Yoshitaka Naito Explores His Passion Outside Of Martial Arts
Yoshitaka “Nobita” Naito loves the martial art of Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
He has used it as the foundation of his grappling-based mixed martial arts game to become the ONE Strawweight World Champion.
However, the Japanese hero was not always known as an athletic individual with a dedicated approach to becoming a world-class athlete.
As a youngster, he was shy and introverted, and developed another passion which he maintains to this day – as he explains in this new video feature.
“I like reading Japanese manga comics because they show me things beyond my imagination,” he says
“Doraemon was the first manga I took notice of. It was the first time I felt my imagination expand as I read.’
In fact, Naito takes his nickname from one of the characters from his favorite series, Nobita Nobi.
Now a confident ambassador for his country and martial arts on the global stage, he also expresses himself by dressing up as the courageous comic book hero for his famous walkouts. He goes on to explain how his trademark tradition began in the full video.
The 34-year-old from Matsudo is scheduled to make the first defense in his second reign as ONE Strawweight World Champion against Joshua “The Passion” Pacio at ONE: CONQUEST OF HEROES in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Saturday, 22 September.
