- Serkan Yilmaz
Serkan Yilmaz (born
May 21 ,1975 inKırşehir ,Turkey ), known as "The Turkish Samurai" and "The Turkish Wonder Kicker", is a Turkishtaekwondo fighter who has participated in NumerousTaekwondo , Wushu, andKickboxing tournaments inTurkey and mainlandEurope ,K-1 Japan and A-1 Japan MMA tournaments.Biography
Yilmaz was born in 1975 in
Kırşehir , and moved toIstanbul at the age of 2. He started learning Tae-Kwon-Do at the age of 12 under the instruction of Salih Güzelordu. Later, he continued with Sadik Oflu.He fought a lot of competitive matches in his young years, and won the tournaments in Istanbul in the 36, 40, 47 and 54 kg weight categories. He eventually became the champion of Turkey in 1992, and at that time started training in
kickboxing with Sadik Oflu. From 1992 to 2002, he won and defended the championship title, in Turkey and Europe. In the meantime, he started fighting wushu matches from 2000. He managed to win the Turkish Wushu championship titles in 2000, 2001 and 2002.Fighting Style
His fighting style is that of many taekwondo practitioners in that he mainly utilizes kicking techniques;Who|date=May 2007 predominantly the
turning kick ,reverse turning kick and perhaps most spectacularly, theback piercing kick . However unlike some TKD-style fighters, such asYong-Soo Park Dubious|date=March 2008 (also in K-1) he is very proficient with his punching techniques, and holds his guard up high. The aim of this guard is to adapt to kickboxing rules, and be able to defend against punches more than kicks, as would be custom in taekwondo matches.He is known to have a furious tempo while fighting, and his aggression is very evident. He usually throws kicks in combos, and his main strikes are indeed kicks. He is powerful and accurate, especially with his spinning back kicks which send the opponent stumbling backward from the force of the kick.
Career in Japan
Yilmaz started his
K-1 career in 2003 and finished in 2004, during which he won 3 out of 7 bouts. [ [http://www.k-1.co.jp/profile/sa_ylmaz.html FEG選手プロフィール] ] Fact|date=June 2007 Yilmaz also fought one MMA match againstCaol Uno in 2005.A-1 Career
Yılmaz started his A-1 career in 2005 which lead to a successful championship campaign including a victory over Danny Lewis.
References
External links
* [http://www.turkishsamurai.com Serkan Yilmaz Fansite]
* [http://www.k-1usa.net/docs/fighters/fightfinder.asp?fighterID=686 Serkan Yilmaz's K-1 record]
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