For the first time in history, a Frenchman is among the favorites for the supreme title, awarded every 4 years at the World Open Tournament. The 12th of the name takes place this weekend in Tokyo (November 22-24).

Antonio Tusseau has already been there for a week. He has been training hard for 6 months, we could even say for 10 years. 2-times European champion, 2-times winner of the All American Open, the 28-year-old French prodigy has reached maturity.

He polished his style without erasing his gentle madness. He took 10 kg to hit harder. He immersed himself in Russia and Japan... What if it was his year ? Time of the ultimate truth (kyokushin) has come !

By Ludovic Mauchien / Photo : L. Mauchien

8 fights of 3 minutes with KO, without protection, with a breaking test, all in 3 days. This is what awaits Antonio Tusseau to go to the final. That's what he looks forward to.

The World Open Tournament is held every 4 years. Open, it’s for “no weight category”. Concretely, that means his 1.84 m and 87 kg can potentially meet Brazil’s Icaro and his 2.10 m and 145 kg or the “slimmer” of the tournament, Canada’s Chrysat and his 1.70 m and 65 kg.

It's a safe bet that they did not prepare the event like him, with as much willpower. Few non-professional fighters are as self-sacrificing and motivational in their martial art as Antonio Tusseau.

Passionate about Kyokushin, he is also devoted to it. Antonio Tusseau, it is more than a decade of training almost daily. And when he does not train, he teaches... Kyoku, his job.

It is also with his students that he trains mainly for 2 years. His historical coach having taken a step back for personal reasons, he took complete control. Of course, Shihan Legree looks on him with one eye and Julien Porterie on the other, but he manages his day-to-day champion’s life.

Byt the way, 2 years ago, Antonio Tusseau was one of the favorites of the World weight category championships (90 kg). He felt so good that he was sure he was going to win. He announced it. Kyokushin caught up with him... He was rung, almost knocked out. He took a step back for a short year. He took the opportunity to mature. He modified his Karate.

He took 10 kg to reach 87 kg. “I'm no longer the little guy who fights with giants, who is forced to turn around... I can get in them as I want,” he told us before last summer. “I do a little less legs to the head, but when I do one, it hurts.

There is less moving management. For a -80 kg, I was tall but I missed a little power. Now, I have the power. It changes everything”.

For his comeback to competition, in November 2018, at the All Japan, he tested his "new" Karate. He lost in the 3rd round against the World n°4 but the flame was reignited. At the European championships, he ranked 3rd, beaten in the ½ final by the 90 kg World champion, Russia’s Luzyn.

And... And... Comes up New York and the renowned and high-ranked All American Open. We are in June. Antonio Tusseau was the only French to have won once in 2017, he becomes the 1^st one to win it twice !

And... And... “A good result in New York would allow me to really believe in the World Open title”, he said before his success. “To win the World Open Tournament would be the dream. That's the goal. I'm going to give everything for it but... I do not want to be bad luck like in 2017 when I told everyone that I was going to win. I am very superstitious. I have been to Japan 7 times, I never won anything !”.

But... But... Over the years, he has erased the problems. This is called experience, and it is needed to survive the 3 days of fights. He started by solving the problem of the jet lag. “In 2016, I had a very, very bad experience. I could not sleep for 5 days ! It was difficult to fight... I was training with Romain (Anselmo). We were working with rackets and I took them all in the head. I thought : "there's something wrong !” (he laughs). Then, in the tournament, I took a high kick in the head, which is very rare !”.

« I LOOK FOR KO FROM SECOND 0 TO SECOND 180 »

From now on, he trains a dozen days before according to the jet lag. So if you hang around at midnight or 1 am in Boulogne, you might come across a Kyokushin Karateka going to the US or Brazil. “I am used to train at night, shift my meals, optimize my sleep... And I see the difference, even if the jat lag is more complicated for Japan than for the US”.

This time, he even did better. He went to Tokyo 10 days before. He is welcomed into the family of one of his French-Japanese students, who accompanies him for pao sessions and sparrings. It is 3 metro stops from the hall, but outside the hustle and bustle of Tokyo. Not too far, not too close. He is in his world, that of a Kyokushin warrior before the battle.

His main opponents ? He knows them all too well. They are Russian and Japanese. Guess what ? This summer, he went to immerse himself 10 days in Russia and 10 days in Japan, to smell their hardness and test the adversity. Antonio Tusseau is ready !

At 28, he has reached maturity and has never been so physically strong. He is also experienced. He will know his 2nd World Open Tournament. His talent and madness now have the means to express themselves fully. Because Antonio Tusseau is above all a style. “I cannot be so crazy as before, but I still look for KO from second 0 to second 180. I hit as hard as I can. I have come back to a style where I am really looking for the KO”... Time of the ultimate truth (kyokushin) has come !

To also read :

World Open : There can be only one !...