Yuki Nakai - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

is a retired 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...

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,...

practitioner and mixed martial artist. He currently teaches Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art, combat sport, and a self defense system that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting...

and is the president of the Japan Shooto Association

Shooto

. He competed in Vale Tudo Japan 1995

Vale Tudo Japan

Vale Tudo Japan was an annual mixed martial arts tournament held in Japan from 1994 to 1999 with a reunion event in 2009.-Vale Tudo Japan 1994:Vale Tudo Japan 1994 was held on July 29, 1994 at the Tokyo Bay NK Hall in Urayasu, Japan....

, where he was outweighed by every opponent in the tournament. Despite this, and despite suffering a severe eye injury

Eye injury

Physical or chemical injuries of the eye can be a serious threat to vision if not treated appropriately and in a timely fashion. The most obvious presentation of ocular injuries is redness and pain of the affected eyes. This is not, however, universally true, as tiny metallic projectiles may cause...

in the first bout, Nakai managed to make it to the finals where he lost to Rickson Gracie

Rickson Gracie

Rickson Gracie is a Brazilian 8th degree black and red belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and a retired mixed martial artist. He is a member of the Gracie family: the son of Hélio Gracie, brother to Rorion and Relson Gracie, and half-brother to Rolker, Royce, Robin and Royler Gracie.-Biography:Rickson...

. Nakai is a legend of Shooto

Shooto

by many fighters and fans. He is the founder of the Paraestra Shooto gyms and coaches fighters such as PRIDE and DREAM

DREAM (mixed martial arts)

Dream is a mixed martial arts organization promoted by former PRIDE FC executives and K-1 promoter Fighting and Entertainment Group. DREAM replaced FEG's previous-run mixed martial arts fight series, Hero's. The series retains many of the stylistic flourishes and personnel from Pride FC...

stand out Shinya Aoki

Shinya Aoki

is a Japanese mixed martial artist, grappler, and former police trainee who is noted for being the DREAM Lightweight Champion and former Shooto Middleweight Champion. Aoki holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Yuki Nakai, as well as a black belt in judo. He is one of the most prominent...

, who also earned his Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art, combat sport, and a self defense system that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting...

from Nakai.

Early life

He was born August 18 in 1970. After graduating from Hokkaido Sapporo North high school, he entered Hokkaido University

Hokkaido University

Hokkaido University is one of the most prestigious universities in Japan. It can be seen in the several rankings such as shown below.-General Rankings:...

. He belonged to the judo club and won the shichitei judo

Kosen judo

refers to a set of competition rules of Kodokan judo with particular emphasis on ground grappling techniques such as pinning holds , joint locks and chokeholds , referred to as newaza in Japanese martial arts.- Background : schools started holding their own judo competitions from 1914...

championship when he was in fourth grade.

Vale Tudo Japan 1995

In 1995, as the current Shooto

Shooto

welterweight champion, Nakai was selected by the Shooto Commission to represent Shooto in the Vale Tudo

Vale tudo

Vale tudo are full-contact unarmed combat events, with a limited number of rules, that became popular in Brazil during the 20th century. Vale tudo has been considered a combat sport by some observers...

tournament Vale Tudo Japan 1995

Vale Tudo Japan

. His first opponent was Gerard Gordeau

Gerard Gordeau

Gerard Gordeau is a retired Dutch savateur, karateka, and mixed martial artist. He is the 1991 World Champion Savate and holder of the Dutch Champion Kyokushin Karate title for 8 consecutive years, but foremost known internationally for his fight against Teila Tuli in the first televised Ultimate...

, a Dutch

Dutch people

The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...

Savate

Savate , also known as boxe française, French boxing, French kickboxing or French footfighting, is a French martial art which uses the hands and feet as weapons combining elements of western boxing with graceful kicking techniques. Only foot kicks are allowed unlike some systems such as Muay...

fighter. Gordeau illegally eye-gouged Nakai during their fight, causing Nakai to lose vision in his right eye. Despite the eye injury, Nakai proceeded to defeat Gordeau by heel hook in the fourth round. The next fights, on the same night he came out with a bandage on his eye, ready to fight. In his second bout, Nakai defeated American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

wrestler and WCW performer Craig Pittman, who sported a 100-lb weight advantage, by armbar. In the third and final bout, he lost to the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art, combat sport, and a self defense system that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting...

master Rickson Gracie

Rickson Gracie

by 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...

at 6:22 of the first round.

Yuki Nakai became permanently blind

Blindness

Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...

in his right eye due to Gerard Gordeau's illegal tactics. For years he kept his blindness a secret to protect the reputation of mixed martial arts

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...

. The injury forced Nakai to retire from mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts

competition, but impressed with Rickson Gracie

Rickson Gracie

's technique, he took up Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art, combat sport, and a self defense system that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting...

, where he became the first person from Japan to hold a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and is the president of the Japanese Confederation of Jiu-Jitsu.

Mixed martial arts record

|-
|Loss
|align=center|9-2
|

Rickson Gracie

| Submission (rear naked choke)
| Vale Tudo Japan 1995
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|6:22
|Tokyo, Japan
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|9-1
|

Craig Pittman

Craig Pittman is a retired United States Marine and professional wrestler. He served in the Marine Corps until the early 1990s. He then wrestled professionally as Sgt. Craig "Pitbull" Pittman in World Championship Wrestling...

| Submission (armbar)
| Vale Tudo Japan 1995
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|7:32
| Tokyo, Japan
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|8-1
|

Gerard Gordeau

| Submission (heel hook)
| Vale Tudo Japan 1995
|
|align=center|4
|align=center|2:41
| Tokyo, Japan
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|7-1
|

Hiraoki Matsutani
| Submission (heel hook)
| Shooto: Vale Tudo Access 3
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|0:20
| Tokyo, Japan
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|6-1
|

Kazuhiro Kusayanagi
| Decision (unanimous)
| Shooto: Vale Tudo Access 2
|
|align=center|4
|align=center|4:00
| Tokyo, Japan
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|5-1
|

Kyuhei Ueno
| Submission (arm triangle choke)
| Shooto 1994
|
|align=center|5
|align=center|0:52
| Tokyo, Japan
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|4-1
|

Jun Kikawada
| Submission (heel hook)
| Shooto: New Stage Battle of Wrestling
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|0:27
| Tokyo, Japan
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|3-1
|

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|2-1
|

Noboru Asahi

| Decision (unanimous)
| Shooto 1993
|
|align=center|5
|align=center|3:00
| Tokyo, Japan
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|2-0
|

Masakazu Kuramochi
| Submission (heel hook)
| Shooto 1993
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|1:36
| Tokyo, Japan
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|1-0
|

External links

Paraestra (his gym)
Sherdog MMA Profile

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