Who makes the best training partner? For a pro, it is without a doubt, another pro, right? With my track-record of constant injuries, finding the proper partners is essential. I realized a change had to be made to my training regimen. I was doing something wrong. What was it?

Fish: "Heeeeeelp!"

Should I train with those weaker and less skilled, so I can work all my moves? Or those far better and stronger, so I can build up my toughness? Both are ideal, but it's not so easy to pick and choose as one would think. It seems like the pros either 'let me' get moves, in the obvious frustrating way, or go all out and try and kill me. I've come to know to stay away from certain people if they are preparing for a fight, to choose another guy if I want to work on bottom escapes, and to pair up with another if I want to work passing guard.

Takayo Hashi , for example, is the best partner for me to work on MMA and ground and pound. Being a pro-fighter woman of the same weight and skill, she won't hold back, and is willing to sock me and get socked. On the other hand, if I try and do pure wrestling with her, 99% of the time, I'll get hurt.

Then I'd be an unhappy fishy. Like this guy!

So I've determined that if you can't find the perfect partner, make one yourself!

Enter Sakura, a determined lady fighter with a love of learning and a tough heart.
"I'll work hard to become worthy of being your training partner," she once told me, after a hard practice. I remember teaching her how to properly shrimp down the mat. I watched her in her first grappling tournament last year, and drilled her on how to escape the mount. Now, we meet an hour before the regular class four three days a week, picking each other's brains.
For example, what's the best way to escape a tight back-mount and sunk rear-naked?

Sakura and I.

"You should roll me over like this," she suggested.
"I dunno," I answered, thinking hard. "If I unhook this leg, you can escape, right?"
"I don't think so, here, look" she'd say. We went back and forth. My brain has been getting just as much exercise as my body lately. I've always wondered how people make up new moves in MMA. Aren't there only so many ways the body can move? The answer is, NO WAY.

"If I roll you over and push with my knee here, then you can free the hand! And then you can pound her face with this hand while posting with this hand!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Hey, you're right!" Grins burst into flower on our faces. We whooped and embraced, like true sisters. It's a beautiful thing to see your baby fighter grow up, to the point where she's giving you
ideas. If teaching is a fulfilling trade, learning and implementing a skill is equally satisfying. "Sakura" means "cherry blossoms," and as the name implies, she's blooming into a pro-fighter, becoming good at all the stuff I'm good at. I can't wait to see her in her next competition. And in turn, she's my helper for my fight-prep.

Sakura (black) sparring Roxy (white)

Our latest regular training exercise is donning shin guards, head-gear, knee pads, and MMA gloves, and then doing full-contact 80% power sparring. In the past, when I sparred with the pros stand-up, their levels were so high compared to mine, that even if I was doing something right, they were so much better that I couldn't tell. Now I'm 'getting' it with Sakura, know what I'm doing right and wrong, and then try it out on the pros in my dojo. And in the meantime, Sakura is getting tougher.

Let's rewind for a second. For Christmas and New Years, I visited my family and friends in the good old USA. It reminded me what football means to Americans, as the Patriots won their 16 games in a row, breaking a bunch of records.

Once back in Japan after the holidays, I received an offer to be featured in a fashion catalogue called "United Arrows." They would film me in various circumstances documenting a day-in-the-life of me, for example at my office, at my dojo, running beside the river (although I never go running beside the river), etc. I said, "Great!" and then my eyes popped out of my head when I saw some of the crazy colors and styles I'd be wearing. Not good or bad, just bright.
I wear conservative things, but I'm sure many people dig them.

Roxy in Quincy Market, Boston, with ice sculpture

And according to childhood picture I uncovered of seven-year-old Roxanne, I used to sport some mad stylish stuff myself. Just take a look at those shorts! (and my Mom made that book bag out of jeans)

Don't forget, the rare pearls of wisdom you often find on Japanese shirts. Most likely thought up by the owners of the clothing company.
Wandering home late one night. After too many cups of sake. Or after eating that poor red fish calling for its Mommy.

Finally, I've been actively seeking out advice from other pros. Since Kenji Osawa's schedule changed and I can't take weekly lessons, I've been getting some help from striker Yasuhiro Urushitani, and super-grappler Hideki Kadowaki. I learn interesting stuff in the beginner's classes, but it's much more helpful to get training specific to my needs. In Keishukai it's both hard and easy to get the attention you want. Hard in that it's not given to you unless you go look for it. There are so many pros, but often, they're worrying about their own fights.

I should have the opportunity to fight many times this year. If I can stay healthy. As for work at my school, I've just been made a kid's assessor, which is added responsibility of level-checking kids. It shows that I'm trusted and more valuable to my company. Spring is coming. Flowers are blooming. Lately, all is well in the life of this American Fighter-girl.

To e-mail Roxanne, please click here!

Vol. 12 Coming Soon!

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