"I wanted to spread martial arts in a positive way" - Yushin Okami spent the last two years working with kids while improving his craft

Yushin Okami has spent most of his life showcasing his talents across the globe in various martial arts promotions. At 40 years of age, he understands that imparting his knowledge to the next generation may be the next step in his career.

In an interview with ONE Championship, ‘Thunder’ shared that he spent the past two years working with young people in Japan. He said:

“I belong to a company called LDH Martial Arts, and I have been trying to make martial arts take root in Japan, and to encourage young people to dream about martial arts. I want to change the image of the martial arts world in Japan and spread it in a positive way in Japan. From there, I recruited, developed, and coached athletes who had dreams and wanted to challenge the world.”

While his students may look up to him and wish to learn from him, Okami admitted that working with them benefitted him as well. He added:

“It completely changed my perspective. They are young people who want to become professionals, who want to aim to the world in MMA. They work really hard, and they face the [challenges of] martial arts straight on. I often wondered if I would have felt the same way when I was younger. When I saw how they approached the fight with a sense of tension, it inspired me and I had feeling of respect for them. They also gave me a lot of power.”

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Yushin Okami says that training helps maintain his motivation to compete

While working with kids, Yushin Okami also stayed in shape by training with comrades who had fights coming up. The Japanese legend shared that he was able to develop new skills and create new weapons he could use in future fights.

Okami said:

“There were times when I felt like I was going to shift my focus from being an active fighter to being an instructor, but by training with them, I was able to make it this far without extinguishing my flame. I'm thankful to them.”

Yushin Okami is set to return to the ONE Championship Circle when he faces Leandro Ataides at ONE: Heavy Hitters on Friday, January 14. His last appearance in the promotion came against Agilan Thani at ONE: Century Part 1 in October 2019.

'Thunder' boasts a professional record of 37-14, comprising 12 KO/TKO and 6 submission victories. He has competed in MMA promotions all around the world including PRIDE, Pancrase, WSOF, UFC, PFL and of course, ONE Championship.