Martial Arts-Seika Izawa “Because I’m a graduate student at Tokyo Gakugei University and a martial arts fighter who aims to be the best teacher in the world by involving people” | 4years. #Student sports

At the Tokyo Gakugei University Graduate School, where I was aiming to become a teacher, I intended to finish judo. “If there was no corona …”. The words that everyone would have said also led to her own chances, Seika Izawa (24), who stood at the top of the RIZIN Women’s Super Atom class with 6 undefeated mixed martial arts (MMA) battle records. ). The dream of Izawa, a graduate student and a fighter, is only expanding.

Every day of judo and wrestling, the test is almost blank

When I was little, Izawa spent a constant fight with his older brother, Kazuto, and his younger brother, Fuga, and the mother who couldn’t see them took him to a judo hall in the neighborhood. He was 4 years old at that time. “I don’t remember when he started judo because he started shortly after thinking about resistance,” he reveals with a laugh.

Thanks to his enthusiastic mother, he has always been a judo player since he was little, but he said that “tight”, “hard” and “scary” were stronger than “like”. Although she was competing with three siblings, she faced judo with the consciousness that “I’m not happy if I don’t win, and I lose except for the win” from the top and bottom of each other’s ranking. In addition, when he was in elementary school, he started wrestling at the recommendation of his father, saying, “I will live in judo.” Compared to strict judo, wrestling clubs also have events such as barbecues and camps, and in Izawa it was positioned to take a break from judo.

After going to junior high school, the judo club of the school also joined. After class, practice the judo club, and then practice further at a nearby dojo. On Saturdays and Sundays, judo was held in the morning and wrestling was held in the afternoon. His parents also said, “I wish I could do my best in judo,” and I spent all my time studying in judo. Izawa looks back on himself as a “problem child” when he was in junior high school.

“I didn’t study, and the test was almost blank. I was the type who said everything I thought, so I often quarreled with my friends and quarreled outside. It’s not a fight but an argument. But I was really complaining to my teacher because it was like that. “

However, the teacher, who had been in charge for three years, faced Izawa and scolded me when he had a problem. At that time, I sometimes thought that it was annoying, but after I became a high school student, I came to understand that the teacher at that time was saying for me, and said, “The teacher must be a person with great enthusiasm. It’s a job I can’t do. ” Since I was in elementary school, I have longed for his job as a teacher, and after experiencing my junior high school days, I changed to a concrete dream.

Study in the spare time and go to the top of the faculty at once

High school went to Sakushin Gakuin High School in Utsunomiya, and started living in the dormitory for the first time. She sometimes couldn’t go to the club for wrestling, but she was happy that she won the Numajiri Nao Cup National Junior High School Championship Women’s 57kg class when she was 3rd grade, so she stopped wrestling. I decided to concentrate on judo.

Then there was a margin in time. Using that time as a study, he says, “I studied a lot during my third year of high school, and I think I studied the most in my grade.” Be sure to study after practice, and wake up from 4 to 5 in the morning to study during the test period. Partly because of that, he kept the 1st place in the undergraduate school and 80 points or more in the test. I became confident that I could do it, and I put more effort into my studies.

Even outside the test period, he wakes up at 4 to 5 o’clock and continues his morning life, such as running alone. In judo, she finished third in the Inter-High Women’s 52kg class when she was in the second grade. She was invited by a judo powerhouse university, but Izawa emphasized that she was going to a university in Tokyo where she could get a teacher’s license. Because of her seniors, she participated in the practice of the judo club at Tokyo Gakugei University, and it was fascinating to see her students working on the practice while thinking about it. From there she worked on her studies with an eye on Tokyo Gakugei University and passed the recommendation entrance exam.

Judo, which I thought “I saw the limit,” reignited

Living alone for the first time at Tokyo Gakugei University and living in Tokyo for the first time. He made friends that he had never met before, and once again realized that he was only doing judo. He also worked for a part-time job that he had envisioned since high school.Only part-time jobs at child welfare facilities that support children with developmental disabilities, such as convenience stores, family restaurants, sports clubs, and karaoke.I’m still continuing.

On the other hand, judo was not motivated. “I somehow see my limits, and I wonder if I can do my best.” In individual competitions, he always lost at the last minute and sometimes ended up in the first round of the city tournament. She knew she had already lost in feelings. She still showed her strength in team competitions, and when she was in the third grade she won the Tokyo Gakugei University’s first championship in the Tokyo Student Judo Championships with five women.

Izawa, who was thinking “I shouldn’t have to do so much judo,” changed when he visited his alma mater, Sakushin Gakuin, in the spring of the 4th grade for practical training. There are juniors in the judo club who know their heyday, and I realize that they respect me as “cool seniors” and “great seniors.” He became able to work on judo with a positive feeling, and practiced with his younger brother, Fuga, who was a local judo player for the first time in a long time.

“It’s natural, but I’m frustrated, I thought why it wasn’t good, and I felt my growth as I practiced more and more. I thought I was at the limit, but I still don’t know, I’m still strong. I realized that I could be, so I thought I’d do my best again. “

At university, he participated in the 52 kg and 57 kg classes, but as soon as he started high-intensity practice, he lost weight and changed his class to the 48 kg and 52 kg classes. She participated in the 52kg class at the Tokyo Student Weight Championship in August and grabbed the final 7th slot leading to the All Japan Student Weight Championship. In all Japan, he lost the second round. She had a good response, but she challenged her with a couple of months of practice, and she realized that she was overwhelmingly lacking in practice.

Tokyo Gakugei University lost to Tsukuba University in the first match at the All Japan Student Weight Group Championship, which was a retirement match for 4th graders, and Tsukuba University won the runner-up. However, Izawa himself won the 48kg class and felt his own growth. If you practice more, you can still aim for the top. After completing judo in his two years in graduate school, he envisioned a future in which he would become a teacher.

Under such circumstances, it was not because of judo that I decided to go on to graduate school. “I hadn’t seen my vision as a teacher yet, and I was wondering if I could convey it to my children with confidence. Then I decided to study a little more at graduate school and become a teacher with confidence.” .. Izawa, who majors in health and physical education, chose the theme of his graduation thesis as to how his childhood play experience would affect his high school stage. At the graduate school, he will continue his research while taking into account the on-the-job research at Sakushin Gakuin, and plans to complete his master’s course in March next year.

Korona-ka goes to the world of martial arts with “for children”

My parents told me that I would support them for four years at university, but at graduate school I had to prepare everything, including tuition fees. Therefore, his residence moved from 50,000 yen a month to a room of 30,000 yen a month, and he adjusted the time for a part-time job by sewing a gap between his studies and judo. However, in April 2020, when he entered graduate school, the new coronavirus raged all over the world, and judo fell into a situation where he could not continue his daily practice, let alone the competition. The passion of judo that was lit again lost its place.

“I was told that I could win, but the match was gone and I couldn’t do it anymore. If I couldn’t do judo, I looked ahead and tried to switch to the preparation period to become a leader. I had a conflict about what I could tell my children, even though I hadn’t done judo yet, and I hadn’t worked hard toward my dreams. “

At that time, what came to my mind was mixed martial arts. I wasn’t interested in it from the beginning, but because I liked martial arts, I had the opportunity to watch it on my parents’ TV, and the gorgeous entrance scene left an impression on me. “If you’re a professional, there’s a match.” With such an opportunity, Izawa started practicing mixed martial arts in June 2008 and made his professional debut at DEEP JEWELS in October of the same year. He remained undefeated and became the DEEP JEWELS Straw Champion and the RIZIN Super Atom Champion.

“It was the most difficult part to hit, but the point was that it was divisible by the competition. This is the competition, the means to beat the opponent, and the actions that can only be done here. After that, my body started to move little by little. I’m always thinking. I need practice to get stronger, but the way I practice is important, and even if I practice the same depending on what I think about The growth rate is different. It’s the same in the game. I think that I’m watching the game objectively from a bird’s-eye view while thinking about what is best to do now. “

“It doesn’t make sense if you become” self-sufficient “”

He has won twice against Ayaka Hamasaki (AACC), who has reigned at the top of Japanese mixed martial arts for many years, and is often called the strongest in Japan. While more and more people are expecting Izawa to take on the challenge of mixed martial arts (UFC) in the United States, he dared to say, “I’m only fighting with Mr. Hamasaki at RIZIN, so I asked him to play the tournament and won the championship without complaint, and I admitted it to the fans. I want you to have it. ” Of course, Izawa also wants to be the best in the world in the shortest time, but she has something to do before that.

“Even if you fight in the world, it doesn’t make sense if you become” self-sufficient “in yourself. However, the martial arts world is also exciting, and people who did not know martial arts will see it, and I think it will spread even more. I want to involve people I didn’t know and become the best in the world. I want to connect after myself. “

Izawa is fighting in the Super Atom class (49.0kg) at RIZIN, but the women’s UFC is from the straw class (52.5kg). He thinks, “I haven’t decided what the rank will be, but if I fight in the straw class, I have to build my body for it,” but there is also “ambition.” “There seems to be a story about whether you can make an atom class, and for the time being, I’m just doing what I can do. If I become stronger and attract attention from the world, it will be an opportunity to make an atom class. Maybe, I want to be that much player. “

About half a year after Izawa, along with Fuga who turned into mixed martial arts, he launched Youtube “Seika Izawa and Fuga’s siblings ch” in May this year because he wants various people to know about themselves. The body. The video conveys the goodness of the siblings, but the producer’s older brother, Ichito, says, “I have to study more because I don’t have a punch line.” “My brother is good at talking because he has a change of origin. He says,’If so, my brother will come out!’, But’that’s meaningless.’ I’m trying to grow ourselves. It seems, “Izawa said. If you read the summary section of the video, you can see the love for the two from such an older brother.

I want to surprise those who say “women’s personality is boring”

There is a word “women’s martial arts” as an abbreviation for women’s martial arts. While some players feel uncomfortable with the term “girl”, Izawa says he likes the word “girl”.

“Isn’t it okay to have a flower? Girls sometimes think that boys’ martial arts are boring, but I don’t think so. Certainly, they are weaker than boys. There may be some inferior parts such as impact and power, but I think that many girls are fighting with high skill. I am confident that I have more skill than boys. I think that the high level of skill and supple movements are the charm of girls, and it is disappointing to be said to be boring, so I would like to acquire more skills and play a game that surprises those who say that it is boring. “

In the entrance scene, which can be said to be the real thrill of mixed martial arts, Izawa always smiles. He pushed himself for this battle, sometimes crying and going to practice, imagining the game over and over again. His confidence that he will definitely win. The joy of “finally playing a match”. An uplifting feeling that you can do your favorite martial arts. Such thoughts are behind that smile.

I want to become the strongest player in the world and convey the joy of mixed martial arts to more and more people. He had a different dream than when he was aiming to be a teacher, but Izawa has consistently thought about it. “I wish I could show my back to the children who will lead the next generation with dreams and goals. Although the shape is different, I still have a desire to educate human beings.”

It shines like a star and is beautiful like a flower. It may not be long before the day when the name “Seika Izawa” shines brightly on the world stage.