Osipov Sergey (see photo below) - 2005 world heavyweight champion in Kyokushin karate Characterizing this man, Japanese journalists do not skimp on epithets and do not restrain praise. “Fierce power”, “Moscow monster”, “white horror” - all this has been said about it many times in specialized media dedicated to martial arts. This article will describe a brief biography of the athlete. So let's get started.
Karate classes
The hero of this article was born in Moscow in 1978. 13 years is the age at which Sergey Osipov began to practice karate. The boy's parents supported his new hobby. The young man decided to start his sports career in the famous metropolitan club "Cayman", which produced many champions. And indeed, not a single institution of the country specializing in the Kyokushin style could boast of such a number of titles and medals collected by pupils in Russian and international competitions.
Debut
In 1995, Sergey Osipov performed at his first competition - an open tournament in Moscow. The debut was a success. In middle weight, the young athlete won bronze. Sergey gained confidence in his own abilities, and he began to speak at both Russian and international tournaments. At the same time, Osipov increased weight and moved into new categories. One thing was invariable - the athlete everywhere won victories. Champion of Moscow, Russia, winner of the European Cup, European champion in contact karate Kamakura, as well as the world champion in Oyama-karate. Here are just some of the titles won by a young man in a bitter struggle.
New opportunities
In 2000, Sergey Osipov joined IKO-1 (International Karate-Do Organization), whose headquarters were in Tokyo. This gave him the opportunity to participate in Asian tournaments and fight with Japanese karate. And they were considered the strongest on the planet.
The ill-wishers of Sergei argued that at tournaments of this level the young athlete would look pale. Especially Osipov recently moved to light heavyweight and had to fight with powerful karatekas. But all their statements were in vain: for the first time having entered the Open Cup of the Russian Federation, the athlete won gold. After this bright victory, the karateka was noticed by Japanese experts, immediately assessing its potential.
At that time, the Russians were not yet considered top fighters of the Kyokushin. And Asian karate experts rather skeptical about the level of this style in the Russian Federation. In their opinion, it’s not even worth talking about the technical side, but psychological preparation deserves attention. Speech by Sergei Osipov at a tournament in the Land of the Rising Sun made them think differently.
First fight
Japanese fans, coaches and fighters watched with interest the confrontation between our athlete and Ikeda Yoshinori. The latter chose a prudent battle strategy: he constantly approached Sergey, preventing him from using his legs. But such tactics proved to be ineffective. Soon, the combination of Osipov overtook the Japanese: an accurate heel strike from above and a crushing punch into the body. After that, Yoshinori seemed to become numb and eventually lost the fight.
Quarter final
Here Osipov Sergey, whose family was rooting for him at the competition, met with Ikeda Masato. The Russian chose an attacking style of battle, forcing the opponent to back off. The whole Japanese fight tried to restrain the pressure of Sergei. But when only a few minutes remained, Osipov carried out a series of punches on the bottom of the case with his fists. Thus, the karateka made Masato focus on protecting the abdomen. Then Sergey struck the opponent a round kick in the head, winning the meeting.
Semifinal
Here Osipov met with Tanaka Kantaro. The Japanese watched the previous fight of the Russian and knew about the firm circular blow, so he did not open his head for a second. That is, for the most part, Tanaka defended throughout the meeting. But that did not help him. In the last seconds of extra time, Sergey Osipov hit Kentaro with his foot in his left cheek. The coronary blow of the Russian was so unexpected and quick that many fans did not even notice it.
The final
In the final meeting, the prestige of the Japanese Kyokushin style was entrusted to defend the 2001 champion Kiyama Hitoshi. He did not succumb to the onslaught of Sergei and eventually exhausted the Russian athlete. However, Hitoshi made his fans worry too. Fortunately, the Japanese, two powerful kicks Osipov only struck on his head. If they reached the goal, Kiyama would instantly go knockout.
Paris
2002 is the year when Sergey Osipov met the heaviest fighters in the world. Karate became the main occupation for a young man in his life, and he regularly honed his skills to participate in competitions. The Paris international tournament brought together the most famous fighters of the planet: from Brazil - Ademir da Silva and Everton Texeyra, from Japan - Ikeda Yoshinori and Adati Sinsi. Connoisseurs and ordinary karate fans followed the fights with great attention. After all, based on the results of these competitions, one can predict the results of the future absolute world championship.
Unexpectedly for many, the Brazilian Everton Texeyra met with Osipov in the final. In the main and extra time the fight was equal. It seemed that the karate was waiting for a second extension. However, Sergei unexpectedly ended the meeting, sending Texeiro knocked out with his crown blow. All experts began to consider Osipov as one of the main contenders for the medal of the upcoming World Cup. And before him there was only one year.
VIII absolute world championship
Sergey Osipov, interesting facts about which are presented below, went to these competitions in November 2003. The tournament fate of the Russian was very dramatic. In the first fight, our karateka defeated Sean O`Farella from Australia in just 55 seconds. But in the second battle, Sergei met a fairly strong Tokuda Tadakuni. After the end of normal time, a European judge and two Japanese side referees gave Tokud a victory. Although the battle itself took place in absolute equality. The auditorium exploded with indignation. Seeing such an injustice, Matsui Shokey (chapter IKO-1) overturned the referee's decision, and the fight continued. The first two extensions ended in a draw. The last extra time has gone. It seemed that now there will be a draw. But five seconds before the end, the Russian fighter suddenly exploded in an attack and managed to inflict a heel on top of the Japanese head ... Ippon! Tadakuni defeated!
The third fight with Hibino Jouji Osipov Sergey completed ahead of schedule. He knocked out a Japanese knee in the face. The victory was bright, but the athlete was very expensive: during the meeting, the Russian injured the metatarsus of the foot. Of course, this affected the effectiveness of the next match with Sergio da Costa from Brazil. Osipov was very courageous and did not give the opponent the opportunity to seize the advantage. After the weigh-in procedure, the referee assigned the victory to Sergey (the weight and Costa was ten kilograms more).
In the fifth duel, Osipov met with the most experienced Glaube Feytoza. Most of the time ended in a draw. But in the first extension, the Russian could no longer resist the onslaught of Feytoza. As a result, our fighter took only seventh place.
Conclusion
Osipov Sergey, whose biography is presented above, has already completed his sports career. Over the years of performances, he demonstrated the highest skill, will, steadfastness and love for the motherland. It was Russia that the athlete devoted all his victories to. Therefore, he was entrusted with protecting her most important frontier: now Sergey works in the Security Service under the President of the Russian Federation. In this post, Osipov tries to justify the trust placed in him and to support the glory of the Kyokushin style as a school of martial skill and courage.
Interesting Facts
- Some time after the fight with Sergey in 2001, Kiyama Hitoshi called this event the fight of the year.
- Osipov received a lot of injuries during his sports career. Only on one hand did he undergo four operations.
- The first Japanese, whom Sergei defeated with his crown blow to the head, was Ikeda Masato at the 2001 World Cup.