Issue 016
August 2006
By Hywel Teague
Roxanne Modafferi is an American fighter who has appeared on the Japanese MMA promotions SmackGirl, GCM Cross Section and G-Shooto. A veteran of US promotions such as IFC and Hook’n’Shoot, she has a record of 7-3-0. A former linguistics student, she now resides in Kanagawa in Japan.
What made you move to Japan?
I always wanted to speak another language, and I became interested in Japanese things in high school, so why not make my ‘other language’ Japanese? I fell in love with the language, the culture, and the media (such as anime, comics, and video games). I must stress again that I love the language- I could study for hours and not get tired.
After I graduated college, my Japanese was advanced for a student, but at an upper intermediate level if I wanted to go out into the real world. I knew I needed to get better, and the only way to do that and also not lose any of the language was to live in Japan.
What about the training? How did you go about finding somewhere to train? Did you try to find somewhere before you arrived or did you simply look around once you got there?
Training is, of course, a huge deal for me. Although I’d done tons of research before going over, I was still unsure where I should train. I knew that once I associated myself with a dojo, I wouldn’t want to change, as politically that would be a bad move. I asked people on the internet who’d lived in Japan, plus people at my old dojo from my exchange student year. I was broke when I first moved to Japan because of visa difficulties that wouldn’t allow me to start working immediately, so my entrance to a gym was delayed. I started training in one place, but then a friend I met on the famous internet message board mma.tv introduced me to Wajitsu Keishukai. I fell in love with the gym and the people, and decided to commute an hour and a half there four days a week, rather than go to the closer place 20 minutes from my house. It took me a month to find Keishukai and I never once regretted joining them.
What is it like training in Japan compared to training in the US? What are the main differences that stand out, good and bad?
The people who train, train hard. If they’re training to be pros, or if they’re training for fun, they give all their effort during sparring. I just love looking out onto the mass of bodies and see everyone working as hard as they can. People at Keishukai train long hours. There are people in class from 7 PM to 10:30 PM.
Does the Japanese MMA/sub grappling/BJJ game differ much in your experience from that of the US?
It doesn’t differ too much except in style. The guys at Keishukai love taking side mount and then immediately going for the kimura arm lock, so that seems like that’s all I’m defending nowadays. There are so many skilled people there.
Were there many women for you to train with in Japan? Many female fighters I know complain of not having enough suitable training partners.
Here in Japan, we have our beginners, but also pro fighters like Mizuho Sato, Naoko Omuro, Akiko Naito, Takayo Hashi and Kanako Takeshita to name a few of my regular training partners. They continue to surprise me. I outweigh Takeshita by maybe ten or fifteen pounds, but she’s stronger than me. Hashi knocks my block off, so I spar stand up with her on a regular basis.
Six of your 10 fights have been in Japan, your first few fights while you were studying there. How did you go about arranging these fights with no prior ring experience in the US?
When I joined Cross Point Kichijouji during my college exchange year, the sensei Satoshi Kotani vouched for me and called SmackGirl on my behalf. I got my first three fights through Kotani Sensei, who had confidence in me through watching me train, and hearing about my experience having won and participated in
many grappling and BJJ tournaments
back home.
Tell me about the difference in fighting in Japan and fighting in the US.
People in Japan are much more accepting of fighting, and there are fans among most common people. Businessmen, teenagers, housewives, old ladies- every type of person can be a fan. This encourages me to be myself and helps me fit in. Accordingly, fans are much more educated.
Do you feel your MMA career lies in Japan or will you continue to fight in the US?
I think my MMA career lies all over the world. I’d like to fight in Brazil, Canada, Australia, Europe, and especially the States. I love my country, and want to promote women’s MMA in the States especially. I still love the UFC. Fighting in Japan is great, of course, and easier since I work full time and I can’t just leave whenever I want to.
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