NEW YORK – 16-year-old Christian Buffaloe won the Teen-Youth Division recently at the 2016 All American Kyokushin International Karate Championships held here on June 18.

This prestigious annual event is sponsored and organized by the International Kyokushin Karate Organization in Tokyo, Japan and featured many fighters from Europe and Asia; primarily Japan, Russia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Canada, as well as South America.

The Kyokushin tournament is very different from other karate and martial arts competitions because the fighters are only allowed to enter after being evaluated by top officials in the Kyokushin organization based on their actual Kumite (fighting) ability.

The tournament was a qualifying event to compete later in the International Kyokushin Teen Youth Championships in Tokyo, Japan in April, 2017.

By gaining first place in the Teen Youth (16-17 year olds) Division, Buffaloe is now a major contender for the World Youth title. Matches in these competitions are fought under the Kyokushin full-contact, knockdown rules, not the light touch, point system rules used by the other styles. In Kyokushin competitions a fighter has to clearly show his superiority in order to win a match, which usually ends in a knock out or one competitor is unable to continue the match.

Buffaloe, a native of Hollister, in Halifax County, is trained by local Kyokushin Karate instructor, and his father, Kenny Buffaloe, and has been an active competitor in international Kyokushin tournaments in New York, Los Angeles, and Japan since 2008.

Buffaloe fought earlier in the very competitive Teen Youth Division of the 2016 All American Kyokushin International Championships, working his way up into the semi-finals where he faced a much larger Japanese competitor to whom he had previously lost in 2015 in the United States Kyokushin Championships in Los Angeles.

On this occasion, Buffaloe used his footwork and strong punching attacks to overcome his opponent and advance into the finals.

In the final match for the title, Buffaloe faced a strong French Canadian fighter in an intense, spirited fight. Buffaloe won a unanimous judge’s decision based on his power attacks to become the new 2016 All American Kyokushin Teen Champion.

Portions of the championship were covered by FUJI-TV, Japan’s number-one cable TV network and will be shown on national Japanese television later this summer and also posted for viewing online.

The elder Buffaloe teaches Kyokushin Karate youth classes in Murfreesboro at Chowan University’s Jenkins Fitness and Intramural Center.

For more information on Kyokushin Karate or classes in Murfreesboro, call 252-589-4281, or email: kyokarateka@aol.com.