👋 Hi! Tell us about yourself and your training
My name is Yasubey Enomoto, 36 years old and from Zurich, Switzerland. I’m a professional MMA Fighter who have competed all over the world for the last 18 years.
I started with Kung Fu as a teenager but after two years of doing it, I had a knee surgery and the doctors told me that I would not be able to do heavy sports anymore.
After the rehab was finished I saw a flyer in a fitness shop for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I brought the flyer home, showed it to my older brother and told him to try it.
On the next day he was already signed in. One thing came to the other and after a while, I was joining as well. I started first with BJJ competitions and some months later my coach at the time asked me “hey you wanna do an amateur MMA fight?”.
I agreed and won even though I never wanted to fight again. After the fight I collapsed in the lockerroom and went in the shower to cool down. I was so tired that I lay on the floor and almost drowned because I could barely lift my head from the floor so the water kept getting in my mouth and nose.
I thought if this is the feeling you have when you win, how is it gonna be when you lose 😀 I gave it a couple more tries. Always same result: Winning, collapsing.
I took cardio training not so serious as you can see. Somehow I sticked to it and became a professional fighter by accident. In the first place, I never taught this could actually become my job.
I have won several world championships in MMA (M-1 Global Welter Weight Champion) and in Muay Thai (Swiss Thaiboxing amateur champion, IKBO Thaiboxing World Champion) plus several titles in Grappling & Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Europe.
⏱ Describe a typical day of training
I can get a call today and need to be ready to compete ASAP.
My usually training routine is 2-3 times a day 7 days a week. I split my trainings in to Striking, BJJ (Brazilian jiu jitsu) & Wrestling or Physical training like cardio, weight training and strength & conditioning exercises.
At the moment I am a freelancer and not under an exclusive contract with an organisation, so I have to make sure I’m close to fight shape all year. I can get a call today and need to be ready to compete ASAP.
I am not in to supplements as I like to get my energy directly out of food. I’m also a passionate cook and always like to make new creations that helps keeping my energy level high.
As for my favorite exercise, I like to do flow pad drilling because it’s very tasking for your brain to react right and fast to all the comands while punching in a high rhythm.
I do a lot of cardio training as it is essentially for fighting. I do different hillsprints variations to boost my cardio on a next level.
I like to train with company to stay motivated, plus being alone makes it impossible to get to the next level in my job field.
First thing in my training bag is my phone and headphones because I can not train without music. Of course I also pack my water bottle, gloves, gumshield and then I am ready to go.
👊 How do you keep going and push harder?
Thats pretty easy for me especially in preparation for a fight.
I always have this in mind when I really don’t wanna get up to train: At the other end of the world my opponent is training crazy hard for his only task is to hurt and finish me in 1 month.
Losing and getting hurt is not a option for me, so I am pretty fast back in training mood and focused on my task.
I am very competitive and wanna see if I can do more than in previous camps. Always push my body to new limits and create new crazy exercises or make the old ones more difficult by adding bands, weights, etc.
I call it getting in “Samurai mode”.
🏆 How are you doing today and what does the future look like?
At the moment I try to learn new technices and stay in shape. I am also very interested in psychology and study people and their behaviours.
I also gave myself a challenge right now to cook raw vegan food with taste. For me, most of it taste the same. It’s not so easy as the ingredients are always similar with this kind of food.
In the future, I will probably compete for 3 more years and figure out what I’m gonna do after the ride is over. Probably something with animals as I love to spend time in the nature with them.
If I could start again, I would try to train under more guidance than I did 20 years ago. I did a lot of mistakes first because rarely anybody was a expert in MMA at that time.
🤕 How do you recover, rest and handle injuries?
I am not a role model with injuries as I never rest. I always try to work around the injury so it won’t become worse, but that i still use the rest of my body.
I also do all sorts of recovery exercises like ice baths, hot baths, streching and yoga.
Sleep is very important but usually I don’t do it enough. I would like to get my eight hours but usually I don’t get them.
🍎 How is your diet and what supplements do you use?
In general, I rarely use supplements. I only started to use some supplements like sulfur cordyceps and a couple others for my organs like my stomach and lungs.
Supplements are also only in a test phase to see if has some good effects.
I always have problems with my stomach when I have stress and also with many diffrent food. My stomach is very sensitive.
Especially in fight week when I cut a lot of weight and the stress/adrenalin is pumping, it can have a big effect on my stomach.
That’s why I read into it and test this type of supplements.
Cooking and eating are my passions so I get my carbs, proteins and vitamines by cooking. I don’t like tablets and shakes.
Everyday I eat a little bit different. It depends a lot on if I cook by myself or if I go out.
I like smoothie bowls and omelets for breakfast. It’s the only meal which is usually the same. I love Italian food especially pizza. I could eat it everyday.
I drink gingertea with honey. No alcohol as it does not support my job, and no coffee as I never got into it somehow.
👍 What has inspired and motivated you?
My mother inspired me by the way she raised 3 kids by her own while working 100%. She took all her free time to be there for us and always tried to make our lifes as perfect as she could.
In sports my brother with his crazy training work ethic. When he started something you had to force him to stop, he would not have stopped by himself.
I was the total opposite in the past. I always stopped when it was getting hard. I was jealous about this skill he had, so I forced myself to do it the way he did and I sort of managed. Not the same as him but as close as I could.
When training, I love listening to funk soul, rap, reggae, reggaeton and this year a lot of african beats.
Best advice I’ve received: Never stop trying. You never achieve greatness if you stop trying.
✏️ Advice for other people who want to improve themselves?
I always try to go over my physical limits.
The only way to improve is work on your brain. Your brain is a very strong muscle. Train your brain and your body will follow everywhere.
I always try to go over my physical limits. At some point your body shuts down, but with a strong mind you can go further and further.
You only have to beat the mental blocks in your brain. After they have been broken, the sky is the limit.
🤝 Are you taking on clients right now?
When I am not in a hard training camp, I am of course taking clients.
During camps, I look for when it’s not too tasking to take clients vs. my training. When it’s too tasking I’m not really taking clients as my body and mind are focused on a fight.
I am expensive so my clients need 100% of my attention for that prize.
“Why can I not do this?” is the common question from clients and my answer: “Because you are not focused, your head is somewhere else.”
📝 Where can we learn more about you?
You can type my name in on YouTube if you wanna see some of my fights.
You can find me on instagram @yasubey_enomoto or via email [email protected]
0 thoughts on “How I Train to Win World Championships in MMA and Muay Thai”
I trained with/under Yasu many years ago. I was allways very impressed about his fighter mentality and attituted. Besides the skills he would teach us on the mat, the mindeset he would transmit during training was one of the great assets and I never found another dojo/trainer that could do that. Still today I find it very inspiring to see his fights.
He is for sure a great warrior and I am happy to have found this honest interview.