Mike Nasu鈥檚 motivation lies in his pocket.
He pulls out his cell phone and shows videos of his children. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e won 10 medals between them,鈥� he says. 鈥淭his is my daughter. I have lots of videos of the kids competing.鈥�
The 麻豆社国产resident of 10 years presses play and the short clip starts. It鈥檚 of seven-year-old Mariza in a jiu jitsu match. She鈥檚 up against a boy of the same age. After tumbling around for 10 seconds, Mariza positions herself so that she鈥檚 poised to get her opponent caught in an arm bar. She quickly wins the match.聽
鈥淚 am doing it for the kids,鈥� says Nasu, a financial advisor. 鈥淚 am just trying to show them that it鈥檚 like anything in life, it鈥檚 all about the journey.鈥澛�
The journey Nasu is talking about sees him training seven days a week. It started five years ago, after he watched old fights of famed Brazilian jiu jitsu practitioner Royce Gracie sweeping through the Ultimate Fighting Championships in the early 鈥�90s.聽
鈥淚 thought, 鈥榃ho is this guy?鈥欌�� Nasu remembers.
His curiosity peaked, Nasu joined a jiu jitsu training centre in Vancouver. Three belts later, he now practises with head instructor Cole Manson at Gracie Barra Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at Club Flex in Squamish.聽
Seated on a stool at the gym, he gingerly puts his phone back into this pocket and straightens his back. 鈥淚 am quite tired now,鈥� he admits. 鈥淚 had an early morning session.鈥澛�
Next week, on Sept. 25, Nasu will be under the Nevada sun in Las Vegas. In front of hundreds of spectators, the 42-year-old will take to the mat alongside 2,300 athletes in the 2015 IBJJF World Master Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Championships. Nasu will be competing in the featherweight masters purple division against 18 opponents from around the world.聽
This marks Nasu鈥檚 first tournament.聽
鈥淚 am going straight into the deep end,鈥� he jokes.聽
Nasu鈥檚 putting everything he鈥檚 got into it. Besides jiu jitsu, he also squeezes strength training and conditioning into his week鈥檚 tight schedule.聽
鈥淚 want to make sure I get 鈥榦ut-techniqued鈥� rather than not having enough gas in the tank.鈥�
Nasu鈥檚 co-workers at Edward Jones think he鈥檚 crazy, he says.聽
鈥淢y colleges at the firm think it is a barbaric sport.鈥�
Jiu jitsu is often misunderstood, Nasu says. It鈥檚 not dangerous or violent, with competitors tapping out before injury. What aroused Nasu鈥檚 love of the sport is its intellectual side.聽
With a certain number of submission moves in one鈥檚 toolkit, jiu jitsu is alike to a human game of chess, he notes. Weight and height don鈥檛 matter. A competitor must stay calm throughout the match, out-thinking and strategizing the next step in continuum of movement.
鈥淚t鈥檚 all about problem solving.鈥�
While Nasu says he鈥檚 attracted to the pureness of jiu jitsu, he鈥檚 also seen a transformation within his children. Their self-confidence has grown and they don鈥檛 become stressed over minor issues.聽
Nasu hopes his performance at the championships will serve as an example for Mariza and Evan.聽
He鈥檚 not afraid of losing, as long as he leaves all his energy and hours of training on the mat.聽
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want any regrets,鈥� Nasu says with a smile.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 really about the kids. I鈥檝e talked the talk, and now I have to walk the walk.鈥�
