Yoko Yamada
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 female arm wrestler
Arm wrestling
Arm wrestling is a sport with two participants. Each participant places one arm on a surface with their elbows bent and touching the surface, and they grip each other's hand...

, professional wrestler
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...

, mixed martial artist
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...

 and occasional ring girl
Ring girl
A ring girl is the common name for a woman who enters the ring between rounds of a combat sport event such as boxing, kickboxing, or mixed martial arts, carrying a sign that displays the number of the upcoming round.-Boxing:...

. Nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....

d and Iron Beauty, she also works as a talent
Tarento
is a Japanese rendering of the English word "talent" and is used as a catch-all term for mass media personalities who regularly appear on television. Detractors of the phenomenon have referred to it in an English sense as "famous just for being famous" because many that fall into this career line...

 for the Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

-based agency .

Yamada has been the Japan Arm Wrestling Association (JAWA) female champion since 2002 and became the World Armwrestling Federation (WAF) champion in the 45 kg right hand division and second place in the left hand division in 2005.

Background

Yamada was born on May 25, 1979 in Tokyo, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. Yamada practiced swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...

 until 1994 and played badminton
Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...

 during high school. After finishing high school, she was unsure what to do next until 1999 when she, at 20 years old, met an arm wrestler in a restaurant that inspired her and made her decide to try arm wrestling.

Arm wrestling

In 2000, Yamada got the fourth place in the JAWA All-Japan Championships in the women's left hand 50 kg and women's right hand 45 kg and 50 kg divisions.

In 2001, Yamada got the third place in the JAWA All-Japan Championships in the women's right hand 50 kg category.

In 2002, Yamada got the first place in the All-Japan Championships in the women's left hand 50 kg category and second place in the right hand 50 kg category.

Yamada repeated her previous performance in 2003, this time winning in both right and left hand 50 kg categories and also placing second in both hands 55 kg categories.

Yamada placed fourth in the 50 kg category in both left and right arm classes at the WAF World Championship 2003 held in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

In 2004 Yamada once again won the women's right and left hand -50 kg categories and also was the runner up in the left hand -55 kg division.

Also in 2004, Yamada was third place in both left and right hand 50 kg women's divisions at the WAF World Championships held in Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...

, KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....

, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

.

Continuing her winning streak
Winning streak (sports)
In sports, a winning streak refers to a consecutive number of games won. A winning streak can be held by a team, as in baseball, football, basketball, hockey, or by an individual, as in tennis...

, in 2005 Yamada won the 23rd All-Japan Arm Wrestling Championships in left and right hands -45 kg categories and right hand -50 kg.

At the WAF World Armwrestling Championship 2005 held in Tokyo, Japan Yamada won the 45 kg right hand division and placed second in the left hand division.

In the All-Japan championships 2006, Yamada won the first place in the women's right hand -50 kg, -55 kg, -60 kg and women's left hand -50 kg.

Yamada was unable to participate in the 2006 World Championship since the minimum weight was to raised to 50 kg.

Once again dominating in the All-Japan Championships, in 2007 Yamada won in both hands in the -50 and -55 kg categories and also achieved second place in the right hand -60 kg category and fourth in the +60 kg.

In 2008 Yamada controlled all the women's categories in both hands at the All-Japan Championships, winning the first place in all categories for both hands, with the exception of the +60 kg categories where she got third place in both hands.

Yamada once again showed her dominance in the All-Japan Championships 2009, winning in both hands the -50 kg and -55 kg divisions.

In 2010 Yamada once again won the same categories that she won in 2009 performance at the 28th All-Japan Arm Wrestling Championships.

Mixed martial arts career

After watching mixed martial arts (MMA) on TV, she became interested on them. Inspired by Gary Goodridge
Gary Goodridge
Gary Goodridge , nicknamed "Big Daddy", is a Trinidadian and Tobagonian-Canadian former super heavyweight kickboxer and heavyweight mixed martial artist fighting out of Barrie, Ontario. Goodridge is known for his hard-hitting fighting style and showmanship...

, another arm wrestling champion that competed in MMA, Yamada elected to use Goodridge's theme, Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...

's We Will Rock You
We Will Rock You
"We Will Rock You" is a song written by Brian May and recorded and performed by Queen for their 1977 album News of the World. Rolling Stone ranked it #330 of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2004, and the RIAA placed it at #146 on its list of Songs of the Century...

, for her MMA entrance theme.

Yamada made her MMA debut on at Smackgirl
Smackgirl
Smackgirl was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion focused solely on female fighters. The promotion also held grappling and amateur events along with its main line of professional MMA cards. After financial difficulties throughout 2008 the promotion was sold to Marverous Japan Co.,Ltd...

's event Smackgirl: Third Season II, where she defeated Kazumi Sakaguchi by guillotine choke
Guillotine choke
The guillotine choke is a chokehold in martial arts and wrestling applied from in front of the opponent. The choke involves using the arms to encircle the opponent's neck in a fashion similar to a guillotine. The technique is either a type of tracheal compression restraint that prevents air flow...

 submission in 69 seconds.

Two years later, Yamada's second victory came on at Smackgirl 2005: Dynamic!!, submitting Haruka Onuki with a rear naked choke
Rear naked choke
The Rear naked choke is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. Depending on the context, the term may refer to one of two variations of the technique, either arm can be used to apply the choke in both cases...

 in the first round.

Debuting in Shooto
Shooto
Shooto is a mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the Shooto Association and the International Shooto Commission. Shooto was originally formed in 1985, as an organization and as a particular fighting system derived from shoot wrestling. Practitioners are referred to as shooters,...

, Yamada continued her winning streak
Winning streak (sports)
In sports, a winning streak refers to a consecutive number of games won. A winning streak can be held by a team, as in baseball, football, basketball, hockey, or by an individual, as in tennis...

 by defeating Mayuko Kasaki via submission (guillotine choke) in the first round at G-Shooto Plus 05 on .

At G-Shooto Japan 05 on Yamada defeated Azusa Anzai in only ten seconds with an armbar
Armlock
An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint and/or shoulder joint. An armlock that hyperflexes or hyperrotates the shoulder joint is referred to as a shoulder lock, and an armlock that hyperextends the elbow joint is called...

 submission, earning her fourth consecutive win.

Yamada first defeat was at the hands of Maho Muranami on at the event Wrestle Expo 2006, where Muranami submitted Yamada with an armbar in the first round.

Almost two years later, Yamada got another win when she knocked out
Knockout
A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...

 Nana Ichikawa in the first minute of their bout at Deep Glove 2 on .

Debuting with Jewels
Jewels (mixed martial arts)
Jewels is a mixed martial arts organization owned by Marverous Japan Co., Ltd. focused on female fighters. It's the direct successor of Smackgirl...

 promotion, Yamada defeated Miyoko Kusaka by unanimous decision
Unanimous decision
A unanimous decision is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and others sports involving striking in which all three judges agree on which fighter won the match....

 on at Jewels 6th Ring
Jewels 6th Ring
Jewels 6th Ring was a mixed martial arts event held by MMA promotion Jewels. It took place on at Shinjuku Face in Kabukicho, Tokyo, Japan.-Background:...

.

Shoot boxing

On , Yamada faced Mio Kubota in a shoot boxing match at the 2011 Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup. She was defeated by disqualification after failing to obey the referee's commands.

Professional wrestling

Yamada debuted in pro-wrestling with S Ovation's and Mariko Yoshida
Mariko Yoshida
, is a Japanese professional wrestler best known for her work with the ARSION wrestling promotion, where she was also head trainer.-Professional wrestling career:...

's promotion Ibuki on .

Yamada continues to perform occasionally as a freelancer
Freelancer
A freelancer, freelance worker, or freelance is somebody who is self-employed and is not committed to a particular employer long term. These workers are often represented by a company or an agency that resells their labor and that of others to its clients with or without project management and...

.

Talent

Yamada works as a talent girl and is affiliated to the KT Project agency. She has appeared as a gravure model in some DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

s and photobook
Photobook
A photo-book or photobook is a book in which photographs make a significant contribution to the overall content. The most critically acclaimed photo-books celebrate the creative work of an individual photographer, but can also result from the collaboration between a photographer and a writer, an...

s.

Yamada also appeared as a ring girl
Ring girl
A ring girl is the common name for a woman who enters the ring between rounds of a combat sport event such as boxing, kickboxing, or mixed martial arts, carrying a sign that displays the number of the upcoming round.-Boxing:...

 at the event Deep Glove 3 on .

Internet show

From to Yamada hosted an Internet television
Internet television
Internet television is the digital distribution of television content via the Internet...

 show called which was produced by Internet broadcaster .

Personal life

Yamada is bisexual. She has two brothers and Yoko Minamida
Yoko Minamida
was a Japanese actress. She was diagnosed with Alzheimers in November 2008, and a TV documentary was made about her condition and the efforts of her husband, actor Hiroyuki Nagato, to care for her...

 was her aunt.

Yamada was subjected to bullying in junior high school and it caused her to stop going to school for some time. During her teens
Adolescence
Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...

 Yamada beat the leader of a girl's gang
Sukeban
means delinquent girl or boss girl in Japanese, equivalent to the male banchō. A dictionary of says that sukeban only refers to the leader of a girl gang, not any member of the girl gang.-Characteristics:...

 and four of the girl's friends for which she was sent to a juvenile correctional facility
Youth detention center
A youth detention center, also known as a juvenile detention center , juvenile hall or, more colloquially as juvie, is a secure residential facility for young people, often termed juvenile delinquents, awaiting court hearings and/or placement in long-term care facilities and programs...

.

After her parents divorced, her father disappeared for five years due to money problems occasioned by his gambling
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...

 habits until he had a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...

 that left him hospitalized and with cognitive
Cognition
In science, cognition refers to mental processes. These processes include attention, remembering, producing and understanding language, solving problems, and making decisions. Cognition is studied in various disciplines such as psychology, philosophy, linguistics, and computer science...

 problems and Yamada has taken care of him since then.

Mixed martial arts record

|-
| Win
| align=center|6-1-0
|   Miyoko Kusaka
| Decision (3-0)
| Jewels 6th Ring
Jewels 6th Ring
Jewels 6th Ring was a mixed martial arts event held by MMA promotion Jewels. It took place on at Shinjuku Face in Kabukicho, Tokyo, Japan.-Background:...


|
| align=center|2
| align=center|5:00
| Kabukicho, Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...


|
|-
| Win
| align=center|5-1-0
|   Nana Ichikawa
| KO (punches)
| Deep Glove 2
|
| align=center|1
| align=center|1:00
| Kabukicho, Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...


|
|-
| Loss
| align=center|4-1-0
|   Maho Muranami
| Submission (armbar)
| Wrestle Expo 2006
|
| align=center|1
| align=center|1:14
| Odaiba
Odaiba
is a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay, Japan, across the Rainbow Bridge from central Tokyo. It was initially built for defensive purposes in the 1850s, dramatically expanded during the late 20th century as a seaport district, and has developed since the 1990s as a major commercial, residential...

, Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...


|
|-
| Win
| align=center|4-0-0
|   Azusa Anzai
| Submission (armbar)
| G-Shooto Japan 05
|
| align=center|1
| align=center|0:10
| Kabukicho, Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...


|
|-
| Win
| align=center|3-0-0
|   Mayuko Kasaki
| Submission (guillotine choke)
| G-Shooto Plus 05
|
| align=center|1
| align=center|4:37
| Koto
Koto, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 2008, the ward has an estimated population of 442,271 and a population density of 11,070 persons per km². The total area is 39.48 km². The ward refers to itself as Kōtō City in English....

, Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...


|
|-
| Win
| align=center|2-0-0
|   Haruka Onuki
| Submission (rear-naked choke)
| Smackgirl 2005: Dynamic!!
|
| align=center|1
| align=center|4:12
| Shibuya
Shibuya, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 2008, it has an estimated population of 208,371 and a population density of 13,540 persons per km². The total area is 15.11 km²....

, Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...


|
|-
| Win
| align=center|1-0-0
|   Kazumi Sakaguchi
| Submission (guillotine choke)
| Smackgirl: Third Season II
|
| align=center|1
| align=center|1:09
| Minato
Minato, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 1 March 2008, it had an official population of 217,335 and a population density of 10,865 persons per km². The total area is 20.34 km².Minato hosts 49 embassies...

, Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...


|

External links

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