【密着】Preparation｜平本丈 / Joe Hiramoto

【密着】Preparation｜平本丈 / Joe Hiramoto

SHIBUYA 12:00PM. JO HIRAMOTO, RIZIN flyweight fighter. good morning. I hope you have a great day today. Do you always start practicing in the afternoon? Do you often practice at FIGHT CLUB during the day? I attend GOKIKAI at MEJIRO’s T-GRIP on Mondays and Fridays during the day. I’m practicing in SHIBUYA today. I’m going to practice at MEJIRO’s T-GRIP tonight. How many people will be practicing with you in the FIGHT CLUB practice that is starting now? I practice with my trainer TAIJU, and my brother joins in halfway through. I don’t know if TATSUKI will come to practice. Is TATSUKI scheduled to come to practice? I don’t know if TATSUKI will come to practice. TATSUKI said, “I’m going to practice.” I don’t know if TATSUKI remembers that. TATSUKI does things at his own pace. TATSUKI will participate in practice on his own time. I was surprised to see that JO HIRAMOTO and TAIKI SHINOTSUKA were good friends in a YouTube video by Ren Hiramoto’s brother. I have known TATSUKI for a long time. I first met TATSUKI when I was in my third year of junior high school. I started practicing with him when I was a freshman in high school. TATSUKI came to see me at a group hangout at my local gym. At that time, I spoke to TATSUKI in polite language. I’ve known TATSUKI for a long time, so we don’t really care about each other anymore. JO HIRAMOTO and TAIKI SHINOTSUKA are good friends and can easily mess around with each other. TAIKI is just messing around, so I’m just reacting. Have you ever been told by TAIKI, “You’re cheeky”? I’m a kind person, so I don’t mind when TAIKI says bad things about me. I don’t think of TAIKI as my junior. I have known TATSUKI for a long time. At first, I trained locally, but then I started using FIGHT CLUB. I started training with everyone at FIGHT CLUB. When my brother’s K-1 contract was renewed, we were all training at FIGHT CLUB. There is a strong sense of camaraderie among everyone at that time. We didn’t have a gym like this one here. At what age did you start martial arts? I started martial arts at the age of 5. My brother and my dad started going to a local Muay Thai gym. I had no intention of starting martial arts. At that time, I didn’t have anyone to play with at home so I started martial arts. My older brother started martial arts but quit a year later, but he has continued. Did your brother continue with Muay Thai? My brother continued with kickboxing and Muay Thai. I wasn’t into boxing like my brother. My brother taught me kickboxing techniques. My brother has a strong striking ability, so I can rely on him and feel at ease. Practicing with strong people like TATSUKI and my brother gives me confidence. I feel more confident now. When did you start training MMA? I started to seriously train MMA when I participated in the Fighting DREAMERS event organized by Abema. When I first started training MMA it was difficult because I didn’t know anything. MMA was different from kickboxing. Were you watching UFC at the time? I was watching UFC at the time. I’ve been watching UFC since I was in elementary school. I liked both Conor McGregor and Joseph Aldo. I started watching UFC before my brother did. DREAM has been held on New Year’s Eve since my childhood. I used to watch PRIDE, DREAM, HERO’S, and SENGOKU matches that I had recorded long ago over and over again. I’ve always loved watching martial arts. Do you live alone? I live alone. I want to live in a better house than I have now. My training volume is the hardest. It would be easier for me if I could get a coach and train as soon as possible like my brother. Your body has grown. My body has grown. You are strong. How much do you weigh? My weight is about 64kg. You were fighting even at 61kg. I didn’t have to cut weight for that fight. The match was decided at short notice two weeks before. I lost about 3kg to take part in the competition. Is flyweight your appropriate weight class? My ideal weight class is flyweight. I have a constitution that makes me lose weight quickly. What is TAIKI doing now? TAIKI probably isn’t awake yet. I don’t understand TAIKI’s habit of being late? He sometimes comes to work early. When I am late to practice, TATSUKI says, “Don’t be late to practice.” He and I are the same age. I didn’t know it, but he and I went to the same high school. I later found out that you attended the same high school as TAIJU. TAIJU dropped out of high school, but I graduated. TAIJU and I attended the same high school during our first year of high school. My brother graduated from the same high school as me. My brother attended the same high school as me for six years. I caught up with my brother. My brother caught up with me, who is five years younger than me. How does TAIJU feel about JO’s changes? JO has the physicality. JO has become more resilient, agile and powerful. JO is fast and can take down opponents by making it difficult to time his attacks. JO has a promising future. I thought your steps were traditional. NIBIN taught me the steps in the last match. I received instruction from NIBIN, incorporating the feel of Mikuru Asakura’s matches. I am different from my brother. I adapted the instruction to suit my own needs. I can’t do the same as my brother. I have flexible movements, but my brother is stiff and therefore has sturdy movements. I’m looking for a move that suits my style. Your movements became polite. Until recently, I used to act based on instinct. IWASAKI pointed out to me that this was not good. This is my opponent’s MMA debut, but he has more experience in martial arts than I do. I am determined to defeat my opponent. I will beat my opponent early and use the extra time to watch TATSUKI’s matches. TAIKI and JO start a champagne fight after practice. It’s always TAIKI who starts joking around by saying, “Are you scared?” TAIKI starts drinking and goes home first. Does everyone around you call you a “superstar”? Only RIZIN fighters are saying that. TAIKI is a superstar. TAIKI said, “It’s weird if I use honorific language.” My younger brother is five years younger than me and 10 years younger than TATSUKI, but he does not use honorific language when speaking to TAIKI. How many siblings do you have? I have an older brother and an older sister. I have four siblings: my older sister, my older brother, me, and my younger brother. Not everyone knows that JO has an older sister. Not everyone knows that. I don’t hide that. My sister doesn’t like to stand out. How few people have seen JO’s sister? Very few people have seen my sister. My sister is coming to watch my next game too. My sister always supports me. My sister is crazy. I’ve heard that JO is more dangerous than Ren Hiramoto. Their characteristics are different. My brother did not greet IWASAKI politely. I pointed out to my brother that he shouldn’t do that. My younger brother practices martial arts and participates in T-GRIP in OTSUKA. My younger brother has more talent for martial arts than either my older brother or I. Among his brothers, JO has the best skill at inciting others. What does it mean to have the skill to provoke others? Is there anything JO did in the article posted by Ren Hiramoto? There are countless of them. It makes me look like the worst person. I was the one who came up with the idea for AKADA. I imitated KOUME DAIU. I came up with the post “I thought we were going to fight NISHITANI, but UOI came out with a full swing” It’s something that anyone can think about. DARN IT. Whose idea was that previous JUSTIN post? The JUSTIN post was my brother’s idea. JUSTIN did not know that he would be attending the press conference. JUSTIN was at a loss as to how to respond to the question, “Can you go alone?” He is the younger brother of LOKOKU DARYL. JUSTIN is strong. Keep an eye on JUSTIN’s performance. good morning. I’ll go for dinner and then go to practice. No one came for the meal. Does JO HIRAMOTO take punctuality seriously? Although there are times when I can’t keep my appointments, I always keep them on time better than those two. Even at my brother’s events, I’m more worried about making it on time than he is. People from RIZIN have been contacting me about my brother. SASAHARA and people around me contact me and tell me to come quickly, but there is nothing I can do. I’m in a hurry, just like everyone else. I want to win as a way of giving back to the team, as the people who support me and everyone on my team have high expectations of me. There’s no point in receiving so much cooperation if we don’t win. I don’t want to embarrass my brother. I don’t want to embarrass the team. I was thinking about this today when I was talking to JO. JO is a fine young man. Is that true? I’m an ordinary person. You have good language skills and are considerate of others. I’m an ordinary person. JO’s personality is often misunderstood on the Internet. When I was filming the YouTube video, I spoke in a bad tone intentionally to mislead people. When I’m not shooting video. During the meal, JO took the initiative to hand out towels and water to the staff. Wherever I’ve been up until now, I’ve often been the younger person. For example, when I go out to eat with my brother. Since I was the younger of the group, I had a habit of being considerate of others. JO HIRAMOTO has been criticized on the Internet, so I got a different impression from his reputation on the Internet. Some people do the opposite. Some people only put on a good impression in front of the camera. People who have something to say to others will say it no matter what. This is true whether it’s my brother or TATSUKI. Are there any opponents you’re interested in at this year’s OTOKOMATSURI? I’m looking forward to the match between Mikuru Asakura and Chihiro Suzuki. What do you think about Mikuru Asakura? This goes without saying, but I will not be fighting Mikuru Asakura. Mikuru Asakura is my brother’s enemy. I don’t dislike Mikuru Asakura, but as a team we are against each other. It’s a battle between the opponent’s gym and our gym. It was Mikuru Asakura who popularized RIZIN and made my brother famous. There is no doubt about that. I’m grateful that Mikuru Asakura made my brother famous. HAGIWARA and Mikuru Asakura were arguing yesterday. My brother wasn’t there at the press conference, so I was able to watch it at my leisure. I’m scared to look at my brother. I don’t know what my brother will say or do. It was a good learning experience for me. Even though you are strong, you need to learn how to liven things up in your own way. They are Mikuru Asakura, Chihiro Suzuki, and HAGIWARA. There are very few players who have the ability to speak and liven up the atmosphere on that stage. YUKI ITO was interesting. He is Shishikura, who teaches my brother and I how to practice. My name is SHISHIKURA. thank you. Can I take videos with my camera? I’m dreading today’s practice because I still have muscle pain from the previous practice. Do you like weight training? I never did weight training before. I’ve been doing weight training ever since I came to this gym. I fell in love with weight training. My body shape has changed. Everyone tells me that my body has changed. are you tired? i am tired. Is this the final set of 15? Is it the last set of 15? The last one is 15 times. Finally, 15 sets and I might die. I may not be good at martial arts. This is not acting, I am truly in pain. I have no strength in my legs. I can’t walk. I can’t walk. I can’t walk properly because my knees won’t bend. I just finished my last training session. thank you for your hard work. I nearly threw up in the middle of practice. Amateur and professional joint practice. JO is becoming more and more complete. JO has a high IQ and is athletic. JO is now increasing the amount of practice he does. JO still thinks like a child. “I can afford that.” JO still doesn’t have enough practice to be able to play in a match. I will tell JO what he is lacking and encourage him to practice more. JO has great talent. JO weighs between 72kg and 73kg. He has improved his Japanese. It looks like JO has an easy time losing 20kg from now on. Which one is JO? JO is the person in the back. JO has lost weight and become smaller since the time of the cashier. The weight will be reduced by 10 kg to remove water. Is that okay? That’s fine. TATSUKI SHINOTSUKA. How much does TATSUKI weigh? My current weight is 67kg or 68kg. I’m not abstaining from alcohol. I don’t drink tequila. TATSUKI has no tolerance for alcohol. I can’t say I have a high tolerance for alcohol. Professional practice. I start practicing. Let’s finish practicing. There is no problem with doing free practice after practice is over. Practice is over, thank you. We know that TAMARU has stronger striking power. In that match, it’s important to get the Takedown. I plan my attacks and the worst case scenario. I also have to anticipate situations where things don’t go as planned and I get tired. What kind of matches are you looking forward to seeing from JO HIRAMOTO? JO HIRAMOTO can knock out his opponents with a straight right hand. The remaining weight loss is 20kg. I think it might die. I will attempt the challenge after losing 10kg and exceeding the required weight. thank you very much. What kind of younger brother is JO to you? JO seems similar to me, but he also has a lot of contrasting traits with me. JO has a different kind of fun than me. What does your brother mean to you? I respect my brother as a fighter. I both admire my brother and also see him as a wall that I must overcome. That’s the way I think because he’s my older brother. My brother is in a different weight class than me and is fighting different people. I want to one day take on the same stage as my brother. I want to be the main fighter for RIZIN and be someone who can be entrusted with the organization. My brother is the one I chase after. The matches at the Tokyo Dome are amazing. I have never played a match at the Tokyo Dome. I was scheduled to play in the game at Tokyo Dome, but was forced to miss it due to injury. It’s all inevitable. This also has a deeper meaning because my friends TATSUKI, JO and others can participate in my place. I want JO to enjoy Tokyo Dome, a place that he has never experienced before. If the stage is too big, people stop getting nervous. I want JO to enjoy RIZIN. JO is often compared to his older brother. I have been compared to my older brother since before my professional debut and even when I was an amateur. My brother was famous and strong even when I was an amateur. People around me saw me as Ren Hiramoto’s younger brother. I felt I needed to dispel that impression. That’s how it has to be. KAI ASAKURA stands out as a player. I too have to become like KAI ASAKURA. I will take on the challenge as a team, but I also want to become more popular as an individual. Our opponent this time, TAMARU, is strong. At the press conference, TAMARU said, “I’ve only been training MMA for one month.” I know that TAMARU has been training MMA since last year. TAMARU lied to put people at ease. TAMARU will be fully prepared for the match. TAMARU’s kickboxing record and fighting style seem to be the perfect version of TENSHIN NASUKAWA. TAMARU is a formidable opponent. JO has a better MMA background than TAMARU. TAMARU has experienced many matches and is far more familiar with the stage and matches than JO. This is a challenge and a challenge that JO must overcome. JO has better athletic ability and motor skills than I do. I am the type of person who needs a lot of practice and time to get used to the movements. JO is the type that can reproduce movements that he sees. JO will be strong if they can enjoy the match while fighting. I’m looking forward to JO’s match. It’s a team game. You have a lot of critics, what do you think? That’s fine because it just increases your audience. I wasn’t criticized back in the day. Recently I’ve been criticized on Twitter through DMs and comments. My brother said, “Now is the time.” My brother said to me, “I was just like you at first.” “I can’t wait to see your little brother lose.” At that point, attention is increasing. That means you’ll definitely be able to watch the game. Some people watch me lose, others buy pay-per-views of my streams. There are people who are looking forward to the match, so I will ignore the criticism and take on the challenge. I enjoy playing a match more when the audience wants me to lose. I don’t care what anyone says. I hate it when people say bad things about my brother or my team more than I hate it when people say bad things about me. What do you think about the comment that “JO is able to participate in the match thanks to his brother’s connections”? JO is able to participate in matches thanks to his brother’s connections. That’s a given in any industry. It’s like a barter situation in the entertainment industry. Martial arts is an industry where this is the norm. A lot of people complain about it, but I’ve earned RIZIN’s trust. That’s the number of per-views sold or the number of tickets sold. The same situation applies to Mikuru Asakura. With RIZIN, I have gained the trust of the audience who respond well to my fights. I am able to give back to those around me. If you’re frustrated, try this. This is a self-proclaimed strongest fighter who is unknown and only claims to be skilled, which is not interesting. You are free to fight. No one is forbidding you from doing that. Nobody cares about you and nobody will say anything. Look at Yuki Motoya. Yuki Motoya is amazing. Naoki Inoue is fighting silently. Everyone should do the same as Naoki Inoue. Instead of doing what Naoki Inoue does and complaining, build up your network. If that’s what the fans are saying then there’s no problem. That’s one great opinion. It’s uncool for a fighter to say that. If you’ve had a fight and are frustrated after watching this video, please send me a DM. I will use my connections to get you to join BLACK ROSE. There are three weeks left until the match. If you feel like you’re dying in practice, the matches will be easy. We support the players to push themselves. For me, various things give me power. I want to show people that they should not take JO for granted. I grew up with JO as a fighter. I feel at ease with my brother and can rely on him. Cheers to BLACK ROSE’s victory. 280 days have passed since that match. The sleeping man finally wakes up. RIZIN OTOKOMATSURI. Can he win for the first time in two years? Mikuru Asakura returns to the ring. Mikuru Asakura’s opponent will be the unrivaled Lightning Boy, Chihiro Suzuki, who is competing in an attempt to end his losing streak. Will he bite off the victory? Does that mean lightning will pierce GARO? RIZIN OTOKOMATSURI is now available on pay-per-view at U-NEXT. Will Mikuru Asakura make a comeback? Will Chihiro Suzuki make a comeback? Legend and lightning collide. Resurrection or rebirth. RIZIN OTOKOMATSURI.

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