hoping somebody happened to know fukuoka prefecture pretty decently. i live in Iizuka, bout in the middle of the Chikuho region in Fukuoka prefecture and i:m trying to find a decent grappling, shooto, kickboxing, or boxing gym (hopefully close by) but my japanese skills aren:t quite good enough to read any of the results when i do searches online. i:ve read the sfuk guide and called a few places but i don:t know the area well enough to know where they are when they try to tell me. any help:s greatly appreciated, sorry cause i know these kinda threads come up a lot.
Hey, I live in the city and train at Axis Fukuoka, which is just BJJ(but IMO the best place to train BJJ if that is your focus). We have some guys that do no-gi, and some boxing/kickboxing and are involved in amateur Shooto.
As far as schools that actually train to compete in MMA primarily there is Paraestra in Hakata and Wajutsu keishukai. Other than that there is a group that trains out of Fukuoka Civic Gymnasium in Chiyo called Burning Spirits(I think), but it's not a school just a group of guys.
As far as outside the city goes I don't know for sure, but I heard there is a Shooting gym in Chikushino, but I've only heard of it in passing and only once.
Hope that helps.
ttt
Sangaku, thanks a lot. what:s the fees at axis? i know gyms in general
here are quite expensive, one aspect that may actually keep me from
making the trek into the city. where in the city is axis? otherwise, do
you know any info at all about the paraestra gym in hakata? that would
probably be the easiest place for me to get to. thanks for taking the
time, and if you dont mind my asking, what're you over here for? i'm
on the jet program, got here about month and a half ago.
Hey lat125, sorry not to get back sooner, just got a little busy. Fees at AXIS are unlimited for 10500, twice a week for 8000, and 6000 for once a week. Axis is in Otemon, a 2 minute walk from Akasaka station near Hamanomachi Koen(park). Classes run at 10:00-11:30, 19:30-21:00, and 21:00-23:00. You should come check it out.
Paraestra is about 5-10 minutes from Hakata Station, toward Yodobashi Camera. Here's a map:
http://www.paraestra-hakata.com/place/index.html
I'm over here teaching like most everyone else.
Let me know if you need anymore help.
Sangaku, no worries, i not plannin on gettin into any trainin for at least another month or two. still settling in and using most of my paycheck to pay bills back home and buy necessities. how intensive is training at axis and the paraestra gym (if you know)? i only ask because i:m nowhere near a competitive level, just train because it:s too much fun not to do. i:d feel in the way if i started training at a gym where most of the members are preparing for fights or what not. thanks again for the info, where you teachin at anyway?
bjjfighter19, uh, thanks for the bump?
Basically it's as intensive as you want it to be, there are guys who are just there for recreation and others that are there because they want to acheive goals, and many in between. As for the attitudes of the guys there it's very easy going and friendly, we're only 60 students and at that 20-30 regulars.
I'm not sure about Paraestra but I'd imagine that it's similar.
Sangaku, you:re an awesome awesome person. if you knew how
frustrated i was getting with trying to find a gym you:d know i really
meant it too. thanks again for helping me out so much. hope training
goes good for you and once i:m ready i:ll be sure to check out axis.
Izuka is out there and there's not much there if I remember right. Parestra isn't that far away I believe. Within Fukuoka there's a club called JJJ. It's at the Chiyomachi exit on the subway in the public gym there. They got a tatami room and other arts are going on at the same time. Axis is closer to middle of the city. I'm not sure but I think a guy named Kanda runs the show. He's a purple belt, lived in Brazil for a spell and competed in the Mundials. He's a good guy. If you go there and it IS Kanda tell him Karl and Bill said hi.
-Karl
sangaku,
Have you trained with JJJ in Chiyo? How long you been in Fukuoka? I left in June of '02 so is it possible we rolled with each other? I was teaching at Tenjin NOVA and I also worked at the Dark Room. Just curious.
Karl! It's Mark, thanks for the tapes via Bill(too bad none went back over the sea). How are things going over there? Are you back to training?
No shit! That's cool. It's a small world. Actually Bill is coming down to hang out around the 17th or so. I'm graduating school and we're doin keggers (I'll never mature.) Because of school work etc. I've been busy. Lots of Judo but my Judo sucks and I enjoy bjj more. Did a no-gi tourney a while back and did well. No shooto or anything of the sort. This place doesn't have shit. How's Kanda? Are you at Axis or JJJ or both. Is Osajima still tearin shit up? my emil is kalantyler@adelphia.net
Kanda's doing great, heading up to compete in Tokyo this weekend. I'm at Axis now, since June/July of last year... The training is light years ahead of what was going on in Fukuoka before it opened.
JJJ is pretty much no more, with Paraestra and Axis opening, just a few guys left really. Osajima broke away and made Buring Spirits, a no gi club, and from what I hear is still tearing it up!
Just 2 weeks ago that big Riot Police/Judo guy came to Axis. Jesus that guy is tough.
Yokoyama I think his name was. He trains Judo with Inoue. We went on the ground a while back at JJJ. After practice I asked him to do some stand up, Judo. He's olympic caliber, weighs about 210 without a shred of fat on his body. Needless to say, he threw an uchi mata on me and I literally flipped right over back to my feet again.
I just haven't been able to practice anything really and it makes me crazy. I just accepted a job offer, it's not complete until they finish my background check (which should be fine) but if it comes thru I'll be in Manhatten. I KNOW there's some shit down there, I just hope my old ass can keep up.
OMFG you know masa?
masakazu yokoyama is not human.
i am coming to fukuoka just to meet him again. if he remembers me, i am sure he will let me train at the police dojo. maybe i will die. it's worth the risk.
Damn Karl, you got an elephants memory for names, I meet him a few weeks ago and could only remember it was something-yama.
Kanda wouldn't let him start from the feet eventhough we had a young guy that really wanted to!
Congrats on the job BTW, is it in the LE field?
Daryl, when you're in Fukuoka you should come check us out at Axis.
thanks sangaku i will come to axis for sure! see you in spring 2005 sometime