The 20th Japan Aichi-Nagoya Summer Asian Games will be held from September 19 to October 4, 2026. China’s ‘Wuxiu (武術)’ has been adopted as an official event for 10 consecutive times since the 11th Beijing Games in 1990.
Sanda (散打) is an excellent sport that is based on kickboxing, where elbow and knee attacks are prohibited, and allows wrestling’s knockdown and judo’s throwing techniques. The Korean Wushu Association, a regular member of the Sports Council, is written with the Chinese character ‘Santa’.
Byun Bo-kyung (29) is the bronze and silver medalist in the Women’s Santa -48kg event at the 13th and 14th International Wushu Federation (IWUF) World Championships in 2015 and 2017. He is also the domestic standing striking champion who successfully defended the Korean Martial Arts Martial Arts Association (KTK) kickboxing –48kg title for the second time on September 7, 2024.
Rise champion and kickboxing world No. 1 Arina Kobayashi. Photo = RISE Creation Co Ltd”/> news/cms/202410/16/news-p.v1.20241015.0413df9eff6648c49ecea7267793e7a1_R.png" data-width="660" data-height="371" /> Enlarge photo International Wushu Federation World Championship Santa silver medalist Byun Bo-kyung (right), Rise champion and kickboxing world No. 1 Arina Kobayashi. Photo = RISE Creation Co Ltd
Rise 182 will be held on October 20th at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Byun Bo-kyung will face Arina Kobayashi (24) in an away match at -52kg, 3 minutes x 3 rounds (one round can be extended).
▲ONE Championship (Singapore) ▲Glory (United Kingdom) ▲Rise ▲K-1 (Japan) are grouped into the four major kickboxing organizations. Arina Kobayashi is the 3rd RISE women’s division –49kg champion.
She was selected as the best female standing striking athlete in 2023 across all weight classes by the American media ‘Combat Press’. Germany’s Beyond Kickboxing ranks Arina Kobayashi as No. 1 in the -50kg world rankings.
news/cms/202410/16/news-p.v1.20241015.03bcc5b9a6db4db1ba98f5c1f0a9aed0_R.png" data-width="660" data-height="660" /> Enlarge photo Byun Bo-kyung is taking a commemorative photo with the championship belt after passing the weigh-in for the second defense of the KTK kickboxing -48kg title. Photo = Korea General Martial Arts Martial Arts Association
If Byeon Bo-kyung is a Wushu Santa world class, Arina Kobayashi won the karate (karate) national competition three times in 2018 and 2019. It is a stand-up striking matchup between a Chinese martial arts master and a Japanese martial arts powerhouse.
It is also significant as it is the first away game between Korea and Japan in 575 days (1 year, 6 months, 25 days) and participation in a major kickboxing competition. Byun Bo-kyung lost to Koyuki Miyazaki (21) in the 47.5kg weight match at Rise in March last year.
Koyuki Miyazaki shines as the 2nd Rise Women’s -46kg champion and No. 1 in the ‘Beyond Kickboxing’ -47kg world rankings. Byun Bo-kyung was KOed with a left straight 1 minute and 50 seconds after the start of the fight.
The burden of playing the Korea-Japan away game with another top striker in the women’s division is bound to be great. However, if you acknowledge your objective military inferiority, take it easy, and demonstrate your world-class Wushu Santa skills, you have the ability to achieve good results.
Byun Bo-kyung’s main career in women’s standing striker
2013 East Asian Games Wushu Santa bronze medal
2015 World Wushu Championships Santa Bronze Medal
2017 World Wushu Championships Santa Silver Medal
~2024 KTK –48kg champion (2nd defense)
Kobayashi Arena Standing Attacker Major Career Experience
~Won 2019 Karate Japan Championship 3 times
2022 Rise – 46kg title challenge
2023 Rise – 49kg Champion
2023 Kickboxing Female Athlete of the Year Award
~2024 Kickboxing –50kg world ranking 1st place
news/cms/202410/16/news-p.v1.20241015.79cef6f14e534f3cab5905ed0986e7a7_R.png" data-width="660" data-height="660" /> Enlarge photo Arina Kobayashi is thrilled after becoming the 3rd Rise -49kg champion in November 2023. Photo = RISE Creation Co Ltd
[강대호 MK스포츠 기자]
