Surprise! Masato Takes Part in Unannounced Fight Last Night
by Fraser Coffeen on Nov 8, 2009 10:19 AM EST
in K-1 MAX News
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With everyone focusing on his New Year's Eve fight against a yet to be determined opponent, K-1 MAX superstar Masato quietly snuck one extra fight into his 2009 retirement tour this weekend. Masato took part in an exhibition fight against his long-time training partner Daiguji Susumu at an event titled Final Revolution. The fight was the main event of the evening, and was Susumu's retirement fight. Susumu is one of the head trainers at Masato's Silver Wolf gym, who sponsored the event as a final send-ff to Susumu.
Rumors of Masato taking part in this event began circulating the day before, but his participation was kept as a surprise until the moment of the fight. In the end, the two friends competed in what started as more of an exhibition fight, with both men wearing headgear to start round 1. At the end of the round, they decided to get serious and discarded the headgear to the cheers of the fans for the remainder of the fight. The bout ended in a draw.
UPDATE: Video is now available at YouTube. Check the comments for links. Thanks to reader meyer1244 for the links!
Click here for more pictures.
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cool.
This gets me in my sentimental bone.
Both class acts
This past summer I had the honor of training at Silver Wolf gym for two months. I trained alongside Masato and Daiguji daily (both are frighteningly intense in training). Both are kind and more humble than you would believe. I think it’s awesome that Daiguji wanted to go out fighting, and that Masato would risk injury before his own farewell fight. That’s respect. I hope other K-1 and MMA practitioners take notice.
Thats great.
That is awesome you trained at Silver Wolf gym, any interesting stories from there?
I agree that they are class acts and this was big of Masato. Masato is a guy that I have a hard time finding something bad to say about, and I know a lot of others like that.
Head Kick Legend
Twitter @HeadKickLegend
No great stories
Everyone at Silver Wolf was so focused on training, that there really wasn’t anything that happened outside of training (you’ll also have to keep in mind that as my Japanese was limited I wasn’t in on everything there). The whole gym runs off of a single ring timer, 4 minutes on (last minute harder intensity, last 30 seconds full intensity), and 1 minute rest (this is for the “Pro” training, the other classes work differently). Everyone works hard the full 4 minutes – there are no guys who just come in to hang out or talk. In America I was used to being one of the last guys to leave, but that never happened in Japan. I guess that in of itself is somewhat of a testament to their discipline. I do remember the first time I saw Masato I didn’t recognize him – he was mopping the floor – no joke. He never seemed to expect any special treatment – he had no entourage, and trained alongside of everyone from other pros like Daiguji to foreign amateurs like me (I was the only foreigner there, and my skill level and experience is much much lower than many of the guys there). I also saw Masato take time to observe and coach people of all skill levels and even strike up conversation with me, and Daiguji runs the whole Pro training class. But lord can Masato strike the bags and pads. It’s like thunder and lightning.
I really hope Masato’s last fight is awesome.
That sounds cool..
I’ve only trained in a few small gyms in New England with absolutely nobody of note as it is America.. That is interesting how that works, as every gym I’ve been to always has the one “star” (even if just in their own eyes) who will oversee everything and expect special treament. Masato sounds like a standup dude.
Head Kick Legend
Twitter @HeadKickLegend
Really cool!
Was it expensive? Have you ever trained in Thailand? Just thought I would ask because I was thinking of going to train in Thailand this summer coming up and first hand experience is the best kind. Depending on how much it would cost to train in Japan I might consider it.
by Infinite_Jest on Nov 8, 2009 11:39 PM EST up reply actions
No I haven't trained elsewhere
My wife is half-Japanese, which helped immensely. The living expenses in Japan are much higher than Thailand and I’m assuming the training is more expensive too. It cost around $400 I believe for 2 months for Silver Wolf, but that’s because there was a $100, signup fee (so $100 + $150/mo). Don’t quote me on that though.
I was very fortunate that my wife speaks fluent Japanese, otherwise I don’t think I would have been able to get in (she arranged things for me ahead of time via e-mail and went with me the first time). I’ve read on Sherdog that other people have been turned away by MMA and kickboxing gyms in Japan, but I always felt very welcome at Silver Wolf.
I’ve known others who have trained in Thailand and have had great experiences.
Good luck!
thanks dude!
yeah, the japanese are a very insular society. My highschool japanese language teacher (white dude) trained judo in Japan for years and had many stories of subtle and not so subtle racism. But it would be great to be able to train with Masato! Thanks for the info again
by Infinite_Jest on Nov 9, 2009 2:37 AM EST up reply actions
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