Projekt Label fighter Chad “Savage” George (10-4) was recently invited to Japan to train with the camp of Japanese Shooto legend Rumina Sato. Being that Chad has a fight coming up on Nov. 14 against Greg Guzman at “Called Out MMA 2,” he saw this as the perfect opportunity to train with some of the top lighter weight fighters in the world, and as a special treat for us he is keeping a blog of his trip. Be sure to check back each day to see how things are going with Chad during this very unique experience.
DAY 1
Today is the first installment of my blog for the ROAD TO JAPAN. Today we finish out my last day of hard training here in Los Angeles with my team at the PKG Training Center. Stay tuned for day-to-day updates on my training camp and experience in Japan leading up to my fight November 14th! Thanks to Projekt Label and Inspirit USA we can share this experience with the world!
After a long 12 hour flight, I finally made it to JAPAN! I flew into a city about an hour outside of Tokyo and about three hours outside of Odawara (the city we are staying in). Rumina Sato met me at the airport with his wife and son. We grabbed my gear and headed on the 3 hour journey through the beautiful west coast of Japan.
I wish I could say I took a bunch of really great pictures to share, but unfortunately passed out in the car for most of the ride. We stopped to take a break from the massive traffic through Tokyo at this food strip mall. It was so cool.
The way everything is set up here is so different from the states it’s amazing. I grabbed my camera to only find that for some reason the battery did not charge back home…uugh…I promise I will post pics later once I able to take some.
We finally made it to Odawara. Dropped Rumina’s family at home. Then off to Roots gym for first session of training. We arrived about 8 p.m. Grappled with a few of Rumina’s fighters: Taiki, Shooto Champion Mamoru, and a few others. I felt OK except for the jet lag and lack of sleep. We trained until about 9:30-10 p.m. and then went to eat.
Food was great. Even the “Natto” fermented soy beans for those of you who don’t know what is it. So far it has already been great. The only issue is the language barrier in which I feel like the handicapped kid that wants to fit in and everyone makes fun of!!!
I know I’m missing a lot but I’m exhausted and woke up at 6 a.m. to fill you guys in. Day two looks to be a great full day of training and more new experiences.
By: Chad “SAVAGE” George
[…] On Oct. 30, 2009, Shooto legend Rumina Sato (25-14-2) stepped back in the ring to take on undefeated (at the time) Team Quest fighter Cory “Savage” Grant (3-1) at Vale Tudo Japan at JCB Hall in Tokyo. Grant starts off strong by catching Rumina’s kick and sweeping his other leg. He is doing very well against the veteran until he he ends up eating a big knee that puts him on the canvas, allowing Rumina to capitalize and finish the fight. ProMMA.info readers will remember Rumina Sato from Projekt Label fighter Chad George’s “Road to Japan” blog. Rumina’s camp is who Chad went to Japan to train with. If you somehow missed Chad’s blogs, you should check those out. […]