Setkudo's Head Master is experienced in 10 styles of martial arts and SKD fighters have a record of accomplishment in many genres
Setku-do fighters have compiled an impressive list of accomplishments in many genres. The list includes 193 cm-tall boxer Masaya ,who is training to compete in the Olympics, Shark Hide and Nakajima Naofumi, All Japan Glove Karate semi-finalists, and Kenta Fujimoto who has placed in the Combat Wrestling Top 4 and Amateur RINGS top 8 (shootfighting) with a 4-3 record.

In October 2000's Samurai kickboxing bouts, Jet Hijikata fought Shootboxing champion Tatsuya Maeda. Jet Hijikata is actually the pseudonym of one of Setku-do's fighters. Sometimes fighters even have to use pseudonyms because of the various rules of different organizations. But this willingness to go to such lengths to compete with other groups illustrates Setku-do's basic stance.

Setku-do is based on the strong convictions of the founder and Head Master, Nobuhiro Hirahara. Head Master Hirahara has studied ten styles of martial and combat arts, starting from early childhood. In elementary school he learned Kendo and Goju-Ryu Karate, placing in the All Japan top 5. As a junior high school student he trained in Judo, taking second place in the Yawata Mayor's Cup and fourth place in the Kyoto Yamashiro Tournament, and boxing. After specializing in Shorinji Kempo in high school, he joined Kyokushinkaikan Karate where he became an assistant instructor. He travelled to the US as a member of the Kyokushinkaikan Japan National Team and participated in training camps with famous karate-ka such as Willy Williams and Masaaki Satake.

Head Master Hirahara retired from competition at the age of 24 due to a serious knee injury. He then used his experience to found Setku-do. At present there are 300 students belonging to the dojos in Kyoto and Shiga, and a dojo has also been established in Las Vegas, USA. Setku-do is also affiliated with John Lewis, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu coach and fighter who twice fought Sato Lumina. Former Japan Featherweight Kickboxing Champion Shinya Sakuma is also a Setku-do kickboxing coach.

"We improve each fighter's strengths by choosing what works best for each individual. That way everyone gets stronger in a short period of time. Everyone's style is different, even when you're talking about one type of punch,. We don't walk people through the basics step by step because it takes too long and the end result is that everyone ends up doing things exactly the same way. If the opponent can't anticipate your moves, he can't avoid them either. The Namba brothers are a good example. Their kicks come from angles their opponents aren't expecting, so they score a lot of KOs.

70% of fighting is psychological. We can adapt to any set of rules.
Head Master Hirahara's approach is to work newcomers hard. You won't find such a philosophy at a regular mixed martial arts gym because members will quit if training is too tough. But Head Master Hirahara says, "Only the students who really have what it takes stay on. The ones who can't handle it quit." Training methods are severe because the emphasis of Setkudo's training is the pursuit of strength, not the economic bottom line. However, there is also an emphasis on mental training which cultivates the inner toughness needed to withstand harsh physical training. "In group lessons students are instructed in silent meditative mental training and I give motivational talks to prepare fighters for competition. I believe that 70% of competition is psychological."

Although the spirit of Budo is at the center of Setku-do's basic philosophy, this group is by no means conservative. " There are people who would rush to copy Rickson Gracie's training methods if he made them public. But I don't think that would work because it would be copying something that is already being done. You have to attack the opponent from a totally unexpected angle with techniques he doesn't know. The punch Asano used to knock down the Japan Kickboxing champ was a punch adapted from a Karate technique called "Sakotsu-uchi". Asano was able to take down the champion because he used a technique his opponent had never seen before."

Setku-do has many Brazilian members and is now developing new striking techniques based on the Brazilian martial art known as Capoeira.

Head Master Hirahara says "Setku-do isn't looking to produce its own events now. First we want to build a record of accomplishment in competitions with other groups." With the chaotic state of mixed martial arts today, you could say that Setku-do, which can compete under any set of rules, is taking the ideal stance for a mixed martial arts organization in pursuit of Ultimate Strength.

　　　　Article by Ryo Kataoka Published in Kakuto Densetsu Issue No. 3, March 27, 2001