Hiroba Minowa opens his own MMA gym to give opportunity to kids who want to follow in his footsteps

Hiroba Minowa is only 23 years old, but what he has achieved so far in his career at such a young age is absolutely remarkable.

Now, the young Japanese stalwart wants to give the youth in his country the opportunities he never had growing up. With that quest in mind, he has opened his own MMA gym to provide kids a safe environment to hone their skills and follow their dreams in the sport.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Hiroba Minowa said:

“I think more and more kids are going to start MMA first. If a child wants to play soccer, he doesn't start with track and field, but he starts with soccer. Kids who want to play baseball will start playing baseball from a young age. That was never the case in MMA. I experienced it when I was little. Now that I became a pro, I want to leave something behind for the next generation. That's what I want to do with the establishment of this gym.”

STF Gym in Kawagoe, Saitama, was established just last November, but it’s already building a strong and steady community of young MMA hopefuls. Hiroba Minowa hopes that with his efforts, he can help introduce the next generation of Japanese MMA stars to the world.

“I think there will be more teenage champions in the future. Mixed martial arts is a very special sport. The fact that I’m here now is not an amazing thing, but a trend of the times. If you only look at Shooto, there are fighters younger than me. That kind of time has come.”

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Hiroba Minowa to lead by example in his next fight

If inspiring the youth is Hiroba Minowa’s goal, he won't have to wait long for his next opportunity to do so.

The 23-year-old No.4-ranked strawweight contender is scheduled to face No.3-ranked Jarred Brooks at ONE: Only the Brave. The bout has serious world title implications. The winner could go on to face ONE strawweight world champion Joshua Pacio in the very near future.

Hiroba hopes his performance, and his victory, will be enough to inspire the young Japanese fighters who look to follow in his footsteps.

“If you look at martial arts as a general sport, I think the age of the fighters is older. In the past, MMA fighters came to the sport after having done wrestling or boxing or [some other martial art]. Now, there are more and more fighters who want to do MMA from the start. It’s a heavy burden to say that I’m leading the way, but I feel that I’m the leader of the young fighters.”