karate world

ã– recently pan south-american champion andheã­s a bit of an unknown to everyone in the karate world.yeah, a bit unknown in australia, but in places like brazil, outside of australia, you knowkyokushin in some places is really big and we donã­t actually realise it. awesome attemptthere, an axe kick. thatã­s a big knee there.of course you can kick as hard as you want

and knee as hard as you want to the head,itã­s just the boxing, they just try to switch it up so we can see a bit of a differencebetween kick boxing and thai boxing and kyokushin ã± almost got him with a head kick, youã­llwant to keep those hands up daniel. yeah, pete, how does that make such a bigdifference in the fighting with no punching

to the head?well it makes you hit a lot harder and you can stand a little closer to him, you cansee the levels, theyã­re much closer to each other than a boxer or a kick boxer, they donã­tnormally stand that close to each other. yeah, itã­s a lot of work to do them headkicks. yeah, youã­ve got to be quick, youã­ve gotto try ã± what i always try to do is get them to bring their hands down, smash them in thelegs, get them in the body and then switch it up, just like daniel did there.thatã­s a favourite technique of daniel trifuã­s the axe kick.yeah, iã­ll tell you heã­ll stand in front of you and punch and kick until you just giveup. then heã­ll throw that axe kick.

he just has a style, he hangs in there, doesnã­the? he wonã­t give up.no, youã­ll find that of a lot of kyokushin guys, itã­s a real fundamental part of kyokushinis: go forward, donã­t give up and keep push, push, push, push, push. real tough guy wayof winning fights. yeah, thatã­s danielã­s style, go forwardand keep punching and hitting all the way. rafael would be in for a torrid minute lefthere. you see this there, rafaelã­s got all thesedifferent techniques, he likes to throw inside low kicks, then outside axe kick, he movesit around. daniel keeping it pretty simple, just smashing the legs, trying not to lethim bring those legs up any higher.

the crowd are behind daniel, a fantastic atmospherehere. fantastic, itã­s good to see so many peoplecome out to watch a kyokushin tournament. hasnã­t been something this big for a longtime. is the most common injury broken ribs?i think the most common injury is corked thigh, the kyokushin shuffle. pretty common aftera tournament. daniel has all his students here; he has adojo locally here in wooloomooloo and paddington so theyã­re all here today cheering him on.heã­s just pushing forward, you see theyã­ll push a little bit and smash their legs, smashtheir legs. i see rafaelã­s not getting those kicks uphigh anymore; heã­s probably a little bit

sore, a little bit tender.yeah, danielã­s been hammering him around the stomach area and liver. them low kickswould be taking their toll on rafael. thereã­s time, who do you like boys?i think daniel won that one, he was more effective pushing him back and of course in kyokushin,they want to see that, they want to see whoã­s pushing who back. that looks like an ickywucky to me, that means itã­s a draw, theyã­ll probably give them another round.yeah, so thatã­s good. yeah, rafael put up a good show there.put his guard back in, so thereã­s no break like boxing or kick boxing, as soon as theygive that decision, boom, theyã­re straight back into it. so you donã­t get a break, youdonã­t get a drink of water, you donã­t get

a pat on the back and all the other thingsthat go with boxing and kick boxing and mixed martial arts. have the decision, straightback on it. bear in mind, rafaelã­s 24 years old, heã­sa lot younger than daniel and danielã­s certainly giving him a go.bit of a spring chicken. daniel certainly lacks nothing in self-belief.well he should have the confidence, heã­s done this for a long time and heã­s been effectiveand heã­s been good and he knows how to win. thatã­s a head kick. yeah, daniel lives andbreathes this. he really does. i mean if daniel was a kickboxer, heã­d be a world champion, thatã­s how good he is, but heã­s always stuck withthe traditional martial arts and heã­s always

done it for the love of it and what a guyfor doing it. it takes a lot of kidsã­ classes, good person.youã­re listening to expert comments from pete graham, world kick boxing champion. alsowith us, mark murphy himself a fine karate exponent and organizer of this tremendousevent in sydney today that you are watching exclusively on fuel.just saw then garcia knee to the head. oh, big low kick. now theyã­ve really got to pickit up, they donã­t want to go a thirdã– sorry, a second extension. itã­d just take too muchout of you. i mean itã­s like going 3 three-minute rounds without a break.those punches are hard aimed firmly at rafael. he really digs deep, sets his ground.listen to the crowd!

kind of looks like a fight with a sock mate.if this doesnã­t lift daniel nothing will. oh yeah, this is it, danielã­s bringing ithome. full credit the brazilian though, heã­s hangingin. oh, he wants to win it, itã­s a long way frombrazil; he doesnã­t want to come just for a holiday.oh, axe kick and a roll kick right at the end.he was giving it everything, latter stages rafaelã–those more dynamic kicks, they are better to throw at the end of the round when theother guyã­s tired, he might not think you have any more left in you so i like to throwthat roll kick at the end of my bouts.

oh theyã­re giving it to daniel.thatã­s cool. thatã­s a popular result.certainly a popular result, but he deserves it, that was a win.weã­ll hear from him shortly, he looks a bit spent iã­ve got to say. i would be too bythe way. that was a tough bout.rafael and daniel really went toe to toe in those five minutes so yeah; i can understandthat, what it takes out of them. to be able to finish those bouts nice andearly takes an effect on you in those later bouts in the day so this will tell how muchinjuries he has from this in the later bouts. looking at the replay, the australian andthe brazilian.

blow for blow isnã­t it? theyã­re just standingin front of each other. rafael was bringing that knee up, there it is again, not reallyeffective. that one got him. daniel got him.letã­s go down to rick now whoã­s standing by to talk with the aussie.well itã­sã– thank you very much for everyoneã– to everyone for supporting, for coming along,if this would have been for the first time. thank you very much. this win will mean nothingif the next fight is notã– so iã­m not going to celebrate it, iã­m just going to get somewater and then go get ready for the next one. thank you.good on you daniel, daniel trifu. arguably the most popular winner of the day.i reckon daniel would be a little relieved

too, he would have been feeling the pressurecoming into that bout, he knows heã­s the peopleã­s favourite. now to semi-finals action;zsolt balogh and roman nesterenko will face off and then in the second semi, daniel willface lukas kubilius. they say when the going gets tough, the toughget going and nowã­s the time for the tough to get going, theyã­re playing for keeps,semi-final time recapping roman nesterenkoã­s profile, the reigning world champion, mark.yeah, romanã­s a tough guy, he trains very hard and yeah heã­ll give zsolt a run forhis money here for sure. zsolt was impressive in his opening bout.22 years of age, letã­s go down to rick for the introductions.ladies and gentlemen, time has arrived now,

the first semi-final event of the eveningis about to take place. weã­re getting down to the business end of our event this evening.letã­s welcome back winning in an early bout, please bring back zsolt balogh; give him around of applause ladies and gentlemen. second this year in the 2011 european championships,heã­s back in our first semi-final. zsolt looks like heã­s ready to go doesnã­the? he wants to win this, you can tell that heã­s come out and heã­s confident, heã­srelaxed, bopping around at the music there, itã­s not normally what happens in kyokushintournaments, no music, this is a bit more professional. these guys are fighting formoney as well as honour. heã­s really going to think about it, i think that money willgo a long way in hungary. i guess heã­d want

to go back with that, maybe take a bit oftime off. the russian will be introduced in moment,mark youã­ve got some sponsors youã­d like to thank.yeah, david iã­d like to thank action scaffolding for being a major sponsor and cfmeu and ofcourse down low contracting and acrow and australian access high. thank you.ok, rick powell standing by to introduce the worldã­s best, here he is now.letã­s welcome back hot off his win. from russia, the all russian tournament championin 2010, please welcome roman nesterenko. hereã­s the 31 year old, would be buoyed bythe fact that he obviously has advanced to the semi-finals being the worldã­s best, thereã­san element of pressure that goes with that

too, pete.you know when youã­re on top, everyone wants to knock you off but i mean he looks confidentas hell. have a look at him, he wants to go out there, he wants to win it, you know heã­sgot that acdc pumping in the background, i mean heã­s pumped up. have a look at him,heã­s relaxed, heã­s good, heã­s confident, heã­s the world champion for a bloody goodreason. yeah, well said. stick around on our coverageof the full contact karate world challenge, later on todayã­s program, youã­re going tosee an ice-breaking demonstration that has to be seen to be believed.ice breaking, iã­ve seen some guys really damage themselves trying to do that, breaktheir arms and legs trying. look at that zsoltã­s

come straight in.hungarian, left-hand side of the screen. theyã­re really going to have to work, oh,look at that, straight in with that kick two head kicks!no love lost between these two countries. zsoltã­s strategy has just simply got to beattack. zsoltã­s just going forward here and tryingto get as many hits in as he can. well zsolt needs to slow up theã– whatã­shis name, romanã­s low kicks, by stopping him with low kicks so he canã­t get thosehead kicks up there, which is going to be a super effective way to stop him. if he doesnã­tdo that early, heã­s going to leave himself open to getting kicked in the head all day.see how quick that last kick to the stomach

was there by roman. heã­s just so quick likea cat. theyã­re both quick, theyã­re both good, theyã­reboth here for a good reason. you see romanã­s low kicks though, heã­s just kicking thatlittle bit harder and just really you can see the effect itã­s taking. looking for thosekicks, looking for those low kicks is a big thing of kyokushin, kicking the legs.itã­s a trademark, isnã­t it peter? it really is. little bit slow to begin with.yeah, zsoltã­s feeling him out there now. he keeps on switching his style, you donã­tsee that so much in boxing and kick boxing and thai boxing, but kyokushin fighters willreally change their style from orthodox to south-paw a lot more than a lot of other styleswill.

romanã­s really big on that if you noticehow heã­s switchingã– switching his sides there.the hungarian, second in the european championships this year so heã­s endured a good campaignahead of this tournament. yeah, this tournament we have in sydney isa good prelude for roman for his preparation for the world tournament in tokyo in octoberso, a good prep for him. great prep for him.he looks like heã­s really picking his shots here.oh, thatã­s a big hard hit! yeah, thatã­ll hurt tomorrow.oh, a big knee there. you donã­t want to waste energy by pushingthose guys off, itã­s a bit of an amateur

thing to do, that. if youã­re going to hitthem, you might as well hit them, donã­t just shove them off, it takes a lot of energy.itã­s pretty even right now, they donã­t want to go anotherã– another round of this, notso close to the finals. well someoneã­s got to put it on someone.only 20 seconds to go. romanã­s doing it now. yeah, heã­s really starting to pick it upwith that, knees, getting into him. yeah, much more.here we go. thatã­s it, thatã­s going to work well forhim. good timing as well. he relaxed right up until the end there, knew where he wasand pushed out right to that end. oh, yeah, how hard was that?you could hear it!

you can see how focused roman is, theyã­rewhistling and yelling to stop but heã­s not listening to it. heã­s not intentionally tryingto break the rules, heã­s just so focused to get that job done. think he might havejust done enough to get that without having to go another round. weã­ll see what the judgesthink. i think youã­re right, peter.he seemed to get on top towards the end, didnã­t he?yeah, good strategy there. you know, didnã­t really do so much to begin with, a littlebit slow in the middle, things got nice and strong, the referees went ã¬looks like heã­swinning the boutã® and gave it to him. normally the last 30 seconds of the fight,they put the pressure on right and they kept

it right until the last 20 seconds soã– conservinghis energy for more fights. all right, weã­ll now go back downstairs torick powell. heã­s going to try his best in the finalsfor all you guys, heã­s going to put all his strength and power into it and see how itgoes. great performance by the russian, roman nesterenkoand by virtue of winning that semi-final will of course now advance to the final. and thenext bout weã­ll see the australian daniel trifu, 37 years of age, heã­s going to facethe lithuanian, lukas kubilius and we look forward to this fight with no little expectation,pete. well we really want daniel to do well here,itã­s going to be a tough call though you

know, lukas really knows what heã­s doing.i mean i really want daniel to win but itã­s going to be a hard walk.it certainly is, letã­s go down to rick powell for the introduction of the fighters.ladies and gentlemen we now take you to our second semi-final of the evening. we saw himwin one earlier on against daniel kovacs, letã­s go to town to welcome back from lithuania,lukas kubilius. here comes the 28 year old, he was very impressivein his opening fight. heã­d be buoyed in the confidence department as a result of thatand heã­ll need to be at his absolute best here because the emotion, the tidal wave ofemotion will surround his australian opponent. this is going to be huge for daniel, he reallyis a sentimental favourite. we all want him

to win, we all want him to do well. lithuaniathough, they produce a lot of good kyokushin champions and lukas of course, he really isthe cream of the crop, such a spoiler too isnã­t he?heã­s a big man. he is a big man, iã­ll tell you heã­s biggerthan me, heã­s quite thick set, you meet him, very quiet, you know heã­sã– you know heã­sgot that big dark look in his eye, he wants to you know really go hard at you.youã­re cracking jokes, no oneã­s bigger than you, pete graham. at this juncture, letã­sgo back down to rick to introduce the aussie. and here he is ladies and gentlemen, our veryown daniel trifu. letã­s hear it. right, just listen to the crowd, i mean iã­mexcited for this one; this is going to be

huge. look at daniel, he knows the pressure,this is just like a final for him, shaking the hands.heã­s all pumped, daniel. yeah, you wipe your hands on your gi, yousee a lot guys do it, you know heã­sã– he knows how important this is.yeah, heã­s there to win, heã­s not there just to be a part of it, he wants to win thisand heã­s put a lot of work into it. and lukas wants to spoil all his fun doesnã­the? he surely does.the big lithuanian. look at that, heã­s psyched.this is the bout that iã­ve been waiting for, this here now is going to be a very interestingbout, i really hope daniel does well but like

i said before, lukas: massive spoiler, toughto win against him. unusual opening style there.very unusual. it throws you off when guys start doing stuff like that, youã­re not quitesure what theyã­re trying to do, but heã­s there for a good reason.heã­s got a heel kick in there on daniel. very unorthodox isnã­t it?yes it is. daniel doesnã­t appear to use up an unnecessaryenergy. no, heã­s a ã± danielã­s a smart fighter,he knows what it takes to win, heã­s not a young guy just trying to go you know, flatstick, heã­s very technical, looking for those shots. smart way to win against a bigger opponent.lukas throwing quite a few of those heel kicks

in on danielã­s left knee.and he elbows, see the elbow to the top of the chest.oh yes ã± the chest, that would have hurt. yeah, the crowd are into this.that unorthodox style really getting daniel to make a few mistakes there, should havewalked out of the way there. lukas, his trademark hit in the liver veryhard. wow, lukas is just really powering throughthis isnã­t he? heã­s hurting daniel. i didnã­t think daniel would be pushed backso long, who knows maybe playing a big of possum.that spinning kick there, danielã­s axe kick. i think lukas looking back there, see if hefind the time from one of his corner people.

gee, heã­s very aggressive the lithuanian,isnã­t he? heã­s ripping in. yeah, his techniqueã­s all over the placeas well, hitting the body then going low to the legs.and danielã­s just trying to hang in at the moment.a slap of the hand away, that elbow, i tell you thatã­s going to hurt.itã­s coming right down on his collar bone there peter.yeah, you smash that collar bone with an elbow, of course youã­re allowed to throw elbowsin kyokushin, youã­re just not allowed to throw them to the face. not so many peopledo it, but when they do do it, and can do it effectively on the inside, itã­ll hurtyou. oh, thatã­sã– theyã­re punching hard.

hard combinations there.bare-knuckle as well, youã­ve got to make sure you close your fist too because youã­llhurt your hands if you hit an elbow. a hit into danielã­s face there.look at him, trying to push him off likeã– look at him, get into him! hear the crowdgetting in on him. he looked his opponent fairly and squarelyin the eye too. oh yeah, lukas knows it too. thereã­s thatelbow again. oh! now heã­s starting to pick it up, look atthat, heã­s going to drive him back. daniel tried for that axe kick, oh! and asweep! wonã­t score but itã­s demoralising, you have to pick yourself off the ground.lukas has that front leg, left leg standing

out.heã­s just chasing him down now, just too much, just driving over the top. thatã­s wherethat weight advantage is coming to advantage massively there.oh! big knee there. close but no banana though.no. you have to think that lukas has done enoughto get the result there. yeah, i hate to say it, he really has doneenough there. yeah, i hate to say it too, but i think hehas. heã­s worked hard, i mean theyã­ve both workedhard, but lukas does deserve to win it and i think the referees will indicate ã± as theyhave.

danielã­s disappointed there.yeah, he is, but look heã­ll get to fight another occasion today, heã­ll get to fightoff for third place. yeah, heã­s got another bout coming up, heã­sgot to go out the back and sit down and wait for another one.that in itself canã­t be easy, heã­d be flat, heã­d be disappointed, youã­re hurting, butyouã­ve got to get yourself off the canvas and go again.thatã­s right and it is only a short period of time.when i say off the canvas i mean off the mat. off the mat. that elbow right down on thecollar bone. lukas just jumped a little high there, looked like he actually could havehit him with that knee.

letã­s go down to rick.yeah, first of all i want to thank daniel and all australians for inviting meã–