Abe-Ani’s Army

There are a handful of quiet and soft-spoken girls that participate in AACC’s Kids Wrestling program. Though shy and not particularly keen to do interviews, they are if anything just as capable -- if not more so -- than their male counterparts.

Twelve-year-old Chihiro Sawada is a fine example. She started wrestling in the kids’ program in the first grade, and now attends the adult jiu-jitsu classes as well. As there aren’t many 12-year-old girls who know the finer points of the de la Riva guard, she is arguably just as vigorous and apt in her training as her older brother, Ryu.

Naturally, Chihiro lists top female mixed martial artist, Megumi Fujii, as one of her idols. Fujii has been teaching the AACC kids alongside Abe since the gym’s inception, six years ago.

“She’s strong and cute,” Chihiro says matter-of-factly, as if these two things were the absolute essential qualities a woman should possess.

“Because they’re girls, I can understand what they’re thinking, so it’s easier for me to teach them,” says Fujii of her young female charges.

One would think that aside from grooming eager lads like Ryu and Teppei to become future grappling and MMA aces, teaching girls in the program like Chihiro to become the next generation of female fighters would be par for the course.

“I’ve had more boys come up to me in the middle school-age range and say they want to be fighters, but no girls from that age range,” says Fujii. “Typically, the youngest that girls tell me they want to fight are girls in the high school range.”

Admittedly, Chihiro herself is uncertain whether she wants to continue training when she gets older, let alone compete.

An understanding Fujii doesn’t see the need to push where there is no desire, particularly given the current dire state of women’s MMA in Japan. Here, even top fighters like herself are of a handful that fight uphill battles with promotional bureaucracy and conservatism just to compete under full MMA rules for purses that are a fraction of their male counterparts.

“Unfortunately, for female fighters, the state of women’s MMA is such that they don’t have a lot of places to train, and they can’t make a lot of money,” says Fujii. “Only a few can actually make money competing in MMA. When the situation improves, then it would be nice for more girls to fight, but for now, I’d prefer that young girls competing in judo or wrestling continue on in those sports.”

Raising Children into Responsible Adults

Beyond developing Japan’s future Olympic and MMA hopefuls, the mission of the AACC Kids Wrestling team is best explained as shaping the hearts and minds of Japan’s future citizens. While it’s common in the West to see parents corralled together on the sidelines cheering their children on in youth sports, it’s interesting to contrast the type of support that AACC parents give. Every practice, they’re lined up alongside the mat, sitting at quiet attention on folded legs while Abe strictly runs them through their daily drills.

“Abe-san not only teaches the techniques of wrestling, but he also teaches children how to be considerate to each other’s feelings and respect one another. There are also things that he teaches, like Japanese budo, which I think is good,” says Akira Sawada, proud father of Ryuto and Chihiro.

Becoming shakai-jin, or a respectable “person of society,” is an important social process in Japanese culture. Thus, to raise children to become socially responsible citizens is a core theme to the AACC Kids Wrestling program.

“I started doing judo from when I was a child, myself,” Fujii says to illustrate the moral education offered through combat sports. “It’s important not just to be physically strong, but mentally and spiritually strong as well. Through wrestling, children challenge themselves and learn things like working hard and having respect for others -- it’s these things that are necessary to be an adult and a responsible member of society.”

As products of the program, both Teppei and Ryu -- perhaps unconsciously -- reflect some of these qualities in their explanation of why they enjoy wrestling.

“When I go for takedowns and I do a perfect takedown, that’s when I think it is fun and I feel happy. There isn’t anything I don’t like about wrestling,” says Teppei.

Ryu adds, “The thing I like about wrestling is the happiness I feel from winning. When I lose though, I feel like, ‘Aw, man’ and I get a little upset. I think it’s tough, but it’s good for me. If it’s not tough like that, then I can’t become stronger.”

The frequent and spontaneous cries of “Faito!” (literally “fight”) can be seen and heard during practices and competitions, shouted by every one of the children and Abe, himself. In these cheers, Mr. Sawada points to the important values of teamwork and group solidarity -- ideals often associated as being fundamental in Japanese culture -- as principles that the AACC Kids Wrestling program also imparts on its students.

“The appealing part of this team is that even though wrestling is an individual sport, when each child is training or in the middle of a match, even if that child looks like he or she is becoming really tired, everyone else cheers for them to do his or her best,” says Sawada. “They become a team.”