At an imposing 2.12 meters tall, Semmy Schilt is impossible to overlook. He acknowledges this with a laugh, stating, “You can see I’m big; you don’t need to tell me that.” The four-time K-1 World Grand Prix champion and President of KWU SENSHI Europe was in Plovdiv for SENSHI 31 Gladiators. During our conversation, he proved to be as self-aware as he was dominant in his fighting career.
Semmy Schilt Discusses Pancrase and Yuki Kondo
Schilt began his professional fighting career in 1996 with Pancrase, a Japanese hybrid catch wrestling organization founded by Masakatsu Funaki. This promotion blurred the lines between submission wrestling and what would later be recognized as mixed martial arts (MMA). One of his early opponents was Yuki Kondo, a tenacious Japanese fighter who competed in over 100 professional bouts from 1996 to 2022.
Their first encounter occurred at the 1996 Pancrase Neo-Blood Tournament on July 22nd of that year, where Kondo emerged victorious via split decision. “He was a strong fighter,” Schilt recalled. “He was also up-and-coming, just like me. We were fighting in the Neo Blood tournament, and at that time, I had just joined Pancrase. I think my first, perhaps two or three fights were in Pancrase, and then there was a new blood tournament, which was really great because I could fight in a tournament for the first time.”
Their second match, at Pancrase Alive 7 on June 30, 1997, also resulted in a win for Kondo by unanimous decision. However, the rubber match at Pancrase Breakthrough 10 on November 28, 1999, saw a different outcome: Schilt submitted Kondo with a rear-naked choke in the first round at 2:28. Schilt remembers the finish vividly. “The next time I fought him, I managed to get a submission because he walked into it, so I was really happy about that. But he was a good ground fighter.”
The era of Pancrase was unique. The organization utilized open-palm strikes instead of closed fists, a technique rooted in catch wrestling and karate. Schilt’s striking background, influenced by Dutch fighters, set him apart from the organization’s predominantly Japanese fighters. “Because I come from karate, and Bas [Rutten] too, our palm strikes are different. We know how to hit. The catch wrestling guys hit with their fingers, and it looks tough, but we hit with the palm of the hand, and it’s like, there’s only bone here,” he emphasized, tapping his hand. “It’s real power.”
Schilt also shared how Pancrase contributed to his growth. He entered the promotion as a karateka and Kudo champion but was forced to adapt quickly to ground fighting against opponents like Kondo. “Every time it was a new challenge. First, the chance for the ground, then punching on the ground, and then came kickboxing, because I hadn’t done kickboxing before.” This later transition proved to be a wise decision. Schilt went on to win four K-1 World Grand Prix titles between 2005 and 2009, becoming the only fighter in K-1 history to win the championship three consecutive times (2005, 2006, and 2007). He later added the Glory Heavyweight Grand Slam in 2012.
SENSHI
Currently, Schilt serves as the President of KWU SENSHI Europe and holds a 9th Dan in Ashihara karate. While walking through the SENSHI venue, he noticed younger fighters expressing their honor in competing in front of him, a sentiment that immediately gave him “goosebumps.” He views SENSHI as a natural continuation of his career. “Since SENSHI started for me as the transition from karate to kickboxing, from amateur to professional, it’s exactly my path.”
SENSHI 31 Gladiators is scheduled for May 30th at the Ancient Theatre of Philippopolis in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The main event will feature a SENSHI Grand Prix in the 70 kg division, an eight-man knockout tournament where only one fighter will claim the lightweight championship title. The card will also include super fights, such as a 95+ kg clash between Benjamin Adegbuyi and Daniel Dinev.
