 200.
"We have certain strategies, but of course I can't talk about them. I can give you a hint and say that it will be like Geronimo vs. Kinnikuman or Geronimo vs. NEW Ashuraman. My opponent is like Geronimo, and I have to be like NEW Ashuraman, but since having six arms will be tough, I'm going to imagine myself as Kinnikuman (referencing the Japanese pro wrestling themed manga Kinnikuman)."
After finishing his weight circuit, Minowa began with a standard round of shadow boxing. However he then switched to shadow hadoken, shadow shoryuken and shadow drunken boxing. "Some time in September, when I couldn't sleep I was watching Jackie Chan's Drunken Master and got a hint. In the movie, the master says, 'In everything, basics are the most important.'" 
"Don't you need to be drunk for drunken boxing," one of the reporters asked jokingly (Minowa doesn't drink). "Isn't it against the rules too? It might show up in the urine test. The hint I got from drunken boxing was to attack after you've placed your opponent off guard. The hadoken and shoryuken were of course influenced by Street Fighter II, and the hint I got here was to "scroll" while maintaining my guard. I'm about twice as fast as Street Fighter II Turbo."
On the Dynamite!! tournament, Minowa said, "I want to send the fans to another dimension, a 'super heaven.' Retiring on New Years eve is amazing, and so is debuting, but I just want to show everyone my world as best I can." After the Super Hulk tournament, "I want to have a bunch of great matches as a pro wrestler," he said.
Source: www.kamipro.com
On Dec 22 in Tokyo, it was announced that DREAM lightweight champion Shinya Aoki will fight SRC lightweight champ Mizuto Hirota, and that Tatsuya Kawajiri will face Kazunori Yokota in two DREAM vs. SRC matches at the Fields Dynamite!! tournament on Dec 31.
During the photo shoot at the press conference, both Kawajiri and Aoki refused to have their pictures taken with Yokota. Yokota began by saying, "I'm glad the fight is finally set. I know my opponent had a lot of complaints, and I wish the fight had been set earlier. Now I'm just ready to go. I've said that beating Kawajiri and Ishida without beating Gomi didn't mean anything, and since they've both lost to Gomi, at the time that's what I thought. But now Kawajiri is more popular and a better fighter, so he's a good opponent for me."
At this point Aoki took the mic and yelled at Kawajiri to "Shut the hell up!"
Yokota then continued, "If I fought Masato with K-! rules, I'm sure I would have made it a good fight."
In response, Kawajiri just said, "I'm looking forward to a good New Year. If someone challenges me to a fight, I'm just going to get out there and fight."
On losing a chance for a title match with Aoki and instead fighting Yokota, Kawajiri said, "I don't know what the DREAM SRC match means, and I'm really not that interested in fighting Yokota. All I think about is getting in the ring and annihilating my opponent."
Source: www.fnlweb.com
DEEP Cage Impact 2009 was held on Dec 19 at Differ Ariake in Tokyo. In his post-fight interview, winner of the main event of the tournament's second section, Nobuhiro Obiya, said he would fight Fedor if the fans wanted. Below are translations of some of his comments in the interview.
"If the fans want, I'll go beat up Fedor"
"Of course you have to have skills, but my policy is that it's not like golf where you can play in the Master's in your 50s and 60s -- you have to go after it when you're young and strong. And if you're going to do that, you have to take every fight seriously, and if a guy wants to stand up and bang with me, I'll bang, because I'm an MMA fighter, and the ISE fighters are MMA fighters, and we can do everything. If the fans want it, I'll even go after Fedor -- that's the attitude I have."Part 2
Main Event
9. 70.3kg/3Rx5min/Nobuhiro Obiya Def. ISE R2 TKO 1:49
8. 65.8kg/3Rx5min/Takeshi Yamazaki vs. Toshiaki Kitada Draw
7. 83.9kg/2Rx5min/ Ryuta Sakurai Def. Hiroki R1 TKO 2:13 TKO, Strikes
6. 93kg/2Rx5min/Bernard Ackah Def. Shunji Kosaka R1 TKO 0:34 Referee Stoppage
5. Kick-Rule 62kg/3Rx3min/Yoshiki Harada Def. Kick R1 TKO 2:18 Referee Stoppage, Strikes
4. 70.3kg/2Rx5min/Yuki Ito Def. Naoki Matsushita R1 TKO 3:05 Referee Stoppage, Ground Strikes
3. Open/2Rx5min/Hirohide Fujinuma Def. Inochi R1 TKO 2:50 Referee Stoppage, Ground Strikes
2. 62kg/2Rx5min/Hiryu Okamoto Def. Kaiji Hirano R2 Unanimous Decision
1. 70.3kg/2Rx5min/Yasuhiro Kawasaki Def. Mitsuru "Mike" Yamaguchi R1 TKO 3:03 Referee Stoppage, Ground Strikes
Part 1
Main Event
9. 62kg/3Rx5min/Masakazu Imanari Def. Justin "The Shocker" Cruz R1 2:39 Submission, Face Lock
8. Open/3Rx5min/Yusuke Kawaguchi Def. Roque Martinez R3 Unanimous Decision
7. 63kg/3Rx5min/Atsushi Yamamoto Def. Tomoya Miyashita R3 Unanimous Decision
6. 77.1kg/2Rx5min/Eiji Ishikawa Def. Yoshitomo Watanabe R2 Unanimous Decision
5. 65.8kg/2Rx5min/Koichiro Matsumoto Def. Isamu Sugiuchi R2 Unanimous Decision
4. 77.1kg/2Rx5min/Kenta Takagi Def. Teruhiko Kubo R1 3:57 TKO, Doctor Stoppage
3. 70.3kg/2Rx5min/Sadao Kondo Def. Atsuhiro Tsuboi R2 Unanimous Decision
2. 65.8kg/2Rx5min/Yasuhiro Motomura Def. Yon-bok Kil R2 1:01 Disqualification
1. 65.8kg/2Rx5min/Yu Def. Koji Kashikura R1 1:08 TKO, Ground Strikes
Source: www.kakutoh.com
Masato during a sparring session
Following is my translation of Masato's comments from the third and final part of the exclusive interview in the Japanese sports newspaper Nikkan Sports, posted yesterday on their website. Masato, one of Japan's most accomplished stand-up fighters, will fight his farewell bout against Andy Souwer Dec 31 at the Fields Dynamite!! tournament in Saitama, Japan.
His decision to pursue combat sports
Since I was in kindergarten, I thought being strong would make me cool and popular. And then I just became a fighter. I don't really feel that way anymore though (laughingly). My father picked my first gym for me. He said Yonekura (Yonekura Boxing Gym) was the best.
On his ring name, "Masato"
While his given name is Masato Kobayashi, at 17 when he began kickboxing, he was given new kanji for "Masato" as his ring name, changing their meaning from "elegant one," to something much more imposing -- the first character for "Ma" is close in meaning to "devilish" or "fiendish". It was also given to him because the kanji have the same number of strokes as one of the generals that began the Edo Shogunate, which lasted 264 years.
"At first I hated it. It made me sound like I was in a gang. I was like, 'what the hell is this?' The first ring name they tried to give me was Fuji Sankaizan, and since I turned that one down, I couldn't turn down the second one. But everyone was like 'that's an awesome name,' so I agreed. It has the same number of strokes (38) as Ieyasu Tokugawa. I like it now though -- it has impact."
In his 10 years as one of K-1's top fighters, he sometimes wanted to quit
"There were many times I wanted to quit. There seemed like there was no end to it, and that I had to make a decision. Even if I became champion, it wouldn't be over then. I felt like that since 2002, so I felt I had to draw the line somewhere. Age-wise I could probably fight for another two or three years, but I'm not confident I would have the concentration necessary. I thought continuing to fight and getting worse would just look bad, and decided I wanted to go out at my best. I still regret the decision to quit some now, and feel it might be a waste, but that's exactly the reason I have to quit."
No plans after retirement
"Nothing is decided. Right now, I'm only thinking about the fight. I think K-1 will be just fine after I retire, though. I'm just one fighter. It's not like I'm a promoter or something. I couldn't fight now if I were thinking about what to do after retiring."
On his history with K-1
"It really helped me grow up. But from next year, I won't need to be strong anymore. There's no need for that as a regular member of society. If I had a choice I would have been a pro baseball player, making tens of millions of dollars and playing until I was 40 and all beat up."
Source: www.nikkansports.com
Masato praying before a training session
Following is my translation of Masato's comments from the second part of the exclusive interview in the Japanese sports newspaper Nikkan Sports, posted yesterday on their website.
Thanking his wife for her help preparing for the Dec 31 fight
"She began preparing me meals to help me get leaner from around two months before the fight. Dinner is mostly vegetables, and the meat I eat is mostly pork. My wife is quite a good cook. She's a licensed nutritionist and studies quite a lot. She really knows a lot about nutrition, and I really appreciate it. I think she appreciates being with me also, because to stay together you both need to appreciate one another."
On eating in now, versus eating out in the six years they dated
"She often makes stewed vegetables and meat (mushinabe). She'll start with grated radish, then add lots of vegetables on top, and above that, pork. Vegetables fill you up without putting on weight. I like it because I can eat a lot. I think her recipe was even on TV once."
Showing thanks to his parents as well
"My parents always come to my fights. I have lots of relatives also. On the day of my fights, I always eat four or so rice cakes my mother makes for me. I've done this for 12 years, since my very first fight. She always brings them for me. When I fight in Osaka and Aichi, since my mother's family is from Aichi, they make them there and bring them to the fight. The recipe is not that sweet, and I think they have passed it down in the generations.
"I was around 10 pounds when I was born. I must have been eating while I was still inside my mom. I was born healthy, and I'm happy for that, although I don't usually say so (laughingly)."
Source: www.nikkansports.com
Nikkan Sports has started posting its exclusive Masato interview series on it's website, so here is my translation of Masato's comments from the first part of the interview.
On the Ishii vs. Yoshida fight
"I think it's good. There will be plenty of people there who want to see what kind of fight Ishii has, and the fans are getting a good deal with that fight on the card too. If I were a fan, I'd want to see that fight on the card also. He's a gold medalist, so his fight and my fight are the draw on the card."
On Satoshi Ishii, Judo Gold Medalist
"He's a gold medalist. That's an amazing thing, the gold medal. But, if you're talking about which fight will be more interesting, then I'm confident mine will be. First, I'm better looking (laughingly). And it will be a completely different fight -- I'm at a different level than him. I mean, if I as the K-1 champion said I want going to give Judo a go, people would talk about it. But it wouldn't really be a big deal, right? That's what I mean. So what if I said I practiced Judo for two years, it wouldn't be a bid deal."
On the fight with Souwer
"This is a fight between me and him. All I'm thinking about is winning. Honestly, it's all about pride. I'm the one that's lost to him twice and is challenging him again. This is for me, not for everyone watching. I'd really rather have everyone think of the Ishii vs. Yoshida fight as the main event. Because it doesn't matter to me. I was watching TV the other night, and everyone said that Souwer would win. In the past, I would have cared, but now I actually enjoy it. Because I really don't think I'm going to lose."
On his current training menu
"(Since last year's win at K-1 MAX) I have more stamina and power now. This year, I started lifting weights for the first time in four years, and at first I couldn't bench press more than 130 pounds, but yesterday I put up 220 five times. Since three years ago I've been doing 800 meter runs, 3-5 in around 2:40 each. Then a 400 meter sprint after that. It's tough, but I'm doing it to win. I hate losing. I definitely have more strength than then. You'd be amazed at my body now. I'm in the best shape ever. I look great."
Source: www.nikkansports.com
Following is the final part of my translation of K-1's Dec 10 interview with Masato.
Think 10 Years Older
Q: So, you did it all for yourself?
A: Yes, because you can only go so far if you're doing it for someone else. You have to be in it for yourself.
Q: What did you want to accomplish in K-1?
A: I wanted to be the champ. I wanted to be the best, the world champion. It was something I wanted since I was a teenager.
Q: What have you left K-1?
A: My records -- it's all about pride. People that don't fight will think that being champion is good enough. But I think pride is OK -- if I'm pleased, that's what matters.
Q: Did you talk with your family about your opponent?
A: They said it was fate, that I was lucky.
Q: Were they against you fighting?
A: No, not at all.
Q: How has your wife supported you?
A: You know, like she always does.
Q: It must be hard coming down to your last fight?
A: Yeah, but it was harder in the past.
Q: What do you think, looking back at yourself?
A: It was tough. I used to be really scared and trained all the time. But I ended up overtraining, and became overtired and depressed. But I understand that now. If I'm tired, I sleep and don't train. That's the best. I know now overtraining isn't good.
Q: Having an on and off switch?
A: It's because I'm 30 now. I'm different than when I was 20. I know how not to overtrain now.
Q: 30 is still young, right?
A: For athletes, it's the best time, right? Ability-wise?
Q: But you don't feel 30 mentally?
A: I feel about 40. That's what I've been told since way back, "think 10 years older."
Q: What kind of condition are you in?
A: I'm pretty tired. It's good to push until about a month before the fight.
Q: At the press conference, you said you knew what you needed to work on.
A: Yeah, but I can't say. The idea for the New Years eve fight is build a body to go five rounds, working to build a body that won't get tired even if I go hard from the first round. Of course, I do plan to knock him out though.
When Desire is Gone, It's Over
Q: I feel like the two of you are going to go at it.
A: Oh, we'll go at it. But I'm stronger now, and have better stamina.
Q: Do you want to go five rounds?
A: If possible.
Q: Five rounds seems tough.
A: The strategy for 3 rounds and 5 rounds is completely different. For Souwer too.
Q: How does the strategy differ?
A: I don't want to get into specifics, but it has to do with how to use five rounds to knock him out.
Q: So there are tactics involved.
A: Yes.
Q: The $1,000 yen Masato Seats sold out quickly. Can you feel the love of the fans?
A: I'm happy. What should I do if I'm the first fight?
Q: What was your biggest motivator thus far?
A: It's never changed. Desire, desire. This is what I wanted to be.
Q: Do you still have a dream?
A: Yes of course. Once the dream is gone, it's over.
Q: You've accomplished a lot, haven't you?
A: No no, once you start to thinking that way you stop moving forward. You can never be satisfied. That's why I keep challenging myself.
Q: What would you like to say to your fans about your last fight?
A: I'm not really thinking about that now.
Q: What would you like them to feel?
A: I don't have time to think about that now. I'm have too much to focus on myself.
Q: Do you have a message for the fans then?
A: If you want to have a good New Year, then I think you should come and see my fight. There are lots of fights, but I'm going to finish it right. I'm going to give you an ending you'll be happy with, and I won't let you down.
Source: www.k-1.co.jp
Ikuhisa Minowa held an open workout on Dec 23 in a gym in Kawasaki, Japan. Minowa, who will meet Sokoudjou in the Super Hulk finals at Dynamite!! on Dec 31 in Saitama, admitted he has been employing a truly bizarre training menu. 
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