This is the third edition of a weekly series that features old school sport karate videos to keep the history of the sport alive. Rudy Reynon of Team Paul Mitchell Karate is one of my favorite kama competitors of all time. His large, powerful cutting techniques were a trademark of his and he used complex finger rolls and manipulations to take his performances to the next level. Reynon was also known for his ability to seamlessly transition into acrobatic kicking and tricking techniques immediately after a solid cutting combination. This performance is from the 2010 ISKA U.S. Open Night of Champions in a division that would ultimately be won by the double sword-wielding legend Kalman Csoka, a man who there was never any shame in losing to.
Reynon was also a dominant force in the extreme forms divisions and was even a successful traditional forms competitor when he was in the juniors. His extreme martial arts style was heavily influenced by Jon Valera, who was a coach and mentor to a young Rudy Reynon. In addition to Reynon's signature finger spin combinations, the move of his that most modern sport karate competitors and fans would recognize is the extended finger spin in which his index finger is placed in the hole on the blade of the kama and he moves the kama up and down while spinning the weapon. This technique can be seen in this performance at the 34-second mark.
Since the end of his competitive career, Reynon has been seen performing alongside America's Best Dance Crew winners Quest Crew with martial arts teammate Steve Terada. He is also a musical artist who goes by the moniker "Ru AREYOU". Reynon has recently reintroduced himself to the martial arts world by offering virtual kama seminars titled "Kamas with RU". His coaching has certainly had an impact on modern sport karate competition, as he has trained world champions like Mackensi Emory.
If you enjoyed this Sport Karate Throwback Thursday, you should check out our previous editions featuring John Chung and Richard Branden.
This video is courtesy of SportMartialArts.com, thank you for documenting sport karate history.
