‘It’s Part Of My Life’ – How MMA Star Hiroyuki Tetsuka Carries On His Family Tradition Of Rice Farming
When he isn’t competing in the world’s largest martial arts organization, surging welterweight MMA contender Hiroyuki “Japanese Beast” Tetsuka is carrying on his family’s tradition of rice farming.
After five straight dominant victories, the 34-year-old is now entering the final preparations for his pivotal showdown with Isi Fitikefu on September 6 at ONE 168: Denver at Ball Arena.
With another victory, Tetsuka would extend his winning streak to six and potentially find himself knocking on the door of a ONE Welterweight MMA World Title shot, but chasing 26 pounds of gold isn’t the only thing he’s passionate about.
Outside of fight camp, “Japanese Beast” runs his own rice farm and sells the product commercially. He recently spoke to onefc.com about the generations-old tradition of rice farming:
“It has been very important for me and my family. It’s part of my life.”
While he comes from a family of rice farmers, Tetsuka received his agricultural training in the United States.
He came to the country a little over 10 years ago to work on a farm and learn agriculture – a program that made it financially possible for him to relocate and train in MMA.
After several amateur fights in America, he returned to Japan to begin his professional MMA career and become a rice farmer.
Since then, he’s grown his business such that he doesn’t have to perform much manual labor, but during busy season, he still puts in long hours at the farm:
“At this time of year, it’s not too demanding. We have employees now, so I don’t have to work as much. But during rice planting season, I work about 11 hours a day, starting from 7 a.m.”
For Tetsuka, rice farming represents more than just a secondary source of income – it’s an opportunity to be intimately connected with a food he eats practically every day.
He added:
“Eating is living. Being involved in food production makes you conscious of health. I would recommend it to those who are interested.”
Tetsuka Touts The Health Benefits Of Rice
Hiroyuki Tetsuka is proud to farm a product that is so integral to the Japanese way of life.
Even though low-carb and grain-free diets are currently popular, he says that rice is an incredibly nutritious source of energy. And while it’s already a staple of the Japanese diet, he hopes Americans will soon recognize the health benefits as well:
“Rice is the staple food for Japanese people. It’s traditional. Despite hearing about low-carb diets lately, I don’t think rice actually makes you gain that much weight.
“Nutritionally, it’s quite good. It gives you energy, and I think it’s indispensable, especially for Japanese people. I’d like Americans to know about the quality of Japanese rice, too.”
