Kendo Kashin
| Kendo Kashin | |
|---|---|
| Born |
August 5, 1968 Minamitsugaru, Aomori |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Dragon Soldier B Kendo Kashin Kendo Ka Shin Tokimitsu Ishizawa |
| Billed height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) |
| Billed weight | 92 kg (203 lb) |
| Debut | September 21, 1992 |
Tokimitsu Ishizawa (石澤 常光 Ishizawa Tokimitsu), better known by his ring name Kendo Kashin (ケンドー・カシン, Kendō Kashin), is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is also known for his forays into mixed martial arts, where he defeated Gracie Jiu Jitsu fighter Ryan Gracie in PRIDE Fighting Championship.
Ishizawa was an outstanding Amateur wrestling star of Waseda University before being scouted and initiated into the New Japan Pro Wrestling promotion on September 21, 1992, wrestling against Tiger Mask. During the NJPW vs. UWFi feud, he was taught the shoot style by Kazuo Yamazaki. After defeating Yuji Nagata to win the 1996 Young Lion Cup, he left on a learning excursion to Austria's CWA promotion, where he disguised himself under a mask and called himself Kendo Kashin.
He returned to New Japan as Kashin in May 1997 at the Osaka Dome, facing his mentor, Kazuo Yamazaki. Kendo Kashin quickly rose up the ranks of the Junior Heavyweight division, utilizing a cross armbreaker and other armbar techniques to quickly submit opponents. After defeating Koji Kanemoto to win the 1999 Best of the Super Juniors Tournament, he defeated Kanemoto again in August of that year to capture the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship for the first time.
In August 2000 Ishizawa ventured into the mixed martial arts world and fought under his real name and without the mask in PRIDE 10. He lost his match with Ryan Gracie by TKO in little more than two minutes. However, it is said that he was forced to fight in the PRIDE's ring by Antonio Inoki, the owner of NJPW at the time, without enough time to train for mixed martial arts fighting. Continuing to suffer many losses, Kashin took several months off from New Japan to train. In July 2001 Ishizawa challenged Ryan for a rematch at PRIDE 15. This time he TKO'd Ryan in under 5 minutes, which would advance his wrestling career more than ever. That same month he returned to New Japan as Kendo Kashin and won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title for the second time by defeating Masayuki Naruse in just 26 seconds.
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