Kickboxing and Bodybuilding: Athlete Tadashi Sawamura

By Hitoshi Tamari, Gekkan Bodybuilding July 1968

Among professional sports, kickboxing is said to be the most watched on TV these days. Kicking, punching, and throwing - it is as impressive as professional wrestling. Although they wear gloves on their hands, they can use their knees and elbows, and their bare, hard punches mercilessly strike their opponents' vital points. No other humanly conceived fighting sport has such a primitive, animalistic nature.

Tadashi Sawamura - this is the man who stands as the Asian middleweight champion with all the expectations of the emerging kickboxing scene. What is the source of Sawamura's tremendous power that emanates from the ring?

The father of kickboxing, Osamu Noguchi of the Japan Kickboxing Association, had this to say:

"In a nutshell, the appeal of kickboxing is the dynamic power that comes alive in the ring. It requires speed, flexibility, endurance against blows, stamina, and power, all of which are vital. The muscularity of a toned and refined body is also one of the major attractions for spectators, so we have them do bodybuilding with barbells of moderate weights to build muscles as well as training to develop punching power and endurance against blows."

First, he does some preparatory exercises to loosen up his body, then shadow kickboxing in the ring, followed by repetitive kicking and punching exercises against a sandbag. Kicks of all shapes and sizes were rhythmically delivered, with a dizzying flurry of knuckles and elbows. The power of his kicks and the beauty of his form were awe-inspiring. His kicks caused the large punching bag to sway as if it was gripping the ceiling.

(From left to right) Knee kick, roundhouse kick, enclosed hand punch

(From left to right) Standing press, dumbbell curl, single-arm snatch

A single kick from the same class as Sawamura is said to have several times the striking power of a punch from (Takeshi) Fuji. So, if you don't have the muscle strength, you can easily go down with that one kick. I gave Sawamura a hard blow to the stomach, and it was like slamming a tire. His abs are as good as a bodybuilder's.

After the sandbag, came jump rope, then weight training: standing presses with a 30kg barbell at speed, followed by dumbbell curls, then bent-over rows, alternating with one-handed snatches. Each set consisted of 7 to 8 repetitions.

Next came bridges to strengthen the neck and sit-ups to strengthen the abdominal muscles. Next, he lightly jumped over a rope stretched across the ring from the front a few times to build up the spring in his legs​, and then did some flexibility exercises to make final adjustments before finishing.

The energy and tension were so intense that not even a moment's compromise was tolerated. The one-hour session made me keenly aware of the fact that one cannot become a first-class athlete without the three elements of tireless training, perseverance, and an inquiring mind.

Tadashi Sawamura

(Real name: Hideki Shiraha). Belongs to Noguchi Boxing Gym. 25 years old, 173cm tall, 61kg. He began with karate but switched to kickboxing in 1965. 21-1 in 22 matches (as of June 4th). Asian middleweight champion. He trains for one and a half hours, each in the morning and at night.