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Scott "Kumoito" and Hody's Up Close and Personal Interview with Dokonjonosuke Mishima
by Hody Jae Huh, Moderator at www.IronLife.com & Scott “Kumoito”
Those of you that have read any of my past articles know that I seem to have a Shooto theme. Not one to disappoint, this month we bring you one of the biggest and brightest stars in Shooto -- Dokonjonosuke Mishima. Constantly ranked in the top ten in his weight class, both in Shooto and various international rankings, Mishima is always an exciting fighter to watch and always tries to put on a good show for the fans.
Originally influenced by pro wrestling and a popular comic book and cartoon (Baka Ichirai) while growing up, about Legendary Karate man Mas Oyama, Mishima wanted to learn Karate but there wasn't a karate school near by so he turned to Judo. His natural athletic abilities made the transition into Judo and later Shooto rather easy for him - reaching the rank of 3rd degree black belt in Judo while in University and becoming a Pro Shooto fighter after only 4 fights.
IronLife: Have you studied anything besides Judo?
Mishima: About a year ago I participated in a Kyokushinkai Karate training camp. There’s a famous Kyokushinkai Karate champion named Midori from my hometown - Amamioshima (just before Okinawa) who I knew. He saw my fight with Gomi and suggested that I train with him; it helped to improve my striking.
IronLife: Besides Baka Ichirai and pro wrestling, did you have any other martial arts role models?
Mishima: Tiger Mask. (Japanese Pro Wrester)
IronLife: What got you into Shooto?
Mishima: I wanted to compete in a MMA tournament but there wasn’t any in Kansai area (Kobe, Osaka, Kyoto) so I went to Saitama and there happened to be a Shooto tournament.
IronLife: Why did you want to compete in a MMA tournament?
Mishima: As you know, I wanted to do Karate when I was younger but did Judo instead. I felt that Judo was stronger than Karate but I still wanted to do Karate. I guess that fueled my interest in MMA.
Before the UFC, my training style was similar to Royce’s. When I finally got to see the UFC, I felt pretty happy and confident in the way I was training. At the time Karate and Kick-boxing were considered the strongest styles in Japan but I always thought Judo was stronger.
IronLife: Do you mean Olympic style Judo or Judo cross trained with something?
Mishima: Prior to the UFC, the style of Judo I was doing had a lot of ground work. That’s why I felt it was the strongest at the time.
IronLife: How did you come up with the name Cobra Kai for your gym? In America we usually think of the Karate Kid when we hear this name. Is there any connection?
Mishima: Originally my club was called To-Kun Club, which translates to “fighting spirit”, a phrase made popular by Antonio Inoki. There was already a club by that name in Tokyo and I thought they might say something about us having the same name. During Bo-Nen-Kai (A pre-New Years party - a very popular and common tradition in Japan) we put our heads together and came up with the name Cobra Kai, so it was not influenced from the Karate Kid movie.
IronLife: What’s going on with you now? The last time I saw you fight was in Bushido.
Mishima: I had an exhibition match and a pro wrestling match last December.
The exhibition match was against the champion, Yuka Suji (female) in Club Deep. The other was in pro wrestling in U-Style.
IronLife: Is it ok with the Shooto organization for it’s fighters to participate in pro wrestling?
Mishima: I heard that it’s ok if it’s pure pro wrestling but nothing that mixes MMA and pro wrestling. U-style kind of mixes MMA and pro wrestling….but I haven’t heard anything from Shooto in a while.
IronLife: Since your fight a while ago with Gomi, you haven’t been active in Shooto. Why?
Mishima: I’ve been busy with other jobs and fights lately but once that’s settled down, I’d like to fight in Shooto again. I think Shooto is the best. I want to try some other organizations as well, like Uno did, but in the end, I will be with Shooto.
IronLife: So how would someone go about contacting you for a fight?
Mishima: Please contact my manager. Takeuchi Ryota. The fax number is +81 (6) 6463-2777. Mishima’s manager does not understand English, so please contact him with as much information as possible and he will have the information translated and get back to you. You can also e-mail Scott at scott@trial.co.jp and he will forward and translate your information.
IronLife: How did you get approached for your fight and debut in Pride Bushido?
Mishima: The owner of Deep became affiliated with Pride Bushido and talked to them.
IronLife: When did you know your opponent would be Ralph Gracie? Also, how much time did you have to prepare yourself for that fight?
Mishima: After I signed the contract it was about 10 days to 2 weeks that I knew I was going to fight Ralph.
I had a fight about 3 weeks before that. DEEP - 12th Impact on 9-15-2003 against Tetsuji Kato (Purebred). Mishima won VIA Majority Decision. I got hurt and all I could do was run. Even if it was impossible, I really wanted to be in Bushido because it was a really good chance for me, I couldn’t pass this up.
IronLife: Can you tell us about the injuries?
Mishima: I sprained my thumb and wrist during the fight when I punched. The worst injury though was my ankle. I was maybe 80% going into the fight against Ralph.
IronLife: Do you feel that played a factor in your fight with Ralph?
Mishima: Yeah, that was part of it but also 4 days before the fight they raised the weight requirement from 75kg to 78kg. Originally it was set at 72kg. As you can see it went from 72kg to 75kg and finally 78kg.
IronLife: Why? Do you think Ralph couldn’t make the weight?
Mishima: Maybe, or perhaps they didn’t explain things to him very well.
IronLife: What weight do you walk around at normally?
Mishima: 82kg. It’s easy for me to lose weight. Mishima fights in the welter weight class in Shooto 70kg.
IronLife: What did you know about Ralph before the fight? Obviously the Gracie name is pretty famous, but what did you specifically know about Ralph?
Mishima: I got 2 videos but they were only like 30-40 seconds so they really didn’t help. Mishima says this while laughing.
IronLife: Did you train any differently for Ralph than you normally do?
Mishima: Nope. I trained as I always do.
IronLife: What was your game plan? Were you worried about going to the ground with him?
Mishima: I knew that Ralph liked to punch but I didn’t think he would be so good at it. I was originally going to take the fight to him using strikes. But……he beat him in striking, didn’t he? Before the fight, I didn’t think I would lose on the ground. During the fight he had a lot more power on the ground that I expected but also less technique than I expected.
IronLife: Evaluate your good and bad points during that fight.
Mishima: I concentrated more on a flashy and entertaining fight, since it was Bushido. I think Ralph was able to use that against me. If I get another fight in Bushido, I’ll concentrate on just winning.
IronLife: So…does this mean you want a re-match with Ralph?
Mishima: If the weight is around 75kg. Ok.
IronLife: Have there been any talks of a re-match and what’s your status with Bushido?
Mishima: No talks that I know of. I haven’t heard anything new from Bushido.
IronLife: Who has been your toughest fight so far and why?
Mishima: Marcio Feitosa. Head instructor at Gracie Barra and muti-world jiu-jitsu and ADCC champion. He was really strong and I feel that he’s the only person that I really lost to in terms of technique, even though the fight was ruled a draw. This was Marico’s first fight and I think he has more potential than Shaolin. If he had more experience in MMA, I think I would have lost.
IronLife: Has there been any talks of bringing Marcio back to Shooto?
Mishima: I talked to one of his corner men and I guess his parents told him not to fight in MMA anymore. When he came for our fight, I think he kept that a secret at the time from his parents.
IronLife: A while back ago I saw you were competing as a blue belt in some BJJ competitions in Japan? What rank are you now? Also, I noticed you had a Rickson Gracie patch on your GI. What’s your relationship with Rickson?
Mishima: Last year I got 1st place in an All-Japan BJJ tournament and was awarded a purple belt from Yuki Nakai. I got the patch from my manager as a present when he trained with Rickson a while back ago. I have no connection with Rickson.
IronLife: Who do you train jiu-jitsu with?
Mishima: I train with a couple of guys in my gym who are purple belts as well. We don’t have any BJJ black belts. I’m not aware of any BJJ black belts nearby.
IronLife: Why did you start training BJJ?
Mishima: I don’t feel like it’s really BJJ, it pretty much Judo on the ground. All my beginner students start with the GI because I feel it’s easier and faster to learn the ground techniques with the GI.
IronLife: 1-2 years ago you had an exhibition BJJ match with Yuki Nakai. Compare the old Nakai with the new Nakai, after he learned BJJ. Also, if Nakai didn’t lose the sight in his eye and was able to fight in Shooto today, how do you think he would do?
Mishima: Totally different. Before his technique wasn’t BJJ. I think he would be very good if he competed in Shooto today.
IronLife: How did you come up with your original techniques and can you list them?
Mishima: There are 3 techniques that work really well for me, and 2 of them I was able to use in the ring. I didn’t create these techniques, they already existed, I just made some changes to them. 1. Cobra gatame. 2. Dokonjonosuke cyclone. 3. I’m still thinking of the name.
IronLife: On a different note, some people feel that Pride is prejudice and racist to some fighters. For example: Rampage was portrayed as a homeless guy, Bob Sapp is called “The Beast”, and Kevin Randleman is known as “Donkey Kong”. What do you think?
Mishima: Really? I thought they were praising them. I didn’t feel anything racist. Everyone I know accepts and likes them.
IronLife: Dream fight? Who would you like to fight and why?
Mishima: Royler Gracie. The Gracie’s are so big and famous, I’d like to beat a Gracie.
IronLife: How does the fight money compare in the different organizations that you have fought for, for a fighter of your status?
Mishima: Deep and Pride are almost the same, but Pride pays a little better. Shooto is definitely the lowest in terms of pay. Deep and Pride pay your fight money win or lose, with no KO or submission incentives that Shooto has.
We'd like to thank Mishima for taking time out of his busy schedule to do the interview with us. If you're interested in coming to Japan and training with him, here's the URL for his official site. It's of course in Japanese, but I'll let you work that out.
http://x-fight.jp/cobra/
MISHIMA'S TECHNIQUE POINTER - COBRA GATAME
* Article by Hody Jae Huh, Moderator at www.IronLife.com & Scott “Kumoito”
* Back to Issue #6 Frontpage
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