Featured affiliated academy: Mitane Budō Kai, BJJ Japan
Mitane Budō Kai, BJJ Japan
Where is the gym located?
Mitane, Akita, Japan
How many people train there?
13 regulars. Classes range from 1-10 people on any given day.
Is the gym growing – if so by how many new members each month or year?
Currently, no. COVID-19 protocols restrict us from accepting new members. However, we have a lot of local interest and get an average of 2 inquiries a week.
What are the highest and lowest belt grades training?
Brown, purple, blue, and white.
We currently do not have a Black Belt instructor. We hope to remedy that in 2022.
When did the gym open?
July 2020
Some facts about you:
Name: Michael Brevig
Age: 39
Belt: Purple 1 stripe
Profession: Software engineer
Years in BJJ: 8 years, 4 months (https://www.beltchecker.com/u/mitanebudo)
Other martial arts: Judo
Currently living in: Akita, Japan
Originally from: Minneapolis, MN USA
Mitane Budō Kai, BJJ Japan
Please tell us the story of how your gym came into existence
Oh man, where do I start… I suppose you could say it started back in 2019. I was walking around Chiang Mai, Thailand when I bumped into a Jiujiterio I trained with at Pure Grappling (puregrappling.org). He asked if I wanted to grab a drink. Well, one became many and the rest of the night is a bit of a blur.
I woke up the next morning sitting upright on my couch, shoes on, and my phone in my hand. I unlocked my phone, hoping for clues as to what happened the night before, to find the website for TaneHub (tanehub.asia), and no Tinder replies. I’m not sure why I was looking at the site, but what I found was a co-working space in rural Japan. They were running an experiment to see if digital nomads would want to live in reclaimed abandoned homes.
I was intrigued.
I contacted the owner via Facebook, booked a flight, and arrived in Japan a week later. I fell in love instantly. The rice fields, clean air, nihonshu (sake), cheap eats, friendly farmers, and hundreds of years worth of history at your fingertips. I was amazed by how at home I felt.
I left Japan three months later.
Fast forward to March 2020 – I was traveling around Portugal when various countries started shutting down due to COVID-19. I saw the writing on the wall, weighed my options, then decided to get “stuck” in Japan.
Three months went by. I was isolated, getting fat, and missed training regularly. So, I bought some mats, used gis from a friend in Malaysia, and invited a few locals to train with me. They loved it! They told their friends and we grew unexpectedly. Since then, we’ve had local judoka cross-train, a sumo instructor drop in a couple of times, and several people come from across the prefecture to take part in our Super Saturday class.
This past August, I teamed up with TaneHub and Start-up Akita to develop a plan to revitalize Mitane’s local economy with martial arts tourism and digital nomad cohabitation. Things are moving slowly but surely. We’re close to acquiring a new (to us) building for our dojo, our first shared house ready to go, etc.
Tell us about the people that train in the gym – who are they?
They’re probably the most diverse club in all of Akita. Our members are teachers, engineers, business owners, a model, etc. And from all over the globe.
Our gym is inclusive.
Why do they train in Mitane Budō Kai, BJJ Japan?
The new guys do it for stress relief, to get in shape, for the community, etc. The rest of us are just obsessed.
What are some of the challenges of running a BJJ gym in general and in your location specifically?
I’m always fixing or cleaning something haha. Besides that, collecting payments, adjusting lesson plans on the fly, answering questions, and taking a beating from new students day-in-and-day-out.
Not being Japanese has created its own set of challenges. Everything from getting my business visa to finding out who owns xyz property. The customs, rules, regulations are so vastly different than the US. This process has deepened my respect for immigrants everywhere. Every day is fucking challenge, but I’m grateful for it.
How do you see the future for BJJ in your area?
We have big plans to expand our little club into a village for martial artists, digital nomads, and travelers. Check out our site for more information :p
What’s the best thing about your gym?
We’re a chill academy. Lots of drilling, discussion, and trial and error during each class
What would you recommend Globetrotters to see in your area apart from the inside of your gym?
In this order:
1) Onsen – natural and man-made hot springs are sprinkled all over Japan. We have four within a 5-minute drive from the dojo. Tattoos okay!
2) Hiking/Camping – There’s a crazy amount of hiking and free camping in our area.
3) Food – We’re near a fishing port, a horse butcher, etc.
4) Beach – We have a great beach (camping allowed) about 8km from us.
5) Festivals – Japan is known for its crazy street festivals. There’s one or two a month in this area during the warmer months.
6) Nihonshu – Sake! Akita rice is the best in Japan. Brewery tours abound!
7) Moritake Kabuki – Moritake Kabuki has been performed for over 200 years, and is a local production put on by community members.
For more, check out: https://visitshirakami.com/blessings/
—–
