J-Arena

Female boxers endured long years of fighting for their right to enter the ring before women's boxing was finally sanctioned in the 1990's, with Olympic status following in 2012. Japan has earned a reputation for raising some exceptional fighters. 21-year-old flyweight Tsukimi Namiki has already proven her speedy footwork and stunning close quarters punch combinations can deliver. We look at her eventful career so far and find out how she's planning to topple her rivals on the world stage.

Today Japan is a major force in freestyle wrestling. 1976 Olympic gold medalist and four-time world champion Yuji Takada is one of the country's most celebrated wrestling heroes. A true innovator of the sport, Takada's Sotomuso technique propelled the 52kg wrestler to the top of his class. As a coach, he is now passing down his skills and passion for the sport to 65kg prodigy Takuto Otoguro, a rising star of the Japanese team, as a new generation carries forward Japan's storied wrestling legacy.

Japan today is a swimming powerhouse, regularly winning medals in international competition. Through much of the late 20th century, however, the country's swimming stars failed to truly shine on the world stage. As head coach, Koji Ueno helped revive Japan's fortunes through an emphasis on team spirit, while developing a healthy balance of rivalry and camaraderie within the squad. We investigate how Ueno has boosted Japan's performance while easing the pressure burden on individual athletes.

In para powerlifting, athletes with lower body impairment compete in the bench press. At Rio 2016, Siamand Rahman of Iran lifted 310kg, far exceeding weights attempted in Olympic weightlifting. Powerlifting is a test of stability and form as well as strength, and poor technique can mean disqualification. The extreme mental and physical pressure of the event demands nerves of steel. We feature women's 55kg class Japan record holder Eri Yamamoto, who remarkably only took up the sport in her 30's.

Sitting volleyball is one of the most popular team-based para sports, played by some 10,000 people in over 75 countries worldwide. The Japan women's team are finally starting to make an impression on the world stage, following a string of disappointing results over the years. Recruiting a new athletic trainer with pioneering methods has given them the foundation to step up to the next level. We see if their efforts can stand the test in actual competition against some of the world's top nations.

Heir to Japan's ancient art of swordsmanship, the martial art of kendo is viewed by many as more than just a sport. While bouts are scored by points or ippon, very specific conditions must be met for a strike to count. Every element of mind and body should be seen to move as one. Practitioners give years of hard practice to hone their skills and develop the perfect ippon. We follow one Kendoka through a remarkable endurance training method, that involves fighting 100 bouts in quick succession.

The throw known as Uchimata is a firm favorite among judo fans. Spectacular to watch and devastatingly effective, Uchimata has played a decisive role in many historic bouts. We explore the technique in depth, breaking down not only the fundamentals but also a range of variations, as well as explaining how a skilled judoka can counter an Uchimata attack. As we delve into the essence of this iconic technique, we analyze some of the most famous instances of its application in top-level competition.

53-year-old footballer Miura Kazuyoshi was a superstar of the J.League's inaugural 1993 season and he incredibly still plays professionally to this day, holding the world record for the oldest goalscorer in a competitive league game. Back in the 90's, already a national icon, "Kazu" became the first Asian player in Italy's Serie A. 2020 sees him back in Japan's top J1 division for the first time in 13 years. We look back on Kazu's colorful career and explore his lasting influence on the J.League.

The martial art of Jodo is a comprehensive system of techniques that employs a simple stick of tough Japanese white oak with devastating efficiency. Jodo is designed to neutralize attacks from swords or other weapons, forcing the aggressor to surrender. It's an art rooted in 4 centuries of history that continues to enjoy a large following in Japan and worldwide. We meet a Jodoka from Canada who has dedicated himself to the "way of the stick" and follow him on a journey to discover Jodo's roots.

From the adrenaline-pumped intensity of BMX racing to the mind-boggling skills and free expression of BMX flatland, we explore 2 very different disciplines in the world of extreme cycling sports. BMX racers reach speeds approaching 60km/h as they hurtle down the start ramp and jostle for position. We see how Japan's racers are working to close the gap on their international rivals, while Japanese flatlanders push the limits of technical wizardry as they make their bikes dance, twist and spin.

Showcasing Kyudo (archery), Kobujutsu (classical martial arts) and Kenjutsu (swordcraft), we explore the interconnected elements of mind, body and technique in Japanese martial arts. With sporting events and regular training suspended across the world due to the coronavirus pandemic, martial artists too have had to find novel ways to train and stay connected. We find out how they've been doing it and hear what lessons we can learn from the martial arts to help us in these challenging times.

Confined at home during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, many have found Japan's long tradition of radio calisthenics to be a great way to stay in shape. Radio calisthenics first arrived in Japan in 1928, when the average Japanese life expectancy was still less than 50. Performed in homes, schools and workplaces, the movements take just 3 minutes to complete, yet their scope is remarkably wide. We examine the history, popularity and health benefits of this familiar early morning routine.

Breaking, the highly athletic dance form born on the streets of New York, continues to see its signature skills and creativity taken to ever new extremes by the talented B-Girls and B-Boys at its core. While breaking's culture and roots elude confining it to "sport" alone, slated inclusion in the 2024 Paris Olympics is a testament to its deep universal appeal. We meet Japanese B-Boy prodigy Issei, who has taken the breaking world by storm with his style, musicality and boundary-pushing technique, and see him battle one of his biggest international rivals.

In footbag, acrobatic routines are performed with a small beanbag, kept in the air using mainly just the feet. With its roots in traditional kicking-based games found across the globe, footbag shot to popularity in the 1970's under the "Hacky Sack" brand name, and today has branched into a variety of both solo disciplines and games for multiple players. We meet 2018 overall freestyle champion Ishida Taishi as he enters the 2020 World Footbag Championships, being held online for the first time.

In the sport of diving, competitors show off stunning, mid-air acrobatics as they leap into a pool, typically from either a 10-meter-high platform or 3-meter-high springboard. 5-time Olympian Terauchi Ken has been a trailblazer for Japanese divers. With a remarkable 2 decades of springboard competition behind him, the 40-year-old veteran of the sport still has his sights set on the podium. We find out how he's continuing to hone his take-off technique.

Tai Chi (Taijiquan) is the most widely practiced Chinese martial art in Japan. Known for its slow, graceful movements, Tai Chi grew in popularity as a form of health exercise following the watershed normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan in 1972. Today medical researchers continue to explore the unique martial art's numerous benefits. Former Japan national wushu champion Ichikizaki Daisuke explains how Tai Chi can boost health and facilitate relaxation in the truest sense.

First taking amateur boxing by storm and now WBA world title holder, Japanese middleweight Murata Ryota has been hailed a true sporting hero. His journey from wayward teenager to the top of the boxing world has been a dramatic story of twists and turns. Far removed from the boxer stereotype, Murata is an avid reader of philosophy and psychology, and time and again has displayed incredible mental strength, always finding a way to come back whenever his back appears to be against the wall. He reflects on his colorful career so far and reveals what made him a "thinking man's boxer."

In the world of para sport, participation, training and competition have been severely affected at every level due to restrictions amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In a bid to stem the damaging impact, innovative efforts to develop para sports and improve understanding of people living with disabilities have continued full pace. We test-drive a futuristic VR racing wheelchair that melds the physicality of real-world racing with multiplayer online functionality, explore robotic exoskeletons, and find out how para athletes are using technology to stay connected with their fans.

We explore speed climbing, a unique competitive discipline that sees 2 climbers race to the top of a standardized 15m wall. Japan's climbers have traditionally been strong in bouldering and lead climbing, however, the advent of combined events that include speed climbing has prompted a concentrated effort to slash times. We check in to see what progress is being made and also meet speed climbing specialist Ikeda Yudai, who helps us analyze the innovative technique of world champion sport climber Narasaki Tomoa.

Breaststroke is a popular and easy to learn recreational swimming style, but when it comes to top-level competition it's actually considered one of the most technically challenging of all. The effects of water resistance are particularly pronounced for breaststroke, meaning small adjustments can make a big difference. Down the decades Japanese swimmers have time and again set new standards for technique in the stroke. We meet Watanabe Ippei, the first man ever to record a sub-2m07s time in the 200m event, and assess his prospects for beating his formidable rivals on the world stage.

Team pursuit is a nail-biting battle on ice, where 2 teams of speed skaters chase each other for several laps round a 400m track. In February, the Japan women's team set a new world record for an incredible fourth time in a row. The team's recent game-changing success is down to painstaking efforts to reduce wind resistance. Through innovative technique and meticulously coordinated movements at speeds topping 50km/h, we explore team Japan's journey from underdogs to pioneers revolutionizing the sport.

Since its earliest iterations in the 1960's, wakeboarding has evolved into one of the fastest-growing water sports in the world. Using the wake created by a boat as a ramp, riders perform mind-boggling aerial tricks, twisting and turning with extreme creativity and style. 16-year-old Takamura Taiga is the current Japan Men's Champion, but is yet to make a serious breakthrough onto the world stage. Coached by his father on a lake at the foot of Mt. Fuji, we follow Taiga as he tries to land a highly advanced trick and see if he has what it takes to compete against the world's best.

At the 1972 Munich Games, Japanese gymnast Tsukahara Mitsuo stunned the world with his revolutionary horizontal bar dismount. The "Tsukahara" would have a lasting impact on gymnastics, influencing countless techniques including the "Kolman" and the "Cassina." In the 21st century, Japanese gymnasts such as Tomita Hiroyuki, Uchimura Kohei and most recently Miyachi Hidetaka, have taken the Tsukahara's key elements into fresh territory, pushing the boundaries of human potential in gymnastics on the way. We explore the rich legacy of this iconic move.

Core training has become a buzzword in the fitness industry in recent years, with well-known sports personalities like Japanese footballer Nagatomo Yuto extolling its benefits. We find out how balanced conditioning of the low back and abdomen not only boosts performance for elite athletes, but also provides the stability to avoid many common sports injuries and health issues. We meet a core training expert who has helped many of Japan's top athletes, and explore some of the similarities between core training methods and traditional Japanese martial arts principles.