Ken Yasuda

Infobox Person
name = Ken Yasuda
birth_date = birth date and age|year=1971|month=5|day=2
birth_place = Kyoto, Japan
website = http://www.kenyasuda.com

Ken Yasuda (also known as Japan's Arnold Schwarzenegger) (born May 2 1971 in Kyoto, Japan) is a Japanese professional bodybuilder. He was formerly a mixed martial arts coach for the Tokyo Sabres of the International Fight League.

Biography

Yasuda was born in the Japanese city of Kyoto to a family that boasts 46 generations of samurai warriors. [cite web
url=http://ifl.tv/Team-Sabres-Ken-Yasuda.html
title="Ken Yasuda Bio"
date=2007-01-01
accessdate=2007-03-13
publisher=www.ifl.tv] Fact|date=December 2007 As a child Yasuda dreamed of becoming a pro baseball player, and was drafted as a pitcher by a major league team after high school.
Yasuda chose instead to play baseball at the University of Southern CaliforniaFact|date=December 2007, where he developed a love of weight lifting and physical conditioning from fellow USC alum Mark McGwire.
An injury to his pitching arm eventually forced Yasuda to abandon his dreams of pitching in the major leagues. Yasuda then picked up the pieces and became one of the world's top bodybuilders.

Baseball

Because he grew up in Japan, Yasuda was an avid baseball player. Despite being drafted by a major league teamFact|date=December 2007, he chose to earn a college degree at the University of Southern California and play baseball there Fact|date=December 2007. Always considered to be too short to pitch in the U.S., Yasuda began to weight train to increase his strength. It was during this time that Yasuda met baseball great Mark McGwire and began training with him. While at USC, Yasuda got a ligament injury to his pitching arm and could no longer play.

Bodybuilding

After his arm injury, Yasuda focused full time on his new passion, bodybuilding. He soon became the first Japanese man to become a Musclemania Professional Bodybuilder. He has been a finalist in top bodybuilding competitions like Excalibur and Superbody World Championships. While competing he has beaten the current Mr. Universe, Mr. USA, and Mr. France.
Yasuda is known for his uncommonly proportional and symmetrical look. [cite web
url=http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/kenyasuda.htm
title="Ken Yasuda, Pro Bodybuilder & MMA Coach - Background & MMA Workout"
date=2007-02-06
accessdate=2007-03-13
publisher=www.bodybuilding.com]

Acting

Yasuda has also appeared in several U.S. and Japanese films, including "Cupid's Mistake" (2001) and "Just Another Romantic Wrestling Comedy" (2006).

MMA

Yasuda is currently the coach of the International Fight Leagues Tokyo Sabres. He focuses on strength and conditioning training to help prevent injuries and maximize physical performance. In addition to the Tokyo Sabres, he is training MMA legends Don Frye and Kazuyuki Fujita.

References

External links

* [http://ifl.tv/Team-Sabres-Ken-Yasuda.html Ken Yasuda] IFL Page
* [http://ifl.tv/Team-Sabres.html Tokyo Sabres] IFL Team Page
* [http://www.ifl.tv/ International Fight League]
* [http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/kenyasuda.htm Bodybuilding.com Ken Yasuda Page]
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0946637/ Ken Yasuda in the Internet Movie Database]