title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: Eager to capitalize on Sakuraba's shoot wrestling prowess to reverse the perception that Japanese professional wrestlers were inferior to Brazilian combatants (in part perpetuated by his teammates' own defeats), Sakuraba's next three bouts were scheduled against Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts Vitor Belfort, Allan Goes and luta livre black belt Ebenezer Fontes Braga. In a trend that would continue through Sakuraba's Pride career, each opponent occupied a spot near the top of the 205-pound class at the time of their meeting with him and held a weight advantage of around 20 pounds.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: Sakuraba's match against Goes would be an instrumental point in his fighting's style evolution, pitted against an opponent with a strong defensive guard. Through the bout, Sakuraba attempted several moves to bypass the stationary Goes's defense, including leglocks, dives and kicks to the legs, but he also would have to defend, as Goes was relentless in his upkicks and submission counterattacks. Sakuraba was threatened by a rear naked choke several times, and in turn he almost finished Allan as well with an armbar, but none of it came to fruition. Due to the absence of judges in Pride's ruleset at the time, the match was ruled a draw. Sakuraba, always humble, stated "I fight his style, not mine. I think I lost the fight", although Goes, a Carlson Gracie protege, would similarly state in a later interview "I've been training my whole life on the ground, and to me, [Sakuraba] was the best guy I ever faced on the ground".


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: Belfort would be a different matchup, as his boxing prowess was known aside from his great grappling credentials. However, despite several big flurries by the Brazilian to open the match, Sakuraba went unscathed and took Belfort down, proceeding to land ground and pound. As Belfort would not leave the mat through the match, in part due to a broken hand in one of his own combos, Sakuraba deployed his improved strategy and punished Vitor with leg kicks and jumping stomps to the head, as well as landing unanswered striking combinations every time Belfort was called up by the referee. At the end, as Pride had just implemented the judges system, Sakuraba was awarded his first decision victory unanimously.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: Unlike the previous two matches, Kazushi faced in Braga a consistently aggressive opponent, with the luta livre practitioner landing effective muay thai knees and kicks until Sakuraba put him down. The Japanese wrestler continued his signature guard assault, but also outstruck Braga in his last standing segment before taking him down again and lock an armbar for the tap out.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: After defeating Anthony Macias at Pride 7, Sakuraba was matched against Royler Gracie, who had previously conquered Sakuraba's stablemate Yuhi Sano. It marked the largest weight advantage Sakuraba has enjoyed in his career to date (being around 30 pounds heavier than Royler). Royler, unable to score a takedown or strike effectively from a standing position, remained on the ground in an effort to bait Sakuraba into a grappling-oriented contest, while Sakuraba, standing, landed punishing kicks to Royler's legs, thighs and head. Eventually, with less than two minutes remaining, Sakuraba finally engaged Royler on the ground and instantly caught him in a Kimura lock. As Sakuraba wrenched on the submission, the referee intervened with 1 minute and 44 seconds remaining on the clock, ending the contest and awarding Sakuraba the win by TKO.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: Sakuraba's victory over Royler constituted the first loss by a Gracie in professional fighting in several decades and as such, sent ripples of shock and controversy through the mixed martial arts community. Some protested that the victory was tainted due to the fact that Royler (although placed in a debilitating submission hold) never conceded defeat and was little time away from the final bell when the bout was stopped. It is worth noting that the last Japanese athlete to defeat a Gracie prior to Sakuraba's win against Royler, legendary judoka Masahiko Kimura, had used the very same technique Sakuraba utilized to beat Royler. That time, the recipient had been Royler's father, Hélio Gracie, who had, like Royler, also refused to submit but likewise lost.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: While the Japanese fight media rejoiced and elevated Sakuraba to superstar status, the Gracie family took great umbrage over the incident, feeling that they had been cheated by Pride. Despite Sakuraba challenging Royler's older brother Rickson Gracie after the match, it was his younger brother and former UFC Champion Royce Gracie who, compelled to set the record straight and re-assert the dominance of his family, returned to the sport of mixed martial arts in 2000 and entered the 16-Man Pride Grand Prix alongside Sakuraba and several other top fighters of the era. Placed on the same side of the bracket, a special set of rules were requested by the Gracies in the event of a Sakuraba-Royce match, including no referee stoppages and no time-limits, the fight ending only in the event of a submission or knock-out (something prohibited in modern MMA because of the widely adopted Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts limiting matches to 25 minutes overall, 5 x 5 minute rounds).


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: In his first fight of the 2000 Pride tournament Sakuraba once again found himself matched up against a heavier opponent, this time the well-regarded 205 pound fighter, former King of Pancrase Guy Mezger. After a closely fought 15 minutes the judges requested an overtime round, and the fight ended in controversy when Mezger's coach Ken Shamrock forced his fighter back to the locker room claiming that no additional rounds were agreed upon in the contract. Sakuraba ended up winning the match by forfeit. Meanwhile, Royce defeated Nobuhiko Takada by unanimous decision and thus set the stage for their much anticipated showdown.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: In the tournament quarterfinals Royce and Sakuraba battled for an hour and a half (six 15 minute rounds). Gracie opened the fight aggressively, raining punches from Kazushi's back while the Japanese fighter worked an armlock from standing, but Sakuraba kept calm, knowing Royce had no knockout power and expecting him to waste his energy; he even came to the point of smiling to the cameras during the attack. Towards the end of the round, Sakuraba nearly ended the match with a kneebar, while Gracie came back with a guillotine choke at the second, but Kazushi again joked to show he was out of danger by simulating to pull down Royce's gi pants. Sakuraba switched to attack at the third round, dominating the stand up and making Royce lie repeatedly on the ground to avoid him. As the confrontation stretched on, the Gracie's own no time-limit rules began to work against Royce as Sakuraba's wrestling skills and balance nullified Royce's ability to score a takedown and—in some instances—even pull guard. Even Royce's ever-present jiu-jitsu gi became a weapon for the wrestler to use against him as Sakuraba used it to help him control Gracie on the instances the fight did come to the ground. However, with Sakuraba's control of the takedown, these instances of ground warfare became increasingly sporadic. After Kazushi landed a long series of punishing leg kicks at the fifth and sixth rounds, Royce's brother, Rorion threw in the towel.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: Exhausted from his battle with Royce, Sakuraba surprised many when he emerged from the locker room for the tournament semi-finals. His opponent, Igor Vovchanchyn, outweighed him by close to sixty pounds (Sakuraba had come into the bout with Royce lighter than usual, at 176 pounds) and was considered to be the top heavyweight striker of the day. Sakuraba surprised many by taking Vovchanchyn down and nearly finishing him with an armbar. Sakuraba was actually leading the fight past the 10-minute mark, but near the end Igor was able to reverse a takedown and draw the first round even with ground strikes. After the first round was declared a draw Sakuraba's corner threw in the towel before the beginning of overtime, primarily due to fatigue.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: Following the Grand Prix, Sakuraba was christened the "Gracie Hunter" by the Japanese sports media. Keeping in tow with his new nickname, Sakuraba sandwiched a swift victory via achilles lock against Shannon Ritch between fights against brothers Renzo Gracie and Ryan Gracie. In contrast to Royler and Royce, Renzo and Ryan were products of Carlson Gracie's approach to jiu-jitsu, which placed a stronger emphasis on combat-ready skills and training without a gi.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: At the time of his bout with Sakuraba, Renzo's only loss in 10 bouts was a closely contested decision to Sakuraba's former UWFi stablemate and rival, Kiyoshi Tamura while Maurice Smith, Oleg Taktarov and Abu Dhabi champion Sanae Kikuta numbered amongst his victims. Renzo's stylistic differences from his cousins were in evidence from the outset of his contest against Sakuraba, as he pressed the pace of the bout with a variety of kicks and punches, although few connected. Sakuraba responded in kind, and the striking seemed to go to a stalemate. Throwing his wrestling into the equation, Sakuraba timed a number of double and single leg takedowns against Renzo's flurries from where he alternately attempted to cartwheel past Gracie's guard, malign his legs with kicks from the standing position and even attack with a baseball slide. However, Renzo's defensive skills from bottom nullified the entire gamut of Sakuraba's offensive attempts, and after using an entry derived from the De la Riva guard, he took the wrestler's back, pressing him against the turnbuckle as mere seconds remained in the battle. With time ticking away, Sakuraba locked in a kimura from the back and spun around, flipping Renzo to the canvas even as he wrenched his arm behind his back. Like Royler and Helio before him, Renzo refused to submit to the hold despite his elbow being snapped prior to hitting the ground and, even as the referee stopped the contest due to the injury, which awarded victory to Sakuraba.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: Renzo took the microphone and, before the 35,000 fans assembled at the Seibu Dome, stated that Sakuraba was "the Japanese version of the Gracie family". Renzo has since referred to the bout as his proudest moment in mixed martial arts. Similarly, years later Gracie called Sakuraba "his hero" and remembered their match as "one of the biggest lessons he learned in his life". Commentator Stephen Quadros stated too: "if any fans still doubted the abilities of Kazushi Sakuraba in MMA competition, they are now silent." Ryan Gracie, who had fought on the same card and emerged victorious, jumped into the ring issued a challenge to Sakuraba, which was accepted. Vitor Belfort also demanded a rematch, although Sakuraba had stated not to be interested in rematches due to his interest in facing Frank Shamrock, Tito Ortiz and Dan Henderson.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: The fight between Sakuraba and Ryan was scheduled to happen at Pride 12. Due to a shoulder injury, the fight was limited to a single 10-minute round, where Ryan's spirited efforts were generally stymied and controlled by Sakuraba, who noticeably avoided attacks on his younger opponent's injured arm. Despite it, Kazushi later argued in an interview that he believed Ryan would have been faking the entire injury in order to catch him off guard. Nonetheless, the Japanese threw some of his usual antics during the match, at some points delivering chops to Ryan's rear while controlling him.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: Following the win against Ryan, Sakuraba was slated to battle Pancrase veteran Bas Rutten, but the latter declined and was replaced by Brazilian muay thai specialist Wanderlei Silva. Sakuraba was a heavy favorite to win, but he was fighting through a significant weight disadvantage. The bout was also contested under Pride's new rules, which allowed kicks and knees to the head of a downed opponent, a change that greatly benefitted Wanderlei. During the match, a Sakuraba willing to trade strikes managed to knock Wanderlei down with a right hook, but the Brazilian recovered and dropped the wrestler with a barrage of punches and kicks. As Sakuraba turtled while attempted a takedown, Silva delivered multiple knees to his head and ultimately finished him off with kicks to the face. It marked Sakuraba's second defeat in mixed martial arts and his first loss in the 205-pound division. Sakuraba then shocked the audience further by giving Silva his belt with "Saku" engraved on it. Wanderlei then stated that he would willingly give Sakuraba a rematch if Sakuraba wanted one, which the Japanese accepted.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: After sitting out the next Pride to recuperate, Sakuraba found himself across the ring from Quinton Jackson, a former collegiate wrestler who had compiled a record of 10–1 on the American circuit. At the sound of the bell, Sakuraba immediately took the bigger man to the canvas with a low single-leg takedown. However, Jackson's superior size and enormous physical strength allowed him to muscle out of Sakuraba's submission attempts. After locking his legs around Jackson for a triangle choke, Sakuraba found himself hefted into the air and repeatedly slammed to the canvas in the way of a powerbomb. Later, he attempted an armbar against Jackson, only for the Tennessee native to again lift him up and this time attempt to drop him from the ring. His expression unchanging through the course of Jackson's assault, Sakuraba continued to flow from one lock to another. Eventually, he took the back of an exhausted Jackson and submitted him with his first rear naked choke victory. The contest was a launchpad for Jackson's career, leading to a long-term contract with Pride where he eventually became regarded as a top middleweight competitor, and later, a UFC champion.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: The Jackson bout also re-established Sakuraba's proficiency in dealing with larger opponents and placed him back in line for another shot at Wanderlei Silva in Pride's next event, this time to decide Pride's inaugural 205-pound champion. Usually prone to humorous entrances, it was a somber and focused Sakuraba that came down the aisle for his rematch with Silva. As with Jackson, Sakuraba was able to score an early takedown in the bout, where he then worked from Silva's guard. After several minutes searching for a leglock, he finally found one when Silva attempted to escape to his feet. Sakuraba started to control the fight, avoiding Silva's strikes and threatening him with clinches and takedown attempts. Halfway through the round, the Japanese locked on a tight guillotine choke, but was countered by a wild slam from Wanderlei which ended up breaking his collar bone. The wrestler managed to end the round with submission attempts from the bottom, but not willing to let him go on so hampered, his corner threw in the towel between rounds.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: Sakuraba took time off to let his shoulder heal, also briefly training basic Brazilian jiu-jitsu with Sergio Penha at Takada Dojo. He then returned against heavyweight kickboxer Mirko Cro Cop. Sakuraba was proposed a special ruleset of no strikes on the ground as part of the "K-1 vs Pride theme", but he rejected the offer, not wanting any special rule for him. Ironically, although he managed to take Cro Cop down through hard kicks, Sakuraba would end losing the match while exchanging strikes on Mirko's guard when an upkick from the kickboxer broke his orbital bone.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: Finally assenting to place him in competition against fighters of his own weight class, Pride management put him against French jiu-jitsu champion Gilles Arsene in a bout Sakuraba dominated and then against Rickson Gracie protege Antônio Schembri. With a win over Schembri, it was speculated that Sakuraba might be then groomed for a championship fight in a new weight division for fighters of his size. Sakuraba controlled the fight initially, landing plenty of hits and breaking Antônio's nose, but when he was going for one of his trademark Mongolian chops, Schembri stunned him with a series of knee strikes (controversially preceded by an illegal headbutt), winning by TKO.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: After the defeat to Schembri, Sakuraba expressed desire to gain weight and move up to the heavyweight division, hoping to fight either Bob Sapp or PRIDE Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko. However, nothing of this was realized, and instead Sakuraba faced Wanderlei Silva for the third time at Pride Total Elimination. The bout reminisced their first encounter, as Sakuraba flashed again a comical entrance and traded strikes with Silva in his own field of specialty. The Japanese utilized a strategy of faking takedowns and attacking with uppercuts, followed by a real takedown attempt which Silva blocked with knees to the head. Sakuraba escaped and kept trading hits, but despite his best efforts to match his opponent's striking acumen, Wanderlei knocked him out with a jab-cross combination. After the fight, there was talk of Kazushi planning to retire, but nothing came from it.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: Those defeats seemed to mark a turning point in Sakuraba's career; though he was unbeaten in his first nine Pride bouts, he thereafter split his next six matches. He had a notable victory over Kevin Randleman, a former UFC Heavyweight Champion, widely remembered due to his ring entrance as Mario, a pun intended to reflect the Japanese media referring to Randleman as Donkey Kong. In the match itself, Randleman was fast in showing his wrestling accolades at taking down Sakuraba, but the Japanese countered by setting submissions from every available position, until the American made a mistake and was caught in an armbar in the third round.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: At Pride Shockwave 2003, Sakuraba would face Antônio Rogério Nogueira, brother to the famous Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira. The Brazilian, having promised to knock out the Japanese, opened the match lunging at him with punches, but Kazushi answered in kind and opened a cut on Nogueira's eye which almost stopped the bout. The action resumed, both men battled for several minutes, with Rogério gaining the upper hand in striking and Sakuraba in wrestling, allowing him to get in Nogueira's guard and inflict significant damage again. During the second round, Nogueira managed to catch Sakuraba in a triangle choke/armbar combo, but the Japanese escaped the hold and sought his own submission, to no effect. Finally, the third round saw Nogueira taking over with punches and knees, exchanging strikes with Sakuraba almost until the last minute, and ultimately winning the decision.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: After a quick TKO victory over decorated judoka Yoon Dong-Sik in the opening round, Sakuraba suffered a particularly devastating yet controversial loss against Ricardo Arona in the quarterfinal of the tournament in June 2005. Although Sakuraba put Arona on his back and seemed to put to work his signature jumping stomps, the heavier and stronger Arona soon overpowered him, landing a series of brutal knees to the head, as well as hard soccer kicks to the face. The Brazilian's toenail accidentally slashed open the skin over Sakuraba's left eye, which Ricardo then capitalized on by squeezing the cut and digging his finger into it in order to force the doctor stoppage. The Japanese tried to keep on, but Arona hit another flurry of knees to the head, and ended the fight landing soccer kick after soccer kick, rendering Kazushi's face severely swollen and bloody. Arona won by unanimous decision.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: Following the loss, Pride president Sakakibara suggested Sakuraba might move down in weight to compete in their newly formed 183-pound division. However, instead of moving down in weight, Sakuraba began training at Chute Boxe Academy in Brazil alongside his one-time rival Wanderlei Silva. The move had also a symbolic value, as Chute Boxe was at the time in a rivalry with Arona's Brazilian Top Team.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: Upon completion of his training, he made his return to the ring to engage in yet another contest at the 205-pound limit, this time against fellow shoot wrestler Ken Shamrock. Three minutes into the bout, Sakuraba struck through Shamrock's guard with a left hand. Shamrock staggered back and ultimately fell into the ropes, his head hanging out of the ring and his back turned to Sakuraba. Sakuraba rushed in to follow up but before any meaningful offense could be launched, the fight was halted by referee Yuji Shimada. Shamrock got up following the KO and protested vigorously. Opinions were mixed regarding the KO's legitimacy, though Ken's adopted brother and rival, Frank, stated to believe the stoppage was justified: "He got clocked. He went down. According to the rules, he was no longer defending himself and that's the end of the fight."


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: Prior to Pride's "Shockwave 2005" New Year's Eve event, Sakuraba strongly petitioned for a match against fellow shoot wrestler and professional wrestling proponent, Kiyoshi Tamura, even going so far as to publicly request a bout with Tamura. However, with Tamura refusing to face him, Sakuraba recommended another shoot wrestler, Ikuhisa Minowa, who referred to himself as a "real pro wrestler." Sakuraba did not request the match due to any grudge against Minowa, but rather because he believed that he and Minowa would put on a fight worthy of the Shockwave event. The bout was a competitive one, with Sakuraba choosing to fight from the bottom and using both men's submission attempts to force scrambles. After long minutes pinned under Sakuraba, Minowa escaped and took his back, but Kazushi applied a Kimura lock which, although Minowa would not tap to it, nonetheless prompted the referee to halt the contest. The victory marked his final bout under the Pride banner; it also marked one of the few times he was matched against an opponent of his own size from the 183-pound division and his first bout against a Japanese fighter.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: On 3 May 2006, Sakuraba surprisingly appeared with Hero's head Akira Maeda at a Hero's event wearing his street clothes (yellow shirt and blue jeans) and a pro wrestling mask in the style of one of his childhood heroes, Tiger Mask. He did not reveal himself, but it was apparent that it was a masked Sakuraba and that he signed with K-1 and FEG. A day later, Sakuraba appeared at a FEG press conference to announce he would fight in Hero's. His defection to Hero's was a culmination of several signs that suggested he was leaving Pride. It was reported that Sakuraba left Takada Dojo (run by Pride's general manager, Nobuhiko Takada), and conspicuously was not entered into Pride's 2006 Open Weight Grand Prix Tournament.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: Sakuraba was then scheduled to compete in Hero's Light Heavyweight Tournament. His first opponent was the 16–5 Lithuanian Kęstutis Smirnovas. Sakuraba opened the fight striking aggressively, even flooring Smirnovas with a kick, but as he was coming in to follow up he was caught and knocked down to his knees and hands. Kazushi then turned over, sliding beneath the bottom rope, and Smirnovas unleashed repeated blows to his head. As Sakuraba seemed at this point unable to defend himself, when the referee stepped between the two fighters it seemed likely he was moving to put an end to the contest. However, instead of halting the battle, the referee re-positioned the fighters from underneath the bottom rope into the ring and resumed the bout. Though the restarting of fighters who have found themselves near or outside the ropes is common practice, it was nonetheless controversial. Following the restart, Smirnovas picked up where he'd left off and proceed to pound a turtled Sakuraba, but the Japanese managed to escape to his feet and land a sharp combination, staggering Smirnovas and bloodying his face. Having turned the tide of the match, Sakuraba began dominating the Lithuanian on the striking segments until Smirnovas dropped to the ground to escape the assault. Sakuraba then accomplished an armbar, forcing his opponent to give up.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: Initially there were some doubts as to whether Sakuraba would be able to make it into the next round of the Hero's tournament based on the severity of the damage he endured against Smirnovas. However, Sakuraba reported that a follow-up CAT scan had found no irregularities and was then slated to face one-time Olympic judoka, Yoshihiro Akiyama in the tournament's semi-finals on October 9 in what K-1 hoped would be a high revenue match-up. The winner of that bout was to face the victor between Melvin Manhoef and Shungo Oyama to determine a tournament champion. However, during a hard sparring session for the upcoming bout Sakuraba began vomiting and fainted. After being rushed to the hospital he was diagnosed with vertebrobasilar damage that restricted blood circulation to the head and neck area. The doctors determined the damage was caused from years of untreated head injuries dating back to his college years.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: In spite of this revelation, rather than being granted a break to recover and possibly undergo surgery Sakuraba scheduled to return to action on December 31, 2006 against Yoshihiro Akiyama at K-1 Dynamite!!. During the bout, Sakuraba was hit with several punches and he rushed to get the takedown, but in doing so he slipped from Akiyama's body. As the sequence repeated itself over and over while Sakuraba took punishment, he opted to drop to his back and attempt a kneebar from there, but his grip on the judoka inexplicably failed again. Having Sakuraba trapped against the ropes and struggling for his submission, Akiyama was free to attack with ground and pound for the referee stoppage. Words were exchanged between Sakuraba and referee Yoshinori Umeki prior to the stop, which was brought on by the sounding of a bell at the behest of Akira Maeda, the event coordinator, the referee separating the fighters following the bell rather than initiating the stop himself.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: Afterwards, the usually soft-spoken Sakuraba surprised many with complaints that Akiyama's body had been greased. The referee in charge subsequently checked Akiyama's body and gave indication to ringside officials that he had not found anything unusual. In the aftermath of the fight the controversy escalated drastically and new accusations of weighed gloves also surfaced. To deal with the growing controversy, K-1 launched an investigation to look into the accusations against Akiyama. Although Akiyama's gloves were found to be regulation, video-tape revealed Akiyama administering a lotion to his skin. Akiyama—who attested he was simply treating his dry skin—was found to have been "negligent" and disqualified. The fight was subsequently declared a no-contest and Akiyama's purse was withheld. A press conference followed, wherein Akiyama—now heavily maligned by the Japanese sports media—offered a public apology.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: Although Sakuraba wore a shirt into the ring against Akiyama which read "K Sakuraba: End of Service", his experience against Akiyama apparently changed his plans regarding retirement and at Heros 8 he submitted the winless Yurij Kiseliov by armbar.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: Following that win, he would next share the mixed martial arts ring with his fellow shoot wrestler and UWFi alum, Kiyoshi Tamura. Once again donning the guise of his childhood hero, Tiger Mask, as he had to signal his exodus from Pride Fighting Championships to Heros, Sakuraba this time wore the mask to mark the occasion of his return to Pride at their final DSE promoted show, Kamikaze. Before the assembled crowd at the Saitama Super Arena—Pride's most frequented venue—Sakuraba and Tamura publicly voiced their willingness to meet in a Pride ring, before shaking hands and embracing. A bout between Tamura and Sakuraba had been one of Pride's most frequently promised match-ups, one that had never been delivered upon in spite of several efforts to put it together.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: On 2 June 2007, Sakuraba rematched Royce Gracie in K-1 Dynamite!! USA. While Sakuraba knocked Gracie to the canvas in the opening seconds, the bout itself was fought at a relatively slow pace, with Kazushi scoring multiple takedowns and Gracie scoring a number of flailing kicks to the legs and face from the bottom, as well as standing knee strikes to Kazushi's injured and bandaged knee. The Japanese wrestler also besieged Gracie on the ground, finishing the bout having taken the back of Gracie and searching for an armbar. Royce won by unanimous decision, which many viewers and MMA sites disputed immediately on the feeling that Sakuraba won the fight. Sherdog scored it 29–28 in favor of the Japanese fighter. Moreover, Gracie tested positive for steroids after the bout.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: Sakuraba returned to the ring on 17 September 2007 at K-1 Hero's 10 against former NJPW pro wrestler Katsuyori Shibata. Prior to the bout, Shibata's trainer, Masakatsu Funaki had challenged Sakuraba on the basis that their styles would make for an entertaining contest. Shibata came out striking aggressively, but was soon taken to the canvas by Sakuraba's trademark single leg. Shibata unleashed a torrent of blows off his back, but the more experienced Sakuraba responded with strikes of his own before transitioning into an armbar and finishing the bout.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: Following his victory, Sakuraba praised the fighting spirit of Shibata and accepted Funaki's challenge. Much like Sakuraba, Funaki was trained in shoot wrestling and emerged into the world of mixed martial arts on the heels of a career in the UWF (the direct predecessor of Sakuraba's UWF International). Both men also held in common a past history of submission wins over world-class opposition and recognition as two of the top Japanese mixed martial artists to date. Appropriately, their bout took place in the main event of K-1's year end Dynamite!! show, which garners more TV viewers each year than any other televised mixed martial arts event in Japan. The two fighters exchanged colourful entrances at the arena, Sakuraba's featuring him and baseball player Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi dressed in identical fighting gears and "Ultraman" masks.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: Once in the match, Sakuraba was able to sneak in a double leg takedown after Funaki committed heavily to a missed right cross. Funaki closed guard around Sakuraba before opening it up to spin for a kneebar, and for a moment Funaki appeared to secure Sakuraba's leg, but he was thwarted by a combination of Sakuraba's submission acumen and their position against the ring ropes. Sakuraba then maneuvered to Funaki's back, only for the Pancrase founder to roll back into the guard position. Breaking away momentarily from the grappling contest, Sakuraba stood up and began to assault Funaki's legs with a series of kicks, which Funaki answered with an upkick of his own, cutting Sakuraba's eye. Kazushi then returned himself to the ground, where Funaki immediately attempted to sweep him, but Sakuraba blocked the attempt and secured a Kimura lock or double wristlock, eventually forcing Funaki to submit.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: After the match, event producer Sadaharu Tanikawa spoke about a possible matchup between Sakuraba and Rickson Gracie the next year, which the former approved. However, nothing came from it.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: In 2008, it was announced that Kazushi Sakuraba would compete in the Middleweight Grand Prix of the new MMA promotion, Dream. On 29 April 2008, Sakuraba defeated Andrews Nakahara in the main event at Dream 2: Middle Weight Grandprix 2008 1st Round. However, he was knocked out (and thus eliminated from the tournament) by Melvin Manhoef in the main event of Dream 4: Middle Weight Grandprix 2008 2nd Round. During the match, Sakuraba suffered an ulnar fracture of the left forearm, which was caused by a kick from Manhoef.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: Finally it was announced that Kiyoshi Tamura and Kazushi Sakuraba were set to fight at the K-1 Dynamite!! 2008 event on December 31. The fight featured Sakuraba fighting mostly from his back, attempting armbars, kneebars and triangle chokes from his guard while Tamura defended them and applied ground and pound. At the end of the first round, Sakuraba appeared to have an armbar locked in, but the bell sounded before he could extend the arm. Tamura held on at the second, controlling much of the action and consistently kicking Sakuraba's injured legs; he was taken down in the final minute by Sakuraba, who immediately launched a barrage of punches, only for the bell to end his attacks again. Ultimately, Tamura was awarded a unanimous decision.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: After his return to Dream, Sakuraba defeated boxer turned mixed martial artist Rubin Williams at Dream 11, before facing Croatian Zelg Galesic on Dream 12. Sakuraba took Galesic to the ground via single leg takedown and he immediately transitioned to a leg lock. Galesic tried to defend himself against the submission by raining punches on Sakuraba. Sakuraba absorbed the punches and held on to Galesic's leg until he successfully made the Croatian tap out due to a kneebar.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: On May 29 he faced Ralek Gracie, at the Saitama Super Arena in "Dream 14". It would be the sixth time Sakuraba faced a Gracie, albeit this time with a deep age difference, given the Japanese (41) and the Brazilian (24)'s respective ages. During the match, the wrestler performed significantly against the young Gracie, but the latter kept dominating, evidencing a training specialized to counter Sakuraba's style. There was controversy towards the end of the fight, as Sakuraba seemed to have secured a kimura, only to the referee to pause the match to pull up Ralek's pants. The pause allowed the Brazilian to come back with an armbar, which Kazushi escaped to meet a unanimous decision win for Gracie.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: Sakuraba fought for the Dream Welterweight Championship against current champion Marius Zaromskis at Dynamite!! 2010 in December 2010. The fight ended in doctor stoppage, Sakuraba's ear was partially ripped off.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: Sakuraba fought against undefeated Brazilian jiu-jitsu Black Belt Yan Cabral at Dream 17, losing via head arm triangle. This was Sakuraba's 6th loss in his last 8 fights.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: On October 8, 2015, new Japanese mixed martial arts promotion Rizin Fighting Federation announced at a press conference that Sakuraba would face fellow Japanese fighter and grappler Shinya Aoki on the December 29, 2015. This was Sakuraba's first fight after taking four years away from the sport. Sakuraba lost the fight via TKO at 5:56 in the first round, after being taken down and receiving ground and pound.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: On November 22, 2014, Sakuraba fought Renzo Gracie in a grappling match in Metamoris V. Renzo played defensive closed guard earlier in the match, with the two exchanging guillotine choke attempts, but he eventually flipped Sakuraba over and pinned him. However, Sakuraba resisted all of his submission attempts, and with 90 seconds left he scrambled and tried to lock a Kimura, which was unsuccessful. The fight ended in a draw.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: On October 15, 2017, Sakuraba fought former UFC champion Frank Shamrock at RIZIN fighting world grand Prix 2017 Autumn: Aki Jin event in Fukuoka, Japan for a grappling exhibition march at 84 kg division. The match ended with a draw decision.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: In April 2018, Sakuraba announced the formation of a submission wrestling promotion named Quintet (grappling). Based on five-man teams, it is fought under a "kachi-nuki-shiai" tournament format similar to Nanatei Judo. He competed in the inaugural event, but his team was eliminated in the semi-final round.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: Sakuraba became known for a unique, unorthodox fighting style which has been described as creative and compared to "throwing all we'd thought we'd learned about martial arts on its head." He employed moves and techniques from professional wrestling, among them spinning sole kicks, jumping stomps, Mongolian chops and baseball slides. He also used cartwheels to pass guard and several kinds of confusing, often comical tricks to gain advantage over his opponent. However, his main strength was his rounded set of abilities developed from shoot-style wrestling, which included a grinding striking learned from muay thai and a brilliant catch wrestling submission expertise. He submitted important grapplers of his time like Royler Gracie, Renzo Gracie and Masakatsu Funaki by using his signature double top wrist lock, a technique he opened both from standing and on the ground. Though he wasn't afraid of giving his back to his opponent in order to secure it, Sakuraba would also use the technique as a positional weapon, threatening with it to control his adversary. Renzo Gracie praised his ability to play against his opponent's weaknesses, Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira commended his technical skill, and Mark Kerr called him the world's best technician of his era.


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: Regarding the notable differences in weight between himself and his opponents throughout his career, as well as the banning of IV's for rehydration (and potential PED usage), Sakuraba has stated through an interpreter that "it doesn't matter if they [the opponent] use a pill or medicine to get bigger or smaller, I just train hard, eat healthy, fight at my weight and try my best to beat them. For me it doesn't matter if they use drugs, but I would not use it. I'm sure it's bad if they use it to win."


title: Kazushi Sakuraba

text: About his proneness to fight outside his weight class, Sakuraba declared "the more impossible the fights got, the more willing to accept them I became". Although he once desired to fight him, he later cited Fedor Emelianenko as the only fighter he ever refused to fight.


title: Monolith Soft

text: In addition to the "Xenosaga" series, Monolith Soft worked on other projects including "" and "Namco × Capcom", the precursor to their later "Project X Zone" series, along with assisting on projects from other developers. While several of its games have released on the PlayStation 2, the majority of its games have released on Nintendo platforms. As of 2019, Monolith Soft operates four studios. Its main studio is in Meguro, Tokyo that produces the company's original video game properties; the secondary Nakameguro GS and Osaki Studio similarly based in Tokyo, and a studio in Kyoto with mainly artists as its employees, which acts as an assisting developer for both Monolith Soft and for some Nintendo games.


title: Monolith Soft

text: The design approaches of Monolith Soft have shifted over its lifetime, with early games such as "Xenosaga" and "Baten Kaitos" being distinguished by a narrative-heavy approach, while later games have focused more on gameplay. The company's stated goals are to create projects with wide creative freedom and to allow younger developers to contribute to these projects. The company is also notable for its focus on promoting a comfortable working environment with little to no overtime in contrast to the majority of other Japanese game developers, alongside collaborating with other studios and companies.


title: Monolith Soft

text: Monolith Soft was founded by Tetsuya Takahashi, a developer who had previously worked at Nihon Falcom and later at Square, in which the latter was merged into Enix in 2003 to form Square Enix. While at Square, he and his wife Kaori Tanaka (also known as Soraya Saga) would contribute to the development of multiple games including entries in the "Final Fantasy" series. Following their work on "Final Fantasy VI", Takahashi and Tanaka created a proposal for "Final Fantasy VII"; while deemed too dark for the "Final Fantasy" series, they were allowed to develop it as their own project titled "Xenogears". Takahashi's ambition and drive prompted "Final Fantasy" creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, then Executive Vice President at Square, to appoint him as director. Takahashi also wrote the script with Tanaka. Following the release of "Xenogears", Takahashi became dissatisfied with Square's business approach at the time, which prioritized their major intellectual properties including "Final Fantasy". This left Takahashi with no funding or creative room to develop further independent projects or continue his planned "Xenogears" series.


title: Monolith Soft

text: In 1999, Takahashi talked with Hirohide Sugiura, who had likewise worked at Square and was beginning to feel frustrated due to a lack of creative freedom. After discussing the matter, the two decided to create their own company and pursue projects they wanted to create. When planning their new company, Takahashi and Sugiura decided that they needed a publisher with substantial market presence to help them rather than being an independent studio. Takahashi and Sugiura approached multiple companies for support, but most of the companies they contacted outright rejected their offer as they believed that Monolith Soft should be an independent company. However, Namco were interested in investing into Monolith Soft as a dedicated subsidiary, whilst handling logistics and marketing so that the core staff could focus on game development. An important supporter of Monolith Soft was Namco's founder Masaya Nakamura, who shared many of Takahashi and Sugiura's goals and ideals. Monolith Soft is noted as being one of a group of video game companies—alongside Sacnoth, Love-de-Lic and Mistwalker—founded by Square staff who had worked on notable games produced during the 1990s. The company was officially founded on 1 October 1999 by Takahashi, Sugiura, and Yasuyuki Honne, who had worked at Square on both the "Chrono" series and with Takahashi on "Xenogears". The company's offices were originally based in Yokohama.


title: Monolith Soft

text: Monolith Soft's first project was "Xenosaga Episode I", a role-playing game (RPG) for the PlayStation 2. "Xenosaga" was a spiritual successor to "Xenogears"; development began in 2000 when enough staff had been gathered, lasting approximately two years. As with "Xenogears", the game was scripted by Takahashi and Tanaka, who planned out the "Xenosaga" series as a hexalogy. In 2001, Namco producer Shinji Noguchi and Monolith Soft's Tadashi Nomura conceived a new IP for the GameCube unconnected to "Xenosaga". Titled "", development began six months after the concept was formed, with Honne acting as director. The game development staff of the company was now divided between the "Xenosaga" series and "Baten Kaitos", the latter a project driven by the younger developers at Monolith Soft. "Baten Kaitos" was co-developed with tri-Crescendo, which came about due to both submitting designs to Namco, which suggested they work together on the project. In 2003, Honne was approached by then-CEO of Nintendo Satoru Iwata about developing a new entry in the "Mother" series for GameCube. Honne created a pitch themed around a "felt-style recreation of 80s America", but the idea was firmly rejected by series creator Shigesato Itoi.


title: Monolith Soft

text: Following the release of the first "Xenosaga" game, Takahashi and Sugiura reassessed the internal structure of Monolith Soft, determining that the current lead developers were too old, clashing with their intended goals for the company to foster young talent. With this mindset, Takahashi stepped down from his lead role in the "Xenosaga" series. He continued to work for the company in a supervisory role by providing the series' scenario drafts, while younger staff continued the series development. This move also allowed Takahashi a greater degree of creative freedom in a number of projects as opposed to being tied to a single series. In May 2002, Monolith Soft moved from Yokohama to their current offices in Meguro, Tokyo. The next entry in the "Xenosaga" series, "Xenosaga Episode II", began development under a new team following the release of "Episode I". While developing "Episode II", the staff shifted their focus from the main series to help tell the story through multiple media. Among these additional projects was "", a spin-off title for mobile devices co-developed with Tom Create and Namco Mobile. "Pied Piper" was Tanaka's last work on the "Xenosaga" series. Beginning in 2003, Monolith Soft also developed "Namco × Capcom", a PlayStation 2 crossover game featuring characters from various Namco and Capcom video games. The idea was proposed by Monolith Soft, with development lasting two years.


title: Monolith Soft

text: In 2006, Monolith Soft was involved in four released games; "", "Xenosaga I & II", "Xenosaga Episode III" and "Baten Kaitos Origins". "Dirge of Cerberus", was primarily developed by SQUARE ENIX with Monolith Soft providing development support. "Xenosaga I & II" was an expanded re-imagining of the first two games for the Nintendo DS, and is notable for being Monolith Soft's first title for handheld game consoles. The game was co-developed by Tom Create in collaboration with multiple staff who had worked on the for the first "Xenosaga". "Xenosaga Episode III" began development in 2004. While "Xenosaga" was planned as a hexalogy, the new team decided to restructure the series as a trilogy. "Episode III" was the last planned entry in the series, with further games depending on its commercial success. The mixed commercial and critical performance of the "Xenosaga" series left Monolith Soft's development staff in a state of low morale. "Baten Kaitos Origins", again co-developed with tri-Crescendo, was released late in the lifespan of the GameCube shortly before the release of Nintendo's new home console the Wii. A "Baten Kaitos" game for the DS was also in development at Monolith Soft, but Namco, which by this point had merged with Bandai to become Namco Bandai, cancelled the project. A third "Baten Kaitos" game was in early development for "a long time" according to Honne, but was cancelled due to unspecified circumstances. Future efforts with the series depended upon both fan demand and the cooperation of IP owners Namco.


title: Monolith Soft

text: According to Sugiura, Monolith Soft's relations with Namco had undergone a negative change after Nakamura retired as head of Namco in 2002, three years before the merger with Bandai. The company underwent changes and Monolith Soft felt they were being given less creative freedom, and the newly-created Bandai Namco was less willing to take creative risks. The company then received consultation from Shinji Hatano, an executive director at Nintendo, who advised them to continue creating innovative projects. Spurred on by Hatano's supportive attitude, Monolith Soft decided to break away from Bandai Namco to become a Nintendo subsidiary; this provided Monolith Soft creative freedom in exchange for software development exclusivity for Nintendo platforms. Nintendo's purchasing of the majority of Monolith Soft's shares from Bandai Namco Holdings was publicly announced in April 2007. Nintendo became the majority shareholder of Monolith Soft with 80% of shares, while Bandai Namco retained 16% and remained as a development partner. Namco Bandai stated that the exchange of Monolith Soft shares would strengthen their relationship with Nintendo. The remaining shares were divided between Takahashi, Sugiura and Honne. Nintendo's acquisition of Monolith Soft contrasted against the company's previous publicized approach of not taking part in mergers and acquisitions of other studios and companies. In a statement on the matter, Iwata said that the deal was initiated due to the positive relations between Sugiura and Nintendo, and the two companies' parallel design and development philosophies.


title: Monolith Soft

text: Monolith Soft's first releases following its acquisition by Nintendo were "Soma Bringer" and "" for the Nintendo DS and "" for the Wii, all released in 2008. "Soma Bringer" was the company's first portable title to be developed entirely in-house, it was designed as an experience driven by gameplay rather than narrative. Multiple returning staff from the "Xenosaga" series including Takahashi and Tanaka contributed to the game. "Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier", a crossover RPG, was co-developed with Banpresto and featured cameo appearances from Monolith Soft's "Xenosaga" series. "Disaster: Day of Crisis", Monolith Soft's first and to-date only non-RPG game, was intended as a showcase for the capabilities of the Wii. Due to quality concerns and Monolith Soft's unfamiliarity with the Wii hardware, it was delayed from its planned 2006 release by two years. Monolith Soft was also chosen to develop "" due to their pedigree at developing RPGs. During this period they assisted in the development of "Super Smash Bros. Brawl".


title: Monolith Soft

text: From mid 2006, Takahashi was working on a separate project; struck by an idea of rival civilizations emerging on the frozen bodies of two warring gods, he and Honne constructed a model of the two gods to better visualize the idea. After bringing their idea to Nintendo producer Hitoshi Yamagami, the team began development in 2007. Takahashi later stated that the game's development acted as a means of boosting company morale after the failure of the "Xenosaga" series. The director, Koh Kojima, started his directorial debut with this game, having previously written the scenario for "Baten Kaitos Origins". This game also saw a shift away from the narrative-heavy approach of Monolith Soft<nowiki>"</nowiki>s earlier work, which Takahashi stated had been called out as old-fashioned. In contrast to many earlier Monolith Soft projects, the game was designed with an international release in mind. The intended scale of the game caused problems, and Takahashi reluctantly went to Yamagami with a list of proposals to cut down the game to a suitable size as he was accustomed to doing for previous projects. Yamagami rejected all of Takahashi's suggestions, instead persuading Nintendo to keep supporting the project and allow the team to complete their work as envisioned. Originally titled "Monado: Beginning of the World", Iwata had the title changed to honor Takahashi's previous work on "Xenogears" and the "Xenosaga" franchise. The new title was "Xenoblade Chronicles".


title: Monolith Soft

text: "Xenoblade Chronicles" released in 2010 in Japan, and after multiple delays, also released worldwide to unexpected critical and commercial success. Also released that year was "", a sequel to the original game co-developed with Banpresto that expanded upon the mechanics of the original and featured further "Xenosaga" cameos. In 2011, Monolith Soft founded a new studio in Kyoto, closer to Nintendo's home base so the two companies could better interact with each other. Despite some initial reservations, the staff quickly settled into their new offices and the studio became a lauded place of work. Rather than original projects, the Kyoto branch acts as a supplementary studio, providing support for Monolith Soft and on Nintendo's in-house projects. The Kyoto branch has provided support for "" (2011), "" (2012), "Pikmin 3" (2013), "" (2013), "Splatoon", (2015), "" (2015), "" (2017), "Splatoon 2" (2017), and "" (2020). By the beginning of 2012, Namco Bandai had sold its remaining 400 shares in Monolith Soft to Nintendo.


title: Monolith Soft

text: The next game released from Monolith Soft, again in collaboration with Banpresto, was "Project X Zone" for the Nintendo 3DS. A successor to "Namco × Capcom", the game received development support from and featured characters from franchises owned by Namco Bandai, Capcom and Sega. Following the release of "Xenoblade Chronicles", Monolith Soft was also working on a follow-up titled "Xenoblade Chronicles X" for the Wii U. A spiritual successor to the first game, and the company's first high-definition video game title, "Xenoblade Chronicles X" shifted from a story-driven to an open world gameplay-driven structure. The incorporation of an extensive multiplayer element resulted in its release being delayed and the narrative being substantially altered. Monolith Soft also developed a sequel to "Project X Zone", "Project X Zone 2". In addition to changing the character roster selected from Sega, Capcom and Bandai Namco, the game introduced characters from the Nintendo franchise "Fire Emblem" in addition to characters from "Xenoblade Chronicles".


title: Monolith Soft

text: During the last development stages of "Xenoblade Chronicles X", Monolith Soft began work on a new "Xenoblade" title for the Nintendo Switch. Titled "Xenoblade Chronicles 2", the game returned to the story-driven structure of "Xenoblade Chronicles" while building upon the gameplay and technology of "Xenoblade Chronicles X". One of the game's story prototypes was later turned into an expansion titled "", released in 2018. In addition to this, Monolith Soft also began development of a fantasy action game, hiring new staff for the project. The company opened new studios in Nakameguro and Iidabashi during 2017 and 2018. The 1st Production team, known for their work on the "Xenoblade Chronicles" series, started hiring staff for development of a new RPG project in October 2018. In March 2019, the 2nd Production team started hiring staff for a new project in "The Legend of Zelda" franchise. Between 2018 and 2019, the Iidabashi studio closed. In April 2019, in the wake of high revenue during the 2018–2019 fiscal period, the company opened a new studio in Ōsaki, Tokyo.


title: Monolith Soft

text: "This list is for games to which Monolith Soft contributed substantially, being either a major co-developer or the main developer."


title: Monolith Soft

text: "This list is for titles where a studio of Monolith Soft acted in a lesser supporting role to the main developer. Monolith Soft Tokyo, the development branch who lead development on their Xenoblade franchise and other of their franchises, is one of the companies responsible for support in game design for Breath of the Wild titles in The Legend of Zelda franchise, while the other games have Monolith Soft Kyoto, which is only a support studio, acting as one of the support studios for art and graphics."


title: Monolith Soft

text: From the company's inception, Takahashi and Sugiura wanted to give creative freedom to pursue projects outside genre standards, in addition to hiring young staff. An early aim was to encourage younger developers to make their mark in the industry, which at the time was dominated by people in the late 30s and up. This outlook was the reason why younger staff were given charge of the "Xenosaga" series. Kojima stated that younger developers were preferred as they could bring interesting ideas to a project. According to Sugiura, a major element during the period in which Monolith Soft was under Namco was the focus on creativity. They wanted to balance this with the financial logistics of game design rather than having budgetary concerns stifle the creative flare of the staff. When talking about their Wii U projects in 2012, Monolith Soft staff member Michihiko Inaba stated that the company wanted to show that Japan could keep up with the Western market in terms of ambitious games that pushed the industry forward, comparing Monolith Soft to Bethesda Softworks in this desire.


title: Monolith Soft

text: Speaking about the move from Namco Bandai to Nintendo, Sugiura commented that it was a challenge to only be developing games for a single group of consoles. Nintendo endorsed the challenge to Monolith Soft with incentives such as making a particular game within given hardware specifications, providing the company time and resources to accomplish that. Another factor that changed within Monolith Soft's development process was Nintendo's increased quality control, which would moot any project that did not have the desired quality for their systems. This sense of challenge was also echoed by Takahashi, who described both "Xenoblade Chronicles" and "Xenoblade Chronicles X" as being defined by self-imposed challenges to the development team when creating the environments on limited gaming hardware. Monolith Soft's scope and goals are often attributed to Takahashi's drive and ambition. While commonly associated with Japanese role-playing games (JRPGs), Monolith Soft focuses more on making role-playing games for a worldwide audience.


title: Monolith Soft

text: Rather than a fixed development structure, Monolith Soft chooses to freely assign staff based on the direction a project takes, in addition to believing in collaborations with other companies on projects rather than developing entirely in-house. According to a 2012 interview with Takahashi, a prerequisite for working at Monolith Soft is a deep passion for games in addition to general knowledge outside the field. As opposed to many other Japanese and Western studios which have come under criticism for excessive overtime and poor working conditions, Monolith Soft strives for a friendly working environment and reasonable hours for its staff. Overtime is also negotiated with the management and receives payment, a rarity in Japanese business. Speaking in relation to this approach, Honne recited the company's motto; "Zero overtime and creative work allowed". Despite the gaming industry's workforce being dominated by men, Monolith Soft has a notably high proportion of female developers working at the company, with around a quarter of its workforce in total.


title: Nobuhiro Watsuki

text: , better known by his pen name , is a Japanese manga artist. He is best known for his samurai-themed series "Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story" (1994–1999), which has over 70 million copies in circulation and a sequel he is currently creating titled "" (2017–present). He has written three more series, the western "Gun Blaze West" (2001), the supernatural "Buso Renkin" (2003–2005), and the horror manga "Embalming -The Another Tale of Frankenstein-" (2007–2015). Watsuki has mentored several well-known manga artists, including "One Piece" creator Eiichiro Oda, Hiroyuki Takei of "Shaman King" fame, and "Mr. Fullswing" author .


title: Nobuhiro Watsuki

text: Watsuki was born in Tokyo and was brought up in Nagaoka, Niigata. When he was in middle school, Watsuki practiced kendo. He still drew manga but also enjoyed sports, although he never won a kendo match. Watsuki grew frustrated with kendo, and eventually quit.


title: Nobuhiro Watsuki

text: In high school, Watsuki received an honorable mention in the 33rd Tezuka Awards for his 1987 one-shot "Teacher Pon", which he wrote under the pen name "Nobuhiro Nishiwaki". "Hokuriku Yūrei Kobanashi" earned him the Hop Step award. It was included in "Hop Step Award Selection" volume 6 in 1991. After graduating, Watsuki moved to Tokyo and worked as an assistant to Yōichi Takahashi and Takeshi Obata. Watsuki worked on Obata's "Mashin Bōken Tan Lamp-Lamp" and "Chikara Bito Densetsu", the former's title character would later serve as a model for Sagara Sanosuke.


title: Nobuhiro Watsuki

text: Watsuki then created three historically-set samurai-themed one-shots; "Crescent Moon in the Warring States", and two sharing the title "Rurouni: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story". Set in the Sengoku Jidai era of Japan's warring states, "Crescent Moon in the Warring States" relates the tale of the lone swordsman Hiko Seijūrō. The first "Rurouni: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story" features Himura Kenshin stopping a crime lord from taking over the Kamiya family dojo. The second sees Kenshin saving a young girl who is being held ransom by fallen samurai. These three works served as the basis for his first serial; "Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story", which follows the former hitokiri Himura Kenshin and was serialized in "Weekly Shōnen Jump" from 1994 to 1999. It was a major success with over 70 million copies in circulation, and was adapted into an anime television series, several animated films, and a trilogy of live-action films. The story "Haru ni Sakura", included in the "Kenshin Kaden" guidebook, details the fates of the main cast of "Rurouni Kenshin" following its conclusion. In "Yahiko no Sakabatō", set five years after the conclusion of "Rurouni Kenshin", Myōjin Yahiko must save the daughter of a dojo master from an old foe.


title: Nobuhiro Watsuki

text: During "Rurouni Kenshin"s serialization, Watsuki wrote "Meteor Strike", a one-shot written for a "Weekly Shōnen Jump" artists project. It chronicles the what-if adventures of a young boy who is struck in the head by a meteor and gains superhuman powers, eventually saving his town from a nuclear disaster. Watsuki felt disgusted with the work and originally did not plan on revealing it, but ultimately decided to include "Meteor Strike" in the final "Rurouni Kenshin" volume to increase its page count. Although, he said that after reading the story over again it "relaxed" him "in a nice way." Watsuki included three main elements in the story, which he described as having "some different flavors" than "Rurouni Kenshin". He had wanted to use meteors in a story for a long time, since they are the "most energetic natural phenomena." His second element was a boy wearing a pair of white gloves. Watsuki described white gloves as "sort of plain" and "not cool at all," yet he considers the element to be one of his favorites since the gloves "give off a sense of strength." His third element is the girl wearing a construction site helmet. The helmet is masculine, while the Japanese school uniform that the girl wears is feminine. Watsuki said that he created the main character Shinya "on the spot," giving him too much honesty, and a personality that overlaps with that of Himura Kenshin, which he regrets "a little." Watsuki created Chiho, the other major character, to show the "shojo theme of the moment" when the boy out-matures the girl. Watsuki felt that the plan "didn't work out so well" and "a lot wasn't what I wanted it to be." He added that he liked portraying the "helpful nature" of Chiho.


title: Nobuhiro Watsuki

text: In 2001, Watsuki created his second serialized work, the western "Gun Blaze West". The story follows Viu Bannes, a young gunfighter on his journey towards Gun Blaze West, the place where the greatest gunmen go to test their strength. It ran in "Weekly Shōnen Jump" for less-than a year, from January 8 to August 13, 2001. Its three volumes were published in English by Viz.


title: Nobuhiro Watsuki

text: His third serialization "Buso Renkin", was published in "Weekly Shōnen Jump" between July 7, 2003 and May 9, 2005, with two special chapters published in "Akamaru Jump". Watsuki is married to author . She has assisted her husband in writing several of his manga including "Buso Renkin", which she later wrote two novelizations of. Watsuki described himself as "pro-dōjinshi" and asked fans to send fan comics. "Buso Renkin" became his second work to be adapted into an anime. Both the manga and anime were released in English by Viz Media.


title: Nobuhiro Watsuki

text: Watsuki wrote two one-shots for "Jump the Revolution!", "Embalming -Dead Body and Bride-" on November 1, 2005 and "Embalming II -Dead Body and Lover-" on November 1, 2006, that would become his fourth serial. "Embalming -The Another Tale of Frankenstein-" began in the debut issue of "Jump SQ" on November 2, 2007 and concluded on April 4, 2015. Kaworu Kurosaki again assisted him with the story. It draws largely from Mary Shelley's famed 1818 novel "Frankenstein" and follows a young man named Fury Flatliner, who was turned into a Frankenstein in order to destroy all the others and specifically seeks the one that killed his parents.


title: Nobuhiro Watsuki

text: Between 2012 and 2013, Watsuki put "Embalming" on hold to write "" in "Jump SQ". This "reboot" depicts the battles that are featured in the first live-action "Rurouni Kenshin" film. Its two collected volumes were published in English by Viz Media. It was the first of several returns to the author's most famous series. "Rurouni Kenshin: Restoration Act Zero" was published in "Weekly Shōnen Jump" in August 2012 as a prologue to "Restoration" and included in its first volume. The two-part "", which shows how Shishio Makoto met Komagata Yumi and formed the Juppongatana, followed in "Jump SQ." in 2014. From August 9–11, 2013, an exhibit of art from "Rurouni Kenshin" was displayed at Otakon in the United States curated by Watsuki's wife. Watsuki and his wife collaborated on the two-chapter "" for the ninth anniversary of "Jump SQ." in 2016. The second chapter revealed that the story is a prequel to a new arc of the series; "" which began in fall 2017.


title: Nobuhiro Watsuki

text: In November 2017, police found DVDs with footage of naked girls in their early teens in Watsuki's Tokyo office. Tokyo Police raided Watsuki's home as part of an investigation into the purchase of child pornography. The search uncovered about a hundred child pornography DVDs. He was referred to prosecutors over possession of child pornography on November 21. The serialization of "Rurouni Kenshin: The Hokkaido Arc" was put on hiatus after the details of Watsuki's charges were made public. In February 2018, Watsuki was fined or about . "The Hokkaido Arc" resumed serialization in June 2018.


title: Nobuhiro Watsuki

text: Watsuki started drawing from the influence of his older brother. His favorite manga is Osamu Tezuka's "Black Jack" and his favorite artist is Takeshi Obata. Other series that influenced him include Fujiko F. Fujio's "Doraemon" and "Pa-man", Mitsuru Adachi's "Touch", "Wing Man" by Masakazu Katsura, Minako Narita's "Alien Street" and "Cypher", and "Yu Yu Hakusho" by Yoshihiro Togashi. Watsuki believes that he is not very good at writing comedy, but he stated that he does not give up on it because laughter contains "smiles and happiness, the greatest common denominators."


title: Nobuhiro Watsuki

text: Watsuki based many of his characters on historical figures, characters from other manga/anime, and video games series. For example, Himura Kenshin was based on Kawakami Gensai, one of the Four Hitokiri of the Bakumatsu. Four years after the revolution ended, Gensai was falsely accused of a crime and was executed. Watsuki admires Kenshin for his desire to do good in honor of those whom he had to kill so the Meiji Government could exist. In addition, Saitō Hajime was based on the historical Saitō Hajime, a member of the Shinsengumi although Watsuki admitted altering him to the point of fan complaints. Several other characters, most notably Sagara Sanosuke, Shinomori Aoshi, and Seta Sōjirō, are also loosely based on certain figures among the Shinsengumi. Okita Sōji, Ōkubo Toshimichi, and Katsura Kogorō are among numerous other historical figures who make appearances in the story. Yukishiro Enishi's minion Gein was based on puppeteer and serial killer Ed Gein.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: The 9K32 Strela-2 (, "arrow"; NATO reporting name SA-7 Grail) is a light-weight, shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missile (or MANPADS) system. It is designed to target aircraft at low altitudes with passive infrared homing guidance and destroy them with a high explosive warhead.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: Broadly comparable in performance with the US Army FIM-43 Redeye, the Strela-2 was the first Soviet man-portable SAM – full-scale production began in 1970. While the Redeye and 9K32 Strela-2 were similar, the missiles were not identical.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: The Strela-2 was a staple of the Cold War and was produced in huge numbers for the Soviet Union and their allies, as well as revolutionary movements. Though since surpassed by more modern systems, the Strela and its variants remain in service in many countries, and have seen widespread use in nearly every regional conflict since 1972.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: The end of World War II led to a major shift in Soviet defence policy. The advent of long range, high altitude, nuclear-armed American bombers, capable of penetrating Soviet airspace at heights and speeds unreachable and unmatchable by anti-aircraft guns and most interceptors, appeared to render every conventional weapon obsolete at a stroke. Numerous long-range, high-altitude SAM systems, such as the S-25 Berkut and S-75 Dvina, were rapidly developed and fielded to counter this large vulnerability. Due to the apparent "obsolescence" of conventional arms, however, relatively little development took place to field mobile battlefield air defences.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: This direction was soon changed with the beginning of the Korean War. An entirely conventional conflict, it proved that nuclear weapons were not the be-all and end-all of warfare. In the face of a powerful and modern American air force, carrying non-nuclear payloads, the Soviet Union invested heavily in a multi-tier air defence system, consisting of several new mobile SAMs, to cover all altitude ranges and protect ground forces. The new doctrine listed five requirements:


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: Both Strela-1 and Strela-2 were initially intended to be man-portable systems. As the Strela-2 proved to be a considerably smaller and lighter package, however, the role of the Strela-1 was changed, becoming a heavier, vehicle-mounted system with increased range and performance to better support the ZSU-23-4 in the regimental air defense role.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: As development began in the Turopov OKB (later changed to Kolomna), detailed information on the design of the US FIM-43 Redeye became available. While it was not a reverse-engineered copy, in many ways the Strela design borrowed heavily from the Redeye, which had started development a few years earlier. Due to the comparatively primitive Soviet technical base, development was protracted, and many problems arose, especially in designing a sufficiently small seeker head and rocket. Eventually, the designers settled for a simpler seeker head than that of the Redeye, allowing the initial version, the 9K32 "Strela-2" (US DoD designation "SA-7A", missile round 9M32) to finally enter service in 1968, five years behind schedule. At the time, it was described by one expert as being "the premier Russian export line".


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: The initial variant suffered from numerous shortcomings: it could only engage targets flying at relatively slow airspeeds and low altitudes and then only from rear hemisphere, it suffered from poor guidance reliability (particularly in the presence of natural or man-made background IR radiation sources), and even when a hit was achieved, it often failed to destroy the target. Poor lethality was an issue especially when used against jet aircraft: the hottest part of the target was the nozzle behind the actual engine, which the missile therefore usually hit; but there its small warhead often failed to cause significant damage to the engine itself.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: In order to address the shortcomings, two improved versions were ordered in 1968; as an intermediate stop-gap the slightly improved 9K32M "Strela-2M" (NATO reporting name SA-7b) to replace the original, as well as the more ambitious Strela-3.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: As the modifications introduced with the Strela-2M were relatively minor, the process was fast and it was accepted in service in 1970. The Strela-2M replaced the Strela-2 in production lines immediately. Improvements were made particularly to increase the engagement envelope of the new system:


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: Contrary to what was initially reported in some Western publications, more recent information indicates that, while lethality on impact had proven to be a problem, the warhead remained the same unit (including TNT charge) as in the original. This remained the warhead of all Soviet MANPADS up to and including most 9K38 Igla variants; to address the problem of poor lethality, a more powerful HE filling than TNT, improved fuzing, a terminal maneuver, and finally a separate charge to set off any remaining rocket fuel were gradually introduced in later MANPADS systems, but the original Strela-2/2M warhead design of a directed-energy HE charge in a pre-fragmented casing remained.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: The seeker head improvements were only minor changes to allow better discrimination of the target signal against background emissions. Some sources claim that the seeker sensitivity was also improved. The only defence against infra-red countermeasures remained the seeker head's narrow field of view, which could be hoped to help the rapidly slowing flare fall off the missile field of view as it was tracking a fast-moving target. In practice, flares proved to be a highly effective countermeasure against both versions of the Strela-2.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: The seeker is commonly referred to as a hot metal tracker. The seeker can only see infrared energy in the near infrared (NIR) spectrum, emitted by very hot surfaces only seen on the inside of the jet nozzle. This allows only rear-aspect engagement of jet targets, earning the weapon its other moniker as a revenge weapon, since the missile has to "chase" an aircraft after it has already passed by.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: The Strela-2M was also procured for use on-board Warsaw Pact warships; installed on four-round pedestal mounts aboard Soviet amphibious warfare vessels and various smaller combatants, the weapon remained unchanged, but was assigned the NATO reporting name SA-N-5 "Grail".


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: The missile launcher system consists of the green missile launch tube containing the missile, a grip stock and a cylindrical thermal battery. The launch tube is reloadable at depot, but missile rounds are delivered to fire units in their launch tubes. The device can be reloaded up to five times.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: When engaging slow or straight-receding targets, the operator tracks the target with the iron sights in the launch tube and applies half-trigger. This action "uncages" the seeker and allows its attempt to track. If a target IR signature can be tracked against the background present, this is indicated by a light and a buzzer sound. The shooter then pulls the trigger fully, and immediately applies lead and superelevation. This method is called a manual engagement. An automatic mode, which is used against fast targets, allows the shooter to fully depress the trigger in one pull followed by immediate lead and superelevation of the launch tube. The seeker will uncage and will automatically launch the missile if a strong enough signal is detected.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: The manufacturer lists reaction time measured from the carrying position (missile carried on a soldier's back with protective covers) to missile launch to be 13 seconds, a figure that is achievable but requires considerable training and skill in missile handling. With the launcher on the shoulder, covers removed and sights extended, reaction time from fire command to launch reduces to 6–10 seconds, depending greatly on the target difficulty and the shooter's skill.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: After activating the power supply to the missile electronics, the gunner waits for electricity supply and gyros to stabilize, puts the sights on target and tracks it smoothly with the launch tube's iron sights, and pulls the trigger on the grip stock. This activates the seeker electronics and the missile attempts to lock onto the target. If the target is producing a strong enough signal and the angular tracking rate is within acceptable launch parameters, the missile alerts the gunner that the target is locked on by illuminating a light in the sight mechanism, and producing a constant buzzing noise. The operator then has 0.8 seconds to provide lead to the target while the missile's on-board power supply is activated and the throw-out motor ignited.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: Should the target be outside acceptable parameters, then the light cue in the sight and the buzzer signal tell the gunner to re-aim the missile.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: On launch, the booster burns out before the missile leaves the launch tube at 32 m/s and rotating at around 20 revolutions per second. As the missile leaves the tube, the two forward steering fins unfold, as do the four rear stabilizing tail fins. The self-destruct mechanism is then armed, which is set to destroy the missile after between 14 and 17 seconds to prevent it hitting the ground if it should miss the target.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: Once the missile is five and a half meters away from the gunner, c. 0.3 seconds after leaving the launch tube, it activates the rocket sustainer motor. The sustainer motor takes it to a velocity of , and sustains it at this speed. Once it reaches peak speed, at a distance of around from the gunner, the final safety mechanism is disabled and the missile is fully armed. All told, the booster burns for 0.5 second and the driving engine for another 2.0 seconds.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: The missile's uncooled lead sulfide passive infra-red seeker head detects infrared radiation at below 2.8 μm in wavelength. It has a 1.9 degree field of view and can track at 9 degrees per second. The seeker head tracks the target with an amplitude-modulated spinning reticle (spin-scan or AM tracking), which attempts to keep the seeker constantly pointed towards the target. The spinning reticle measures the amount of incoming infrared (IR) energy. It does this by using a circular pattern that has solid portions and slats that allow the IR energy to pass through to the seeker. As the reticle spins IR energy passes through the open portions of the reticle. Based on where the IR energy falls on the reticle the amount or amplitude of IR energy allowed through to the seeker increases the closer to the center of the reticle. Therefore, the seeker is able to identify where the center of the IR energy is. If the seeker detects a decrease in the amplitude of the IR energy it steers the missile back towards where the IR energy was the strongest. The seeker's design creates a dead-space in the middle of the reticle. The center mounted reticle has no detection capability. This means that as the seeker tracks a target as soon as the seeker is dead center, (aimed directly at the IR source) there is a decrease in the amplitude of IR energy. The seeker interprets this decrease as being off target so it changes direction. This causes the missile to move off target until another decrease in IR energy is detected and the process repeats itself. This gives the missile a very noticeable wobble in flight as the seeker bounces in and out from the dead-space. This wobble becomes more pronounced as the missile closes on the target as the IR energy fills a greater portion of the reticle. These continuous course corrections effectively bleed energy from the missile reducing its range and velocity.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: The guidance of the SA-7 follows proportional convergence logic, also known as angle rate tracking system or pro-logic. In this method, as the seeker tracks the target, the missile is turned towards where the seeker is turning towards – not where it is pointing at – relative to the missile's longitudinal axis. Against a target flying in a straight-line course at constant speed, the angle rate of seeker-to-body reduces to zero when the missile is in a straight-line flight path to intercept point.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: As a consequence of their widespread availability and large numbers, the Strela system has seen use in conflicts across the globe.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: The first combat use of the missile is credited as being in 1969 during the War of Attrition by Egyptian soldiers. The first "kill" was claimed on 19 August 1969. An Israeli 102 Squadron A-4H Skyhawk was hit with a shoulder-fired missile 12 miles west of the Suez Canal and pilot SqL Nassim Ezer Ashkenazi captured. Between this first firing and June 1970 the Egyptian army fired 99 missiles resulting in 36 hits. The missile proved to have poor kinematic reach against combat jets, and also poor lethality as many aircraft that were hit managed to return safely to base.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: The missile was used later in the Yom Kippur War, where 4,356 Strelas were fired, scoring few hits and just 2–4 kills, with 26–28 damaged. A-4s were fitted with lengthened exhaust pipes in order to prevent fatal damage to the engine, a solution made in the previous war, together with flare launchers. However, together with Shilka and SA-2/3/6s, they caused very heavy losses to the Israeli Air Force in the first days. Subsequently, Arab forces fired so many SAMs that they almost depleted their weapon stocks. SA-7s were not that effective against fast jets, but they were the best weapon available to Arab infantry at the time.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: A Strela 2 was reportedly used by the Islamist militant group Ansar Bait al-Maqdis to destroy an Egyptian military Mil-8 helicopter operating in the northern Sinai region on 26 January 2014 near Sheikh Zuweid (close to the border with Gaza), killing its five occupants. This is the first attack of this type during the Sinai insurgency, which has raged on the peninsula due to the security and political turmoil since the 2011 revolution. The MANPADS is reported by United Nations to have come from former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's large stocks, which have been widely proliferated after Libya's civil war chaos and have become a concern to regional and world security.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: The Strela was deployed by Syrian forces occupying Lebanon, along with other Soviet air-defence systems that challenged U.S., French and Israeli airpower in the aftermath of the 1982 conflict and the deployment of the Multinational Force in Lebanon during that year. On 10 November 1983, an SA-7 was fired at a French Super Etendard near Bourj el-Barajneh while flying over Druze People's Liberation Army (PLA) positions. On 3 December, more Strelas and anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) were fired at United States Navy F-14 Tomcats flying a reconnaissance mission.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: The Americans responded with a large strike package of 12 A-7 Corsairs and 16 A-6 Intruders (supported by a single E-2C Hawkeye, two EA-6B Prowlers and two F-14As) launched from the carriers and sailing in the Mediterranean. The aircraft were to bomb Syrian installations, AAA sites and weapons depots near Falouga and Hammana, some 16 km north of Beirut-Damascus highway, when they were received by a volley of (possibly up to 40) Syrian SAMs, one of which hit a Corsair (AE305 of the VA-15), forcing the pilot to eject over the sea before being rescued by a USN search and rescue mission.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: The attack formation broke, with each pilot attacking each objective on its own, leading to the downing of a second U.S aircraft, an Intruder from VA-85, hit by either an SA-7 or an SA-9. The navigator, Lieutenant Bobby Goodman ejected near a village surrounded by Syrian positions. The pilot, Lt. Mark Lange, ejected too late and died from his wounds soon after being captured by Syrian soldiers and Lebanese civilians. Goodman was captured by the Syrians and taken to Damascus before being freed in January 1984.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: A second Corsair, searching for the downed Intruder crew, was later hit by an SA-7. The pilot, Cdr. Edward Andrews, managed to eject over the sea near Beirut and was rescued by a fisherman and his son who in turn handed him over to the U.S Marines.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: During the civil war, several Strelas have made their way to rebel hands, and YouTube videos have shown them being fired. In 2013, "Foreign Policy", citing rebels sources, reported the shipment, with Qatari help, of some 120 SA-7s from Libya (with large stocks acquired by Gaddafi and proliferated after that country's civil war) through Turkey and with Turkish authorities' knowledge


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: On 24 June 1974, Palestinian guerrillas operating in southern Lebanon fired two SA-7s against invading Israel Air Force (IAF) aircraft, though no hits were scored.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: The Lebanese Al-Mourabitoun militia received either from Syria or the PLO a number of SA-7s, which they employed against Israeli Air Force (IAF) fighter-bomber jets during the 1982 Lebanon War.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: During the 1983–84 Mountain War, the Druze People's Liberation Army (PLA) militia received from Syria a number of Strela missiles, which were used to bring down two Lebanese Air Force Hawker Hunter fighter jets and one Israeli IAI Kfir fighter-bomber aircraft, on November 20, over the mountainous Chouf district southeast of Beirut (the pilot was rescued by the Lebanese Army). The Christian Maronite Lebanese Forces militia (LF) also received from Iraq a number of Strela missiles in 1988–89.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: The Shiite Hezbollah guerrilla group also acquired some Strelas in the late 1980s and fired them against Israeli aircraft in November 1991. Since then, they have since fired many Strelas against Israeli aircraft, including two against Israeli warplanes on 12 June 2001 near Tyre, but have never scored a hit.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: In the early dawn of 31 January 1991, during the Battle of Khafji in Operation Desert Storm, an Iraqi soldier shot down an American AC-130H gunship with a Strela 2, killing all 14 crewmembers.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: Strela-2 missiles have been used against Turkish Army helicopters by the PKK in northern Iraq. During Operation Hammer; on 18 May 1997, a Strela-2 missile was used to shoot down an AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopter. On 4 June 1997, another Strela was used to bring down a Turkish Army AS-532UL Cougar transport helicopter in the Zakho area, killing the 11 soldiers on board. The video of the first attack was used extensively for PKK propaganda and eventually released to the Internet. Greece and Serbia's intelligence services, as well as Iran, Syria, Armenia, and Cyprus were traced as possible sources of the missiles.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: A Strela-2 missile is said to have been used in April 2005, when members of the insurgents shot down an Mi-8 helicopter operated by Blackwater, killing all 11 crew members. The Islamic Army in Iraq took responsibility for the action and a video showing the downing was released on the Internet. The missile launcher is not visible on the video, however, making it impossible to confirm the type of MANPADS used.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: The spate of helicopter shoot-downs during 2006 and 2007 in Iraq has been partly attributed to the prevalence of the Strela amongst Sunni insurgent groups of that time; while al Qaeda is said to have produced an hour-long training video on how to use SA-7s.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: In late 2001, a Sudanese man with links to Al-Qaida fired an SA-7 at an American F-15 Eagle fighter taking off from Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. The missile missed the target and was not detected by the pilot or anyone at the base. Saudi police found the empty launcher in the desert in May 2002, and a suspect was arrested in Sudan a month later. He led police to a cache in the desert where a second missile was buried.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: During October 2012, militants in Gaza fired a Strela at an IDF helicopter. During Operation Pillar of Defense, Hamas released a video purporting to be a Strela missile launch at an IAF target. In March 2013, one was also reportedly fired from Gaza at an IAF helicopter.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula allegedly shot down a UAE Mirage fighter jet with a Strela during the Yemeni Civil War (2015–present). Houthi rebels were seen carrying 9K32 Strela-2s.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: The Strela-2 system was also given to North Vietnam, where along with the more advanced Strela-2M it achieved 204 hits out of 589 firings against US and South Vietnamese aircraft between 1972 and 1975 according to Russian sources. (Some sources, such as Fiszer (2004), claim that it was used from 1968 onwards).


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: Roughly 90–110 kills and several dozen damaged are attributed to Strela-2/2M hits between April 1972 and the Fall of Saigon in April 1975, almost all against helicopters and propeller-driven aircraft. As in the War of Attrition, the missile's speed and range proved insufficient against fast jets and results were poor: only one U.S A-4 Skyhawk, one U.S F-4 Phantom and three South Vietnamese F-5 Freedom Fighter are known to have been shot down with Strela-2s during the conflict.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: U.S fixed-wing losses are listed in the following table. The internet site Arms-expo.ru states 14 fixed-wing aircraft and 10 helicopters were shot down with 161 missile rounds used between 28 April and 14 July 1972. Between April 1972 and January 1973, 29 fixed-wing aircraft and 14 helicopters were shot down (01 F-4, 7 O-1, 03 O-2, 04 OV-10, 09 A-1, 04 A-37, 01 CH-47, 04 AH-1, 09 UH-1) The difference in fixed-wing losses may be at least partly due to South Vietnamese aircraft shot down by the weapon.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: The table shows heavy losses particularly in the beginning of May, with especially lethal results on the 1st and 2nd, where the shootdown of the O-2 FAC led to further losses when a rescue operation was attempted. After these initial losses, changes in tactics and widespread introduction of decoy flares helped to counter the threat, but a steady flow of attrition and necessity of minimizing time spent in the Strela's engagement envelope nonetheless continued to limit the effectiveness of US battlefield air operations until the end of US involvement in South-East Asia. The United States lost at least 10 AH-1 Cobras and several UH-1 Hueys to Strela-2/2M hits in South East Asia.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: From 28 January 1973 to July 1973, the Republic of Vietnam Air Force lost 8 aircraft and helicopter with 22 missile rounds used (1 A-37, 3 A-1, 1 F-5, 2 UH-1, 1 CH-47) From January 1973 to June 1974, the Republic of Vietnam Air Force lost at least 17 aircraft and helicopter by Strela-2 From 28 January 1973 to 31 December 1974, they lost at least 28 aircraft by Strela-2 and few dozen other were damaged.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: In 1975 spring offensive, few dozen aircraft and helicopter were shotdown by SA-7. On 14 April, one F-5 was shotdown In Ho Chi Minh campaign, PAVN claimed 34 aircraft and helicopter were shotdown by SA-7, including 9 were shotdown on 29 April


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: In the late 1980s, Strela-2s were used against Royal Thai Air Force aircraft by Laotian and Vietnamese forces during numerous border clashes. An RTAF F-5E was damaged on 4 March 1987 and another F-5E was shot down on 4 February 1988 near the Thai-Cambodian border.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: Strela-2M was used also in Afghanistan during the Soviet–Afghan War by the Mujahiddeen. The missiles were obtained from various sources, some from Egypt and China (locally manufactured Sakr Eye and HN-5 versions of the SAM), and the CIA also assisted the guerrillas in finding missiles from other sources.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: Results from combat use were not dissimilar from experiences with the Strela-2/2M from Vietnam: while 42 helicopters were shot down by various Strela-2 variants (including a few Mi-24s until exhaust shrouds made them next to invisible to the short-wavelength Strela-2 seeker) only five fixed-wing aircraft were destroyed with the weapon. Due to its poor kinematic performance and vulnerability to even the most primitive infra-red countermeasures, the guerrillas considered the Strela-2 suitable for use against helicopters and prop-driven transports, but not combat jets.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: However, the recent studies and interviews after the Cold war say that most Strelas sold to the Mujahiddeen on the black market were broken/damaged or faulty. This is possibly another reason why the Soviet army in Afghanistan didn't expect working anti-aircraft missiles like the Stinger to be used.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: On 22 July 2007 the first reported attack of the Taliban against a coalition aircraft using MANPADS was reported. The weapon was reported to be an SA-7 allegedly smuggled from Iran to the Taliban. The missile failed after the crew of the USAF C-130, flying over the Nimroz province, launched flares and made evasive manoeuvers.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: However, most of the Strelas operated by al-Qaeda in Afghanistan are probably inherited from fighters that used it during the Soviet invasion. Most are probably faulty, broken or in other ways not usable (even from the beginning) against military helicopters, with the intercepts of NATO aviation by Stingers (acquired also during 80s) or other missiles.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: The SA-7 saw heavy usage by all sides during the Georgian Civil War. The first known loss to an SA-7 happened on 13 June 1993, when a GAF Su-25 was shot down by a Strela over Shubara. On two later occasions, Georgian airliners (a Tu-134A and a Tu-134B) were shot down by SA-7s, killing a total of 110 people.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: When PAIGC rebels in Guinea began to receive SA-7s in early 1973, these immediately became a threat to Portuguese air supremacy. On 23 March 1973, two Portuguese Air Force (FAP) Fiat G.91s were shot down by SA-7s, followed six weeks later by another Fiat, and a Dornier Do 27.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: FRELIMO fighters in Mozambique were also able to field some SA-7s with Chinese support, although the weapon is not known to have caused any losses to the FAP, even if it forced Portuguese pilots to change their tactics. In one case a Douglas DC-3 carrying foreign military attaches and members of the senior Portuguese military command was hit by an SA-7 in one of the engines. The crippled plane managed to land safely and was later repaired.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: In Angola and Namibia, SA-7s were deployed against the South African Air Force with limited success. The SAAF lost Atlas Impalas to Strelas on 24 January 1980 and 10 October 1980. Another Impala was hit by an SA-7 on 23 December 1983, but the pilot was able to fly the aircraft back to Ondangwa AB. UNITA also reportedly obtained 50 SA-7s that Israel had captured, via the CIA. The first one was fired at Cuban aircraft by a French mercenary on 13 March 1976, but the missile failed to hit the target. The individual missiles may have been in poor condition, as none scored a direct hit. Additionally, it is claimed that UNITA used SA-7s to shoot down two Transafrik International Lockheed L-100-30 Hercules flying UN charters, on 26 December 1998 and 2 January 1999, both near Huambo.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: Using an SA-7, the Sudan People's Liberation Army shot down a Sudan Airways Fokker F-27 Friendship 400M taking off from Malakal on 16 August 1986, killing all 60 on board. On 21 December 1989, an Aviation Sans Frontières Britten-Norman BN-2A-9 Islander (F-OGSM) was shot down by an SA-7 while taking off from Aweil Sudan, killing the four crew on board.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: The Polisario Front used SA-7s against the Royal Moroccan Air Force and Mauritanian Air Force during the Western Sahara War over the former Spanish colonies of the Spanish Sahara. The Mauritania Air Force lost a Britten-Norman Defender to a SA-7 fired by the Polisario on 29 December 1976. Between 1975 and 1991, the Royal Moroccan Air Force has lost several Northrop F-5A Freedom Fighters and Dassault Mirage F1s to SA-7s fired by the Polisario. In a case of mistaken identity, a Dornier 228 owned by the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research was shot down over the Western Sahara near Dakhla on 24 February 1985. Two Dornier 228s named Polar 2 and Polar 3 were on a return flight to Germany following a South Pole expedition. After having taken off from Dakar, Senegal, en route to Arrecife, Canary Islands, flying 5 minutes behind Polar 2 and at a lower altitude (9,000 feet), Polar 3 was shot down by a SA-7 fired by the Polisario. The crew of three was killed. In another incident, on 8 December 1988, two Douglas DC-7CFs flying at 11,000 feet from Dakar, Senegal to Agadir, Morocco for a locust control mission there, had SA-7s fired at them by the Polisario. One aircraft, N284, was hit and lost one of its engines and part of a wing. This led to the aircraft crashing, killing the crew of five. The other aircraft, N90804, also was hit and lost an engine along with suffering other damage, but it was able to land safely at Sidi Ifni Morocco.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: During the Rhodesian Bush War, members of the military wing of the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army brought down two Vickers Viscount civilian airliners near Kariba; the first in September 1978, the second in February 1979. There was great loss of life in both instances as the flights were returning from a well known tourist attraction.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: UNITA claimed that they used one to shoot down a TAAG Boeing 737-2M2 taking off from Lubango on 8 November 1983.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: A Lignes Aériennes Congolaises Boeing 727-30 taking off from Kindu was shot down by an SA-7 fired by rebel forces in 1998, killing all 41 on board.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: Two missiles were fired at a Boeing 757 during the 2002 Mombasa attacks in Kenya. Neither missile struck its target.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: Strela-2M missiles were available to Argentinian troops in the Falkland Islands during the Falklands War. War Machine Encyclopedia shows no records of any launches, but several missiles were captured. The missiles were supplied by Libya.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: The Strela-2 was used by both Sandinista government forces and Contra insurgents during the 1979–1990 civil war.


title: 9K32 Strela-2

text: On 3 October 1983, at about 10:00 am, Sandinista soldier Fausto Palacios used a Strela to shoot down a Contra-operated Douglas DC-3 that had taken off from Catamacas airport in Honduras, carrying supplies, over the area of Los Cedros, in the Nueva Segovia Department. One crewman died in the crash and four were captured by government forces. The pilot, Major Roberto Amador Alvarez, as well as his co-pilot Capt. Hugo Reinaldo Aguilar were former members of the extinct National Guard of the former dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle.