Search for products
Dialogue "Tarzan Yamamoto ×Toudoukan Director" 5.Fighting KARATE Daido Juku
Next >6.Ticket acquisition agency business
5. "Fighting KARATE Daido Juku"
Director: Moved to Tokyo in April '94. The first thing that surprised me when I entered Waseda was that there were a wide variety of circles. I think there were about 2,000. Is this a university?! I learned about its charm after entering the school.
Among the many circles, I have crossed a number of circles where people with the same hobbies and interests gather, such as maniac ideological circles and Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi and Miyuki Nakajima fan clubs.
The university classes were surprisingly boring because I didn't have expectations (laughs), so I almost didn't get it.
Instead, there were plenty of second-hand bookstores, so I bought a lot of books, read them, and when I saved up money for my part-time job, I traveled alone to Israel, New York, Thailand, Hong Kong, etc. I thoroughly enjoyed my student life in my own way.
Well, from the side, it's just a student who is gnawing on his parents' shins abandoning his schoolwork and playing around doing what he likes (laughs).
Tarzan Yamamoto: Crackling. I was able to become the squirrel of "Ants and Squirrels". That's youth.
Director: At that time, I told myself, "Jump before you see."
Don't be afraid to jump into the unknown.
When I went around Israel alone, there were frequent bus suicide bombings.
When I was on the bus, a military officer suddenly boarded the bus and all the passengers were inspected, and I was nervous.
During the trip, a subway sarin incident occurred in Tokyo.
I was surprised when an Arab in Jerusalem told me, "Hey Japanese, have you seen the news?
I was teased, "I'm glad you're safe running away here" (laughs).
What you feel is dangerous is relative to your image.
Tarzan Yamamoto: Hahaha, the director was in Israel at the time.
Director: When I was a student, the main thing I worked on the most was martial arts.
Fighting KARATE Daido Juku. There was a branch on campus.
It's a full-fledged club to call it a circle, but since it's run by students, it can't be called a pure branch, so it's treated as a quasi-branch. Fighting KARATE Daido Juku, Waseda Associate Branch.
I started there as soon as I entered the school, and I was finally able to learn martial arts properly.
Daido Juku is a mixed martial art (martial art) that is derived from Kyokushin KARATE and has all the hitting, throwing, and extremes.
When you get started, you start with the Kyokushin rules, then add face punches and headbutts, then include judo throws, Achilles tendon stiffening, and U-type joint techniques, and finally expand the rules to include gold if there is a difference in physical strength. It was a practical promotion to evolve while incorporating the prosperity of the times, from "Fulcon" to "Everything", so it was perfect for me who wanted to try various things with Meaher.
It was right after Kaiki Ichihara fought Royce Gracie in the UFC.
Tarzan Yamamoto: That was because Takashi Higashi, who created the promotion , had an excellent sense of style.
▲ When I was a student, with the principal of Daido Juku, Mr. Takashi Higashi
Director: The day I first met Dr. Azuma. At the second party of the welcome party after the rehearsal at Waseda, I got into a big brawl with a group of yakuza who were in the store earlier (bitter smile), and Higashi-sensei was surrounded by several people and grabbed my chest, where I headbutted and elbowed him, and in an instant I broke the teeth of two of my opponents. When I came to Tokyo, I was excited that amazing things would happen in real life (laughs).
Tarzan Yamamoto: yes. That's what happened.
Director: The seniors were very remorseful because their teacher was involved in a brawl and they were taken away in a police car for questioning, but it was like going to the ground in the most horrible drama for us as freshmen.
It was right after I entered the school.
The practice was taught directly by Hideki Asaoka, the Hokuto Banner All Japan Champion who had just joined Baseball Magazine's "Martial Arts Press" at the time, and sandbags were hung on the school grounds so you could kick at any time you wanted every day, and the seniors and classmates were all quite strange and outcast, and it was exciting. It was a great environment.
Then, when I was in my second year of university, there was a Kanto Student Tournament for new second-year students sponsored by Kyokushin, and it was an indiscriminate tournament, but I was able to win.
It's just a rookie competition, so it's not a high-level tournament, but even so, it was the first time in the history of the tournament that another school other than Kyokushin won the championship, so it became a bit of a topic and gave me a lot of confidence.
Then, in my third year, I was appointed captain of the associate division.
▲ Front left, when I was the captain, demonstration in front of the Okuma Auditorium
Director: At the time of the new arrival, I put a huge sign over 5 meters tall with the words "Waseda's strongest man will be made by Daido Juku!" in a conspicuous place next to the Okuma statue, and planned a Muay Thai training camp in Thailand, saying, "Let's have fun and go to Thailand together and become stronger!" When I recruited first-year students, there were so many new students that I couldn't fit in the usual practice field (laughs).
Tarzan Yamamoto: Well, training camp in Thailand? Did you go to Thailand to practice?
Director: Yes, in the end, there were about 10 people who participated, but we all went straight to Khao San Road in Bangkok from the airport and said, "Everyone should take their own guesthouse in that area, and we will gather at this restaurant in the morning for a meeting. I always participate in Muay Thai gym training every day. Other than that, you're free!" I did it in a pretty loose way.
Tarzan Yamamoto: It's a great experience.
Director: While doing that, we often actively talked to other schools in our regular practices, and we practiced together and practiced with each other. Waseda is a full-contact KARATE alone, Kyokushin, Daido Juku, Shodo Kaikan, Sato Juku, and Ashihara KARATE.
There were other KARATE schools that were rude but incomprehensible.
However, since we were students, we were able to interact with each other in a low-key and friendly manner, and we were able to interact without barriers. Each one of them is a good memory.
As an individual, if I have a chance to play in other sports such as amateur shootboxing, as well as regular matches at Daido Juku, I will hone my skills.
97 years. In the spring of my fourth year, I was able to qualify for the national tournament by Hokuto Banner Physical Fitness by qualifying round, but I lost to the Shinbukan Kuhara Kiyoyuki fighters in Kyushu.
That's when I took a break.
▲ Morning practice at Muay Thai training camp