Volk Han vs Kiyoshi Tamura - RINGS Maelstrom VII 25/09/1996
The first meeting between Han and Tamura is a good one. It’s on the short side but it still works at a high level submission wise. Han is clearly the superior wrestler so Tamura works most of the match as the underdog. Something he excels at. Han dominated the opening portions of the match, grabbing the double wrist lock and establishing control immediately, forcing two rope breaks. Tamura was quick on his feet and quickly got a counter strategy, going for the legs regaining some ground. The struggle of Tamura trying to outwit the Sambo master but just come up short was great. Tamura looked ready for the win but Han was able to pull off some wicked counters and eventually snag the double wrist lock w/ the knee trapped for the win. Awesome match. ****
Mega Battle Tournament 1996 Final Match: Volk Han vs Kiyoshi Tamura - RINGS Mega Battle Tournament 1996: Grand Final 22/01/1997
Submission wrestling at its absolute finest. It’s an art that many can make so engrossing and entertaining. Both Tamura and Han are masters of their crafts. Han’s on the fly submission holds totally blow me away. He’d wrap Tamura’s legs together and torque them in the most uncomfortable way and then he lock on an ankle pick for good measure. Tamura could only try and wriggle out of them anyway he should. His submissions were more traditional but they worked as well. Tamura would use wicked fast body movements to take the arm or the knee. There was one moment where he feigned going one way only to snag the other arm in super quick fashion. It was a joy to watch. What’s great about these two is that not only do you get impeccable technique, Tamura brings tons of personality through his micro facial expressions after the rope breaks. Or in one case, it’s very overt showboating via his kip-up after a failed rolling knee bar attempt. That kicked ass. The strikes came in very limited action but Tamura got a ton of big kicks to the ribs of Han getting a down but eventually Han’s submission prowess won out with a calf slicer. ****3/4
Kiyoshi Tamura vs Volk Han - RINGS Fighting Extension VII 26/09/1997
I love how this progressed from the last match. Tamura looked super dangerous in the backend of the match when he stopped relying on his submission and began striking. So in this match, Tamura began throwing the kicks in early. Han reacted strongly to the kicks, going for the kill early. Volk Han’s submissions were world class. The extended double wrist lock looked so painful and Tamura sold it perfectly. Han was twisting Tamura up with holds and Tamura could only withstand it all and lock for the small openings that Han would leave behind. Tamura weathering the storm and firing off with blasting kicks was great to watch. Han trying to shrug every kick off like it was a fly bite was great. So stubborn by a man who is a clear perfectionist. Han firing back with a few wicked palm strikes to get a down after Tamura had been schooling him in the stand up was the perfect receipt for him but Tamura catches him with a brilliant judo throw into the cross arm-breaker submission. Excellent match although I prefer their January match. Great win for Tamura though after previously losing to Han in their first two matches. ****1/2
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