‘Inheriting The Warrior Spirit’ – The Ancient Rituals And Sacred Beliefs Driving Yuya Wakamatsu’s MMA Career

Yuya "Little Piranha" Wakamatsu, the former ONE Flyweight MMA World Champion, emphasizes that mixed martial arts transcends the binary world of wins and losses. To him, combat is an act of divine communion where victory belongs to the warrior whose soul is dedicated to battle. Ahead of his flyweight MMA co-main event at ONE SAMURAI 3, Wakamatsu shared the spiritual foundation that fuels his career.

In the critical hours leading up to fights, Wakamatsu partakes in a pilgrimage to Naritasan Shinshoji Temple, a historic 10th-century sanctuary. He performs the Goma fire ritual, where wooden prayer tablets are consumed in blazing flames in front of Fudo Myoo, a deity believed to carry burning devotions to the heavens. Wakamatsu believes in the unseen world and the power of ancient warriors and samurai, which he considers essential to modern MMA.

The ritual extends to Tokyo's Chiyoda ward, where Wakamatsu visits historic shrines to mark the transition from physical preparation to spiritual surrender. He believes that this boundary between labor and trust allows him to draw a line in the sand, asking for strength for the final battle.

Outside the sanctuary walls, Wakamatsu adheres to Shugendo, an ancient ascetic tradition forged by Yamabushi mountain warriors. He combines punishing alpine runs with Takigyo, a practice of freezing waterfall meditation. By incorporating the sacred fire and the crushing cold, he purifies himself before training begins, valuing these rituals for their ability to ward off bad luck and remove impurities.