RINGS 6/15/00: MILLENNIUM COMBINE 2nd

Millennium Combine 2nd
June 15, 2000 in Tokyo, Japan
Yoyogi Gym drawing 3,360

NO HOLDS BARRED RUSSIAN SAMBO, THE THING MOST FEARED IN SECRET ALWAYS HAPPENS but of course in reality there are plenty of holds barred in Russian Sambo such as for example all chokes and, depending on one's era, also heel hooks, those same heel holdo quite sensibly barred in the Fighting Network we cherish as RINGS. Kenichi Takayanagi and Hideyuki Kumakubo welcome us to Yoyogi Gym alongside Kiyoshi Tamura, who has been granted respite on this night as he competed short weeks ago in 東京ドーム Tōkyō Dōmu for Colosseum 2000, where he won a fine decision win over the estimable and ever-ready Jeremy Horn. But of course this is known to us as we got way out ahead of that entire situation in these very same pages. Rickson Gracie's hadaka-jime finish against essential Pancraseist Masakatsu Funaki is shown, complete with the ring filling in jubilation as though the Gracies had just won the World Cup (an old friend described World Youth Day when it was visited upon Toronto, complete with a Papal Mass [remember the TTC Papal Mass Day Pass? who could forget!], as seeming like the Catholics had won the World Cup; this was probably fifteen years ago but it remains quality material in my view). Shown too are clips of the irrepressible Hiromitsu Kanehara's decision loss to Mario Sperry, a loss that carries with it no shame. Kanehara will be in the main event on this our present show, against WORLD MEGA-BATTLE OPEN TOURNAMENT KING OF KINGS runner-up "Renato" Babalu "Sobral. Kanehara, you will perhaps recall, earned a decision win over Jeremy Horn in the first round of that august tournament, only to lose in the second round in that very same way (the way of decision, hantei-do [that's not real]) to eventual champion Dan Henderson. So Kanehara and Babalu have at least that much in common! Maybe that will make it easier to get to know each other. 

The introductory video package on sambo broadly and on Volk Han specifically seems to wish to focus our attention on Han's first RINGS (Japan) match in almost exactly a year! They are in an awkward position, too, in that you can kind of feel that they want to be like this is the first time Volk Han is fighting for real but they can't really come right out and say that, right? Two more items to attend to before we head into the matches, the first of which is to note the RINGS Official Rankings as such: 10. Han 9. Zaza 8. Ilioukhine 7. Yamamoto 6. Horn 5. Kohsaka 4. Tariel 3. Kasteel 2. Babalu 1. Tamura . . . and no champion (we know why [have fun in PRIDE, Gilbert Yvel!]). The second thing I would to mention is that I have just now read that Yoyogi National Gymnasium 国立代々木競技場, which hosted swimming and diving and basketball (in an annex!) at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, and which is now used as a hockey rink and basketball court and "futsal" (five-on-five soccer) field (pitch?), "is famous for its suspension roof design," and here's a lovely shot of it beyond U-File Camp's Ryueki Ueyama:

Ueyama is downright willowy here, doesn't he? In addition to looking that way, he is charged with the task of taking to fight against Dave Menne in the opening bout. Inaugural UFC Middleweight Champion Dave Menne! Not yet but he would be pretty soon! I feel like his presence here really situates us in a particular era, and yet when I call up his record I see that he competed from 1997 to 2012, so shows what I know, and it's not even his first time in RINGS (he was Tamura's first-round KING OF KINGS opponent), but this is how I feel this time, what can I say. He and Ueyama are having a solid, græppling heavy opening round, when Menne has a slight rules-lapse and punches Ueyama in the head on the ground and immediately reacts as though he can't believe how stupid he had been to do so, look: 

It's no big deal, Ueyama is fine, but Dave Menne gives himself a yellower card in his heart than anyone else could ever give him (he gets one from the referee too of course). As round two ends I think this one would probably go to Dave Menne except for the yellow card which . . . let's see . . . okay it's a draw. That's reasonable. Ah, it's a majority draw (one judge had it for Menne), and they have decided to do things that way. I don't like it as well! Also please note I have employed my advanced Japanese-listening skills to hear when they are saying juku or "nineteen" (I have counted more reps of things in Japanese than in English at this point, it's not even close). 

Brad Kohler looks squat and powerful but over-muscled as ever whereas this is what Valentijn Overeem looks like right now:

Sure he's coughing so he gets the +2 on his abs that that always grants but even allowing for that he is huge and lean and we know he is also quick and skillful so everybody is in pretty big trouble, probably. Including Brad Kohler: Kohler dashes in with a big punch that I don't even think landed but Overeem got tripped up as he moved backwards; Kohler got on top and decided to do some hitting utterly with no discernible concern as to positioning and he ended up hiza-juji knee-barred in thirty-one seconds. He yells OKAY OKAY before he taps, and this was a problem last time against Christopher Haseman, remember? He tapped, and Haseman (who is a sportsman and I am sure meant no harm) took longer than Kohler liked to break the hold, and part of Kohler's complaint was that he had asked him to stop before he had tapped, but Haseman hadn't heard him. Tapping is how we ask people to stop; do that first. That or we say maitta: 

参った: expression: "I'm beaten, I give up." 
1. to go; to come; to call
2. to be defeated; to collapse; to die
3. to be annoyed; to be nonplussed
4. to be madly in love
5. to visit (shrine, grave)   

Brad Kohler should hone this skill, especially since submissions seem to come on pretty quickly for him (he is so densely muscled that this is no surprise). I have just now checked and this match is part of an eleven-fight losing streak that Kohler ended in the last match of his career. Good for him ending on a high note though! I bet that felt great.

I recognize the names of neither Roberto Traven nor Gueorguiev Tzvektov immediately though I think I should probably know Roberto Traven? Ah yes, a distinguished BJJ competitor (World Champion, ADCC Champion) but an indifferent mixed fighter whose biggest match was probably a loss to Frank Mir (that's fine, Frank Mir is good). This is Gueorguiev Tzvektov's only match that shows up anywhere but I have established for sure that he is Bulgarian. Anyway this one is just lame striking for the whole time, and it is terrible to me. It is a split-decision win for Traven but the real loser here is not Gueorguiev Tzvektov so much as my enjoyment of this match. Tzvektov was kind of plump and did seem merry, I'll give him those things. 

Bobby Hoffman was later convicted of terrible crimes. Here he defeats Alistair Overeem by knockout in 9:39.  

VOLK HAN for the first time in a year (in Japan [he has RINGS'd abroad) and probably for the first time in a shoot (since his days of sambo) enters to a great ovation to face Brandon Lee Hinkle, a very good wrestler and in time a good fighter, who comes out to KRS One's "Step Into A World (Rapture's Delight)" which I suppose I must have seen performed the time I saw KRS One at the Marquee? He was a pretty exciting guy, but he kept inviting people out of the crowd up on stage to rap and generally speaking I found their rappings less compelling than KRS One's and so while we appreciated (I guess, a little) the spirit in which everything unfolded we actually didn't like the thing itself all that much at all and my friend Troy and I left early (R.I.P. Troy, please read "Faust 3 or Britney Spears: Black Metal Idol" if art matters [I think it does]). When Ghostface and Raekwon were here for the Pop Explosion they were much more judicious in their inviting-up, assembling an impromptu clan (including Tyrone Parsons aka T aka Tyler of Trailer Park Boys distinction) to do all the parts in "Protect Ya Neck" and it was a delight. Look at how good the Quarrelsome Yeti's poster was for that show: 

I went to that show with my pal and fellow judo instructor (one guy, not two) and several of the songs we enjoyed made reference to fantasy realms of unmatched martial prowess so how while I am digressing somewhat from the materials before us right now, at the same time I would also ask am I really? The bell sounds and Volk Han is fighting for real! He eats a hard right hand instantly, also his punching looks very bad. It is so weird to see him with gloves! Also he looks just slightly out of shape, but I guess he is not young here is he, let me check: well, he had just turned thirty-nine, I cannot give him a pass at thirty-nine. Han is unable to get the fight to the ground despite his several efforts in the first few minutes; about four minutes in Hinkle takes Han down and I think everyone is happier here and they should stay. But no, Roygaku Wada stands them up after Han's gyaku-ude-garami fails to deliver. Maybe one standing though! This was always a move that made me uneasy, Han's standing gyaku-ude-garami/reverse-arm-entanglement/double-wrist-lock/figure-four/Kimura that he would just whip on and I would fear for shoulders! It is far less reckless here in its "shoot" application than it often was in its shoot-styling. While it does not finish, it does bring Hinkle down, and the crowd loved it! They are stood, but when next they are down, Hinkle has Han backed up into and sort of under the corner and decides to go in and start hitting. "No, you don't need any of that," is Hinkle's corner's advice, no doubt fearing kanestsu-waza (bone-locking technique); this quickly escalates to "protect your arm better than that, protect your arm better than that" and this is good if unheeded coaching (if your hands are going to be up past the belt-line, you had better have a reason, is what I tell my students) because before you know it Hinkle tries but fails to slam his way out of what turns out to be a match-ending 腕挫三角固 ude-hishigi-sangaku-gatame, the triangle arm bar (the "List of judo techniques" wikipedia page had this technique listed as a shime-waza or strangulation but don't worry it has been edited just now by A Mystery Pedant): 

VOLK HAN DID IT. 

Hiromitsu Kanehara's entrance theme is so good that I kind of wish I was still putting these shows up on Youtube so I could get the copyright claim to tell me what the song was; but of course that whole thing fell apart, didn't it, and now the rumblemetrics Youtube account is barren and bereft. Babalu comes out to "Come With Me" as performed by Puff Daddy (featuring Jimmy Page) from the soundtrack to the Godzilla movie I don't think anyone liked but that I did not see (Godzilla movies that have not aired super late on CBC are ones that I have not seen [one time they played the Sturla Gunnarsson Beowulf and Grendel right after a playoff hockey game and it felt like entrapment]). Babalu puts Kanehara down with I think the very first punch of the match and the ne waza unfolds from there. Through five excellent minutes of it, Babalu has certainly had the best of it, but Kanehara proves fish-slippery once more, and has the best attempt at a shime- or kansetsu-waza (strangulation or bone-locking technique) so far with a juji-gatame. Babalu is a patient græppsman but I think he was uncharacteristically impatient a moment ago when he tried a rolling waza against the turtle (or kame) position that almost doesn't exist without a gi; like, it exists sufficiently without a gi that when Kiyoshi Tamura does it in a shoot-style match it seems awesome, but to see someone do it without a gi in a straight shoot it looks awfully optimistic. But optimism is a good quality! I like this match a lot. Kanehara tries to trap both arms and bring his knees into play for a double armlock, really a form of 腕挫膝固 ude-hishigi-hiza-gatame (knee arm-lock), I don't know if you've ever seen this kind of thing but it's pretty cræftig/crafty:

Mikinosuke Kawaishi is all over it, don't worry:

I have never even come close to doing that successfully in competition, or else it would be the only thing I would ever talk about, and I can only clearly remember one time I got it to work in randori (乱取り, literally "chaos taking" but translated by Kano as "free exercise") but I treasure it. The second round is excellent in much the same way as the first, but this time with much talk on commentary about the prospect of reverse triangle holdo but it never truly materializes. Babalu takes the unanimous decision, and it is richly deserved, but Kanehara remains true to himself and to his waza throughout. I really liked it! "Thank you," Kanehara says to Babalu backstage, "you are very heavy!"

And with that I will take my leave of you for now but not before thanking you once again for your time and for your attention to these matters; when next we meet, I think Dan Severn will be here! Imagine it!

IN TIME THE WORDS OF DAVE MELTZER WILL FLOW FROM THE OBSERVER ARCHIVE TO THE SPACE BELOW BUT TODAY IS NOT THAT DAY.