The Takada Dojo is a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

academy in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. The dojo takes its name from

Nobuhiko Takada Nobuhiko Takada ( ja, 高田伸彦, ring name: ) (born April 12, 1962) is a Japanese former mixed martial artist, retired professional wrestler, actor, and writer. He competed in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Universal Wrestling Federation (UW ...

its founder. Many members, including Takada, have participated in both professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. The dojo and its founder were heavily involved in the formative events of the

Pride Fighting Championships PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts even ...

History

Takada would fully sponsor incoming hopefuls, giving them the opportunity to train every day in preparation for their first professional fight. Takada implemented a standard test for all of the incoming fighters at his dojo. Those who wished to become

uchi-deshi is a Japanese term for a live-in student/apprentice who trains under and assists a sensei on a full-time basis. The system exists in ''kabuki'', ''rakugo'', ''shogi'', '' igo'', ''aikido'', ''sumo'', ''karate'' and other modern Japanese martial ...

or full-time students at his school, were required to undergo a sort of initiation ritual where a tireless routine of exercise stations and sparring partners were set up to test the will-power and heart of the new fighters.

Takada Dojo fighters

Current roster

* Kensaku Nakamura * Masakazu Takafuji *

Ryuichi Murata is a Japanese judoka and mixed martial artist. He was a world-class judo competitor with 5 top-3 Judo World Cup tournament finishes and has won multiple silver and bronze medals at world and national judo competitions. Most recently, he's compet ...

* Wataru Takahashi * Yusuke Imamura

Former members

Daijiro Matsui is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. A professional MMA competitor since 1998, he has competed for the PRIDE Fighting Championships, Cage Rage, DEEP, Pancrase, and King of the Cage. Professional wrestling career After t ...

Kazuhiro Hamanaka is a Japanese mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He fought for the Tokyo Sabres in the International Fight League. Career Hamanaka began his mixed martial arts career in 2003 with a victory over Nino Schembri, Antonio Schembri at PRIDE 2 ...

Kazushi Sakuraba is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and submission wrestler, currently signed to Rizin Fighting Federation and Pro Wrestling Noah, where he was formerly one-half of the former GHC Tag Team Champions with Takashi Sugiura. ...

Kazuyuki Fujita is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and a former amateur wrestler, currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is a one-time GHC Heavyweight Champion. He has most recently fought in Road FC, but is also known for his ...

Masaaki Satake is a Japanese former heavyweight karateka, kickboxer, professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is one of the pioneering heavyweight fighters in K-1, having been a member of Kazuyoshi Ishii's Seidokaikan school ...

* Minoru Toyonaga * Motomare Takahashi *

Paweł Nastula Paweł Marcin Nastula (born 26 June 1970) is a Polish judoka and mixed martial artist. He was the 1995 and 1997 Judo World Champion, and 1996 gold medallist at the Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, winning those titles in the U95 ...

Ricco Rodriguez Ricco Rodriguez (born August 19, 1977) is an American semi-retired mixed martial artist currently competing in the heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 1999, he has competed for the UFC, PRIDE Fighting Championships, EliteXC, I ...

Shungo Oyama Shungo Oyama ( 峻護 ''Ōyama Shungo'' ; born April 11, 1974) is a Japanese former professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 2001 to 2014, he competed for the PRIDE Fighting Championships, Pancrase, RINGS, DREAM, K-1, a ...

Takenori Sato is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist and current Welterweight King Of Pancrase. He is the twin brother of professional wrestler Takeshi "Go" Sato. Mixed martial arts career Japan Sato has been a follower of Kazushi Sakuraba. Sato ...

* Yoon Dong-Sik * Yoshihisa Yamamoto *

Yōsuke Nishijima is a Japanese professional boxer who has also competed in kickboxing and mixed martial arts. Career Debuting as a professional boxer on March 26, 1992 Nishijima compiled a 24–2–1 record, and over the course of his career, won the WBO NABO ...

Yuhi Sano (born February 2, 1965) is a retired Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist most notable for being the generational rival of legendary Japanese pro wrestler Jushin Liger. During the last years of his career he went by the ...

Yujiro Kushida is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, better known by his mononymous ring name Kushida. He is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), as well as Impact Wrestling. He is best known for his tenure in NJP ...

References

External link