WATCH: Japanese kickboxing icon Takeru Segawa unleashes pure raw power in blinding pad session in California

The drive to be great entails getting outside one's comfort zone, especially for world-class combat sports athletes. ONE Championship kickboxing megastar Takeru Segawa is doing just that.

'The Natural Born Crusher' made his long-awaited promotional debut at ONE 165 this past January where he challenged Superlek Kiatmoo9 for the ONE flyweight kickboxing world championship.

While he fell to 'The Kicking Machine' via unanimous decision, his never-give-up mentality immediately made him a fan favorite, and he is now putting time in the lab to live up to their expectations.

In a video posted by ONE Championship on Instagram, the Japanese star showcased what he has been working on with the help of Boxing Works - the home gym of ONE Muay Thai star Jackie Buntan and the now-retired Janet Todd.

Despite falling to Superlek in his ONE Championship debut, Takeru is still a very formidable opponent with 25 knockouts out of his 43 career wins and is widely considered by the fans as one of the best of his generation.

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Takeru addresses fans' concerns about his leg

In the aftermath of his super fight with Superlek, the No. 2-ranked flyweight kickboxing fighter revealed that his left knee was broken in two places, which had fans concerned about when they might see him back in the circle.

Takeru, who has been with Boxing Works for much of June, allayed such concerns via an Instagram post.

The Team Vasileus product wrote in the caption:

"My left leg has recovered considerably, kick in to regain lost muscle strength 🔥"

While it appears that he will not be fighting any time soon, seeing Takeru work his way back into form is a great sign of his recovery and eagerness to return to the circle as fast as possible.