Thursday, April 24, 2014

Ayaka Hamasaki Interview


During my time in Tokyo, I was able to go to AACC Gym. The purpose of my visit was to interview the #5 ranked Strawweight in the world, Ayaka Hamasaki (9-1). During the interview she talked about her last fight, her knee, WMMA and some changes in her gym. After the interview, I stuck around and took some videos and pictures of her training. Most of the time the woman she is rolling with is Deep Jewels fighter Yuko Ohno (7-3)






Tuesday, April 22, 2014

V.V Mei Debuts in Deep Jewels

Courtesy of Gravity

Coming off of two contentious split-decision losses abroad, "V.V" Mei Yamaguchi (11-7) will be fighting on native soil for Deep Jewels on May 18th. This will be her second fight this year and her promotional debut. Her opponent will be long time veteran Yukiko Seki. Seki at 43 years old has put together a 12-23 record over her career. In her last 11 she has gone 7-4. Standing at 4"10, this will be the first time in the 5"0 Mei's career that she has been taller than her opponent. Given Mei's experience it is safe to say that she is the favorite going into this match. Having lost a fight many thought she won in March, this fast turn around shows that she wants to get that behind her as fast as possible. Expect a heavily motivated Mei to come into this fight.

A grappling match between Yukari Yamaguchi and Miyoko Kusaka has also been added to the card.
With these additions to the card, Deep Jewels 4 is starting to shape together nicely.

Mei Yamaguchi vs Yukiko Seki
Deep Jewels Rule
2R/5M

Ham Seo Hee vs Kira Yuki
Kickboxing Rules
3R/2M

Ayaka Miura vs Ella Wu
Deep Jewels Rule
2R/5M

Tomo Maesawa vs Brittney Decker
Deep Jewels Rule
2R/5M

Shizuka Sugiyama vs Takayo Hashi
Deep Jewels Champion Deciding Match
3R/5M

Saori Ishioka vs Sarami
Deep Jewels Rules
2R/5M

Naomi Taniyama vs Yuko Kawabata
Deep Jewels Rules
2R/5M

Shiroi Hori vs Maya Dobashi
Deep Jewels Rules/No GNP
2R/5M

Miyoko Kusaka vs Yukari Yamaguchi
Grappling Rules

Friday, April 18, 2014

Shootboxing 2014 Act 2




Last night, I was in attendance for Shootboxing's 2014 Act 2 show at Korakuen Hall. In the past when I have gone to Shootboxing events, the fights have tended to be decision heavy and usually went to extension rounds. Not only did none of the fights go to extension rounds, but there were numerous knockdowns, throws, submissions, and knockouts. 

Fights that stood out 

Yuji Ishikuza vs M16



M16, the brother of Oikawa, vs Ishikuza was the classic young lion vs old lion fight. Ishikuza, the young lion, had power and speed on his side where M16 had experience and technique. The first round was very close but at the fight went on M16 began to counter the aggressive Ishikuza and wobbled hims several times eventually knocking him down in the 3rd. The fight had me on the edge of the seat because it had the feel of a fight that could end at any second.

Kikukawa Matsukuma vs Takahashi Ai



Not much to say about this fight. Before the event I was talking to some people who said that Masukuma wasn't very good. She was knocked down twice and TKO'd at 2:04 of the 1st round so I guess they were right.

Rena vs Im Seo Hee



I got the chance to meet Im before the fight and she looked very young. She was noticeably a lot smaller and less defined than Rena. That being said she was not afraid of Rena. She hit Rena with a very hard right and knocked Rena on her butt several times with side kicks to the mid section. A visibly annoyed Rena pushed Im into a corner and with 20 seconds left locked on a front choke. With 10 seconds left Im started frantically tapping but the referee didn't see it or ignored it. A couple of seconds later Im fell unconscious to the mat. It is interesting to note that the other Korean fighter, from Im's gym, who fought immediately after her lost in the exact same fashion. Both fighters showcased flashy Taekwando kicks but seemed ill prepared for some of Shootboxing's unique rules. I would like to see Im get another chance to fight as with a little practice under Shootboxing rules, I think she could be an exciting fighter.

Omigawa vs Masaya



Omigawa, the shorter of the two, completely destroyed Masaya. Omigawa ceaselessly darted into clinching range throwing hard punches. He bobbed and weaved his way in while throwing looping hooks. He tried to showcase his Judo but Masaya employed the dead fish defense of just going limp and falling to the ground. There is only one Shootboxing Referee who is proactive in penalizing this and he wasn't in the ring so it happened over and over again. Omigawa wobbled and bloodied Masaya throughout the fight. In the third he appeared to throw less punches and afterwards looked like he might have injured his hand. It didn't affect the outcome as he won a lopsided decision.

Monday, April 14, 2014

Ham Seo Hee vs Kira Yuki



Ham Seo Hee will be facing off against Kira Yuki at Deep Jewels 4. The match will take place under Kickboxing rules. As is often the case, it is hard to find accurate records for the fighters but as I can tell Ham Seo Hee has a 7-3 record in Kickboxing/Shoot Boxing with her 3 losses coming to Erika Kamimura x2 and Rena. I know that Ham has Kickboxed in Korea and competed in Muay Thai in Thailand, but a record for these cannot be found. An accurate record is also hard to find for Kira Yuki but it is something like 6-4-1.
Kira Yuki, 17 years old, is the younger sister of Kira Chihiro. Chihiro is also a Kickboxer, having recently advanced to the Semi-Finals of the J-Girls Pin-Weight Tournament. In addition to having a sister as a fighter, it was reported that Yuki is the protege of Yuichiro "Jienotsu" Nagashima. Having lost to Shoot Boxing's Mio twice, it is safe to assume that Yuki will be the underdog going into the fight.

The Kira Sisters
Courtesy of LADY GO!














Deep Jewels 4: Match Updates


Some more fights have been added to the May Deep Jewels 4 card. 


Ham Seo Hee vs Kira Yuki
Kickboxing Rules
3R/2M

Ayaka Miura vs Ella Wu
Deep Jewels Rule
2R/5M

Tomo Maesawa vs Brittney Decker
Deep Jewels Rule
2R/5M

Shizuka Sugiyama vs Takayo Hashi
Deep Jewels Champion Deciding Match
3R/5M

Saori Ishioka vs Sarami
Deep Jewels Rules
2R/5M

Naomi Taniyama vs Yuko Kawabata
Deep Jewels Rules
2R/5M

Shiroi Hori vs Maya Dobashi
Deep Jewels Rules/No GNP
2R/5M


Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Ham vs VanHoose


Ham Seo Hee (12-5) will be facing off against fellow Jewels veteran Shino Vanhoose (3-2) this Sunday on April 6th.

Ham Seo Hee is coming into this match as the Deep Jewels Atomweight Champion and is riding a three fight win streak.While her 12-5 record is impressive, I would argue that it is even more impressive when one looks at the names. Her five losses were to Miku Matsumoto (23-4), Yuka Tsuji (24-3), Megumi Fujii (26-3) and Ayaka Hamasaki (9-1). She is also undefeated at 105 holding a 3-0 record in the division. One can also expect her to come into this fight highly motivated as this will be her first MMA fight in her home country.

Shino VanHoose is a definite prospect and hasn't fought since 2012. So there are questions going into the fight. She is back in the States, having previously trained in Japan, so it is impossible to tell what she has improved in and how her style has evolved. Having had seen her fight before, I can say that she used to be predominately a grappler but I don't know what she is like now. What I do know is that she has nothing to lose in this fight and everything to gain.

Ham Seo Hee Training


Shino VanHoose Grappling