MMA in Japan

Hidetaka Monma is a Japanese welterweight fighter with a professional MMA record spanning back to 2001. He has fought in RINGS, DEEP, DEMOLITION, CAGE FORCE, HERO’S and DREAM.

Hidetaka Monma

Originally from the Wajutsu Keishukai Network of fighters, which have included Caol Uno, Daiju Takase (see his win over Anderson Silva here), Yushin Okami, amongst others, Monma explains how he got into MMA later than most.

I always liked and followed pro wrestling and K-1. The fighters were always big and I used to be quite small so I never thought I would be able to do it. I did baseball until high school and wanted to be a professional player, but in high school I was unable to become a regular player which meant I was unable pursue my dream. So, from graduating from high school until the age of 25 all I did was go out with friends and enjoy myself.

Around this time Monma was introduced to Vale Tudo Japan and saw fighters like Ensen Inoue, Hayato “Mach” Sakurai and Rumina Sato competing for the first time.

The first thing that struck me was that there were fighters of all sizes and weight classes and when I saw them walk out to their fights I thought it was the coolest thing; I wanted to do that! That was the first time I thought about doing MMA.

But Monma had reached the age of 25 with a background in only baseball, no martial arts experience. He started off practicing once or twice a week as a hobby and tried an amateur fight after the first few months.

I lost very quickly and this got me down. I fought again the following month and again lost very quickly. So I thought about quitting MMA there and then, but I went home and thought about it. I’d found MMA and was really enjoying it so I decided to start training 6 or 7 days a week. I then won a few amateur fights and was offered a professional match in RINGS.

This is where Monma’s life as a professional fighter started. The attraction of the music, the entrance, the crowd cheering was strong.

Brightness Monma Dojo in Adachi Ward, Tokyo

Monma goes on to explain the ethos of his dojo.

The first gym I entered was quite scary at first and I thought about going home! The image of MMA in general was quite scary but when I actually went in the atmosphere was bright and cheerful. I met Akira Shoji who was teaching there and he had such a warm personality. He created an atmosphere which I feel is very important and I try to do the same for all new members coming here to Brightness. Of course training can be tough and it shows on your face but together we can overcome that and enjoy training, and for some fighting, together.

Shadow boxing at the kickboxing class

And finally, a message for any non-Japanese who are considering training at Brightness Monma Dojo!

I don’t speak much English but we have two guys from America training here at the moment and we get along great. I think if we all try our best to communicate in English and Japanese we can improve and become stronger in many ways. Basically I want any new members to come and have fun and enjoy training together, regardless of language differences.

Monma san, thank you very much for the training and the interview!

Hidetaka Monma executes an arm bar