On October 24, in Badalona The Spanish Open Kyokushin Karate Tournament Catalunya 2009 took place. Karateka from France, Poland, Switzerland and Spain participated in the competition of Men, Women and Juniors.
   The event was organised by Spanish Kyokushin Karate Organisation. Main judge was Shihan Antonio Pinero.

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photos: Galdric Pearroja

   Ukrainian Autumn Kyokushin Karate Camp took place from September 10 to 13, in Kiev. The camp was lead by Shihan Kazuhito Gorai and Shihan Stanislav Bliznyuk. Approximately 80 participated in the camp, that was organised by
Ukrainian National Kyokushin Karate Organization.
   Members from all over the country, black belts and dojo leaders including: Shihan S. Vsevolodov, Sensei A. Nebesnii, Sensei V. Maximov, Sensei V. Sukovatiy took part in the event.

   The Norwegian Summer Camp 2009 was arranged in the south west of the country (Kristiansand).  There was approximately 140 participants from all over the country, as well as karateka from Belgium, Denmark, Finland and Spain. Leading instructors were Shihan Antonio Pinero and Sensei Alejandro Navarro from Spain. In total there were 14 instructors invited by the organiser Shihan Lars Hoquist.
   All katas were covered including Tekki-sono-ichi, Tekki-sono-ni, Tekki-sono-san and Bassai Dai Kata, as well as the Bo-kata. Bunkai of Tekki kata and special self-defense was presented to the participants. This year self-defense for women and self-defense against knife we also arranged.

    On August 23, The 4th World Weight Category Championships 2009 took place in Chiba, Japan. Main judge was Kancho Shokei Matsui. Opening ceremony was done by Sensei Kyosuke Machida. International Committee Members: Shihan Seiji Isobe, Shihan Loek Hollander, Shihan Peter Chong, as well as IKO Adviser Shihan Yuzo Goda were the special guests. During the opening ceremony Shihan Seiji Isobe was awarded 8th dan, and Sensei Artur Hovhannisian who completed 100 Man Kumite test in March, was awarded 4th dan.
   Four European fighters entered the finals. Alejandro Navarro from Spain (heavy weight) and Zahari Damianov from Bulgaria (superheavy weight) became the World Vice Champion, Piotr Moczydlowski from Poland was third in lightweight and Krzysztof Habraszka was fourth in superheavy weight category. The winners are: Yuzo Suzuki (-70kg), Zenjuro Mori (-80kg), Kentaro Tanaka (-90kg) and Mihail Kozlov (+90kg).
   On August 21 to 23, The 2009 Women's World Championships, The 2009 World Youth Elite Championships, The 2009 International Youth Championships,  The 2009 International Kata Championships took place. The whole event called International Karate Friendship in 2009 gathered about 1600 competitors from all over the world and was a great success.
   Organiser of the event was IKO Kyokushinkaikan, lead by Kancho Shokei Matsui.

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RESULTS:
4th World Weight Category Kyokushin Karate Championships

Women's World Championships

    Record number of 400 participants entered The 36th East European Summer Camp, that was held in Cracow, Poland on July 22-26. This year's special instructors were Shihan Katsuhito Gorai (IKO General Secretary, from New York) and Sensei Artur Hovhannisian (2007 Karate World Championships bronze medalist, from Armenia). Sensei Guests were invited by the organiser - Shihan Andre Drewniak (EKKO General Secretary, from Poland).

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   Assisting instructors were: Shihan Wlodzimierz Roj, Shihan Eugeniusz Dadzibug, Sensei Jan Gruba and Sensei Andrzej Manecki from Poland. Guest assistant and japanese language interpreter was Senpai Andrzej Zacharski from Tokyo.
    There were participants from 11 european countries: Belarus, Belgium, Czech Republic, Lihuania, Latvia, Moldova, Germany, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine and Poland. On the last day of the camp the examination took place. The event finished the Sayonara Party where students performed music and comedic skits to entertain the instructors.
   Organiser of the camp was Polish Kyokushinkai Organisation, led by Shihan Andre Drewniak.
   Next year, the camp is planned on July 21-25, 2010.

official poster - souvenir of the camp