Japan Trip 2015

On my recent visit this year to Japan I had a nice opportunity to train with my Pancrase “family”. This time I trained at the Pancrase gym, located in Osaka city, named Inagaki Gumi (Ps Lab Osaka).

Ps Lab Osaka

This gym is owned by Katsuomi Inagaki, a former pro-MMA fighter who was a participant at the first Pancrase event “Yes, We are Hybrid Wrestlers 1”. He is one of the founding fighters of Pancrase.

Katsuomi Inagaki-san

It was going down memory lane as the train I took passed thru Kyoto, where I lived and went to school, on its way to Osaka.
This time around I participated in a striking class. The trainer was Kenji Takeshige , a very humble, and welcoming person.
The training consisted of a warm-up, shadow boxing, then technical work with a partner. It ended with sparring. Every time I go and train at the Pancrase gyms, many people are very eager to spar with me. That means no break time! It’s not that they want to “test” me out, but it’s more out of curiosity and to spar with someone completely new.

Inagaki Gumi Dojo

After the training I chatted with Takeshige –san about how things are going and the situation of MMA in Japan now. I was pleased to know that the Pancrase events held in Osaka are still done in the ring. Kansai is awesome!!

Kenji Takeshige

As for the situation of MMA in Japan presently, thru discussions and my own observation, it seems to be in a recession. There’s not much public interest. Back when I used to live in Japan, in the 90s I could find tons of books and magazines. Magazines on MMA where even available in convenient stores. Three years ago when I went to Japan, I could find some MMA books in bookstores. This year, all I saw was mainly traditional martial arts and yes even Systema!! When I went to visit Nagoya, another city I used to live, I went to check out Koubudo (www.koubudo.co.jp/), a martial arts store. I was surprised to see the books & DVD section shrink. It was the same stock as before, as it seems no one is making new MMA DVDs or books. With the exception of Systema DVDs(!), which I never noticed before. Why has this happened? A lackluster economy in Japan perhaps.
As always, after finishing training with the Pancrase guys, I had Japanese curry at my favourite spot, Coco Ichibanya! Of course with a cold one!(Kirin lager)

Katsu Kare! Japanese curry with pork cutlet.

On the topic of beer, I’m still wondering why in Japan they write the ingredients and and even have nutrition fact label, but not here in Canada. Would we to scared to find out what they really put in those beers?

Kirin Lager. Great stuff!!

Like the majority of MMA gyms in Japan, the Ps Lab Osaka was not that big, almost the size of Club Kozak. There were wrestling mats, a boxing ring , punching bags, a stationary bike and a small weight set. Simple. That’s all that is needed. No oxygen masks, battle ropes, sleds or any other high-tech gadgets. Just hard work. I’m still confused on why people want the new trendy things, when all we need are the basics to train hard.
During the rest of my stay in Japan, I stayed in shape by running stairs at a local park. It is a total of 120 steps. I worked up my way to running it for 10 reps, a real Japanese Pro-Wrestling workout! Stairs are a great workout, because one gets a great workout in a short time.

The Stairs

Another time I was able to maintain my fitness level on the family holiday, was when we went swimming in the ocean.. After a great swim, I noticed my knees with “sting marks”. Didn’t feel a thing, but must have been small jellyfish. Although a great workout, be aware what can be in the waters!!!

Jellyfish stings