is a Japanese

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 welterweight

Welterweight

Welterweight is a weight class division in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like kickboxing, taekwondo and mixed martial arts also began to use it for their own weight division system...

 kickboxer and karateka competing in K-1 MAX

K-1

K-1 is a defunct world-wide kickboxing promotion based in Tokyo, Japan founded by Kazuyoshi Ishii, a formerKyokushin karate practitioner. K-1 combines stand up techniques from Muay Thai, Karate, Taekwondo, Savate, San Shou, kickboxing, western-style boxing, and other martial arts...

. His real name is Takayuki Kohiruimaki. He started calling himself Taishin Kohiruimaki in 2008.

Young age

Taishin Kohiruimaki was born as Takayuki Kohiruimaki in Misawa, Aomori

Misawa, Aomori

is a city located in eastern Aomori Prefecture in the Tōhoku region of Japan. As of 2009, the city had an estimated population of 42,399 and a density of 353 persons per km²...

, November 7, 1977. He started learning karate

Karate

is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...

 at the branch of Kyokushin kaikan, and then he started kickboxing at Active J, a kickboxing gym in Tokyo.

Early career

On January 31 1997, he debuted as a professional kickboxer of All Japan Kickboxing Federation

All Japan Kickboxing Federation

All Japan Kickboxing Federation was the Japan-based sanctioning and promoting body of professional kickboxing. It was established in 1987 and it was dissolved in 2009. The informal name was "Zen Nihon Kikku...

(AJKF), and he won his first bout by KO at 3R. On May 30 1997, he fought against Masato

Masato (kickboxer)

Masato Kobayashi is a Japanese former welterweight kickboxer. He was the world champion of ISKA at Welterweight under Oriental rules, and he is the winner of K-1 WORLD MAX World tournament in 2003 and 2008...

 who will win K-1 World Max in th future. Kohiruimaki won by TKO at 3R with knee strikes. On October 26, he fought against Tatsuya Suzuki who was the current champion of AJKF at welterweight

Welterweight

Welterweight is a weight class division in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like kickboxing, taekwondo and mixed martial arts also began to use it for their own weight division system...

, and he won by TKO at 2R. After this bout, he left AJKF because his gym, Active J, decided to leave AJKF and established J-Network, a new kickboxing organization.

K-1

On October 3 1999, Kohiruimaki was offered by K-1, and fought against Kotetsu Boku at the special match of K-1 World GP '99 Opening. The bout was ended as draw at 5R.

On August 28 2008, he announced that he had changed his fighting name. He named himself "Taishin Kohiruimaki".

Titles

• 2009 K-1 World MAX Japan tournament champion
• 2005 K-1 World MAX Japan tournament champion
• 2004 K-1 World MAX Japan tournament champion
• 2000 ISKA World Oriental Super welterweight champion

Kickboxing record

Kickboxing Record
Legend:

See also

• List of K-1 events
• List of male kickboxers
• List of kickboxing organizations

External links

• Official homepage of Takayuki Kohiruimaki (in Japanese)