Talk about it here.

If I was talking about what I like about watching Ishikawa in the 2000s I'd probably mention how good he is at coming back from taking punishment. I'd probably mention his tenacity when it came to working a hold. Modern Ishikawa is probably better known for his matches where he works even with his opponents but in 1993 he is an underdog against Bart Vale. Vale was really good at this point and when he's on offense it looks brutal but Ishikawa is the real story here. He's taking shots and making comebacks like I would expect him to nowadays and while it takes him some time to obtain an advantageous position he uses that tenacity to hold on. One of my favorite PWFG matches.

Teddy Atlas will often talk about a fighter "doing just enough to lose the fight." Early in this match Ishikawa was doing just enough to lose. He is moving away, attempting a leg takedown, but really much more concerned with avoiding Vale then trying an attack. Then as the match goes on, there are a couple of big moments where Ishikawa lets it all out and the flurries are much more impressive because of how tentative he was earlier. Ishikawa was really amazing as guy growing before our eyes.

Cool to see Ishikawa this young. There is a definite dynamic bigger than just the grappling (which is really good on its own), with Ishikawa gaining confidence throughout the match and slowly putting forth a better showing. His timidity is to his detriment early on, as she spends a large chunk of this on the defensive. But he eventually gets in a groove. Nice match.

I know nothing about Vale other than what I've seen in '92 and '93, but he seems to have all the physical tools to have been a sensation in Japan. I guess he didn't throw enough killer suplexes like Albright or Vader, but he's a big charismatic monster-looking guy who moves like somebody half his size. Big man vs. little man is possibly my favorite style of singles match--when it's done well, which is relatively easy if the two workers know what they're doing, and this is a fine shootstyle variety of it.

Bart has a great look like one of those mountain men that runs a Karate gym in a southern town. This match seeing spunky Ishikawa was a mind bender for me considering how much of a bruiser he is even 4 years later. They have a really good match here and Vale is able to get in more strikes and range as the match advances. I liked the finish of one cardinal mistake from Ishikawa allowing Vale to choke him out. ***1/2

I'm no shootstyle fan to start with, and when I can't follow the scoring onscreen it's a definite excuse to tune out for good. As I've said about many of these matches, I kept waiting for this to magically morph into something American, preferably from the eighties. No such luck, I'm afraid.