Athletes from Turkmenistan won two gold medals at the Kyokushin AIKO Asian Open Championship, which was held in the Turkish city of Antalya, Neutral Turkmenistan reports.
Two masters of this Japanese martial art from Turkmenistan took part in the competition. Yazmuhammet Ashirmuradov won a gold medal in the weight category up to 80 kg, and Murad Ekyaev became the winner in the weight category over 90 kg. Both athletes are multiple winners of national and international competitions.
According to the head of the National Kyokushinkai Karate Center, Atamurad Khudaiberdiev, this sport is popular among the youth of Turkmenistan.
As a senior coach at a sports school in Ashgabat, Khudayberdiev attracts children and teenagers to Kyokushinkai karate. Despite the popular belief that it is exclusively a martial art, he believes that it is suitable for children as well.
Kyokushinkai, founded by Japanese-Korean Masutatsu Oyama, is distinguished by a hard contact style. Unlike many non-contact schools, real striking power is demonstrated here in full contact fights. Oyama himself devoted his entire life to perfecting this art, achieving the highest skill.