Introduction of Ken Yasuda

Ken Yasuda is a true samurai warrior of the 21st century.  His strong mentality has led him to become an international leader by overcoming the cultural and language barriers.  As an actor and celebrity athlete, he is well-recognized in the industries of bodybuilding, pro-wrestling and mixed martial arts (MMA). Gaining popularity as The Samurai Warrior on American Muscle on ESPN2 worldwide helped him reach where most pro bodybuilders have never reached, with the exception of a few like the legendary Arnold Schwarzenegger. Ken grew out of pro bodybuilding and excelled in numerous TV shows and films such as IFL’s Battleground on Mynetwork TV, Just Another Romantic Pro-Wrestling Comedy etc. In the IFL (a MMA fight league), he was definitely a popular headcoach on Mynetwork TV, who led The Sabres to go undefeated in the season of 2007. In the same year, a DVD of the wrestling film, in which he co-starred in, was released.    

Ken is one of the rare kind of bodybuilding champions. He is Mr. Japan Champion and the largest pro-bodybuilder ever in Asia. He is a consistent world top 10 finisher in natural pro-bodybuilding known as the most symmetrical man. His multi-talent and success in sports, business and arts led him to release 11 workout videos and 1 biography book. His hit “talk show” series in Ironman Magazine Japan was amazingly successful for 4 years, and currently he is a regular columnist for Ultimate Grappling Magazine and Masters Magazine in the US. He has also held over 60 seminars around the world and his popular goods have been sold in the market in Japan. As his legendary status grew in the sport, two documentaries (The Samurai Standing, Gate of Pro-Wrestling Ken Yasuda) were made about Ken, and began to appear on TV shows internationally. His recent appearances on TV were on the IFL’s Battlegound on MynetworkTV, Best Damn Sports Show, NBC Morning News in PA, NBC Sports News in WA, etc.

Another incredibly outstanding talent is that Ken has a natural sense and knowledge of training people from kids, to grandpas to professional athletes for multi-purposes. This skill, knowledge and the special sense are not taught neither in classes or text books. To Ken, college degrees mean nothing without a high level of experience with his own physique. His training/coaching style is unique, and he believes “Results matter.” He has also established his credibility and status as a professional trainer by training pro athletes, actresses, models, figure contestants, kids, men and women.

More than any of the above mentioned, what is special about Ken Yasuda is his warrior personality. He always knows who he is and where he came from. Although things change around him, Ken always remains a humble and genuine person. His inherited philosophy of the samurai lord strongly influences who he is. 

He was born in the ancient Japanese city, Kyoto. As a son of a samurai family whose history goes back 46 generations, Ken was destined to inherit the mentality of samurai, Bushido. This young samurai has excelled in martial arts by receiving the first black belt at the age of 12 and the 2nd at the age of 14. In addition, his natural talent in swimming led him to mark the qualifying record for the Junior Olympics. In high school, he stood out not only as an All State Baseball Player and All State Swimmer, but also an honor roll student. His excellent achievements got him in a few Ivy league universities, but he chose USC which provided all he wanted to learn : Entrepreneurship in the business school, baseball, physiology and theatre. It has been his belief that balancing business, arts and sports is a completion of a balanced humanbeing. Although his injured elbow made him retire from baseball, he kept his strength in the academics by scoring the highest A’s in the statistics classes in the Marshal School of Business at USC. He told himself “his arm was gone, so till that heals, it is time to train my head.”

After graduating from USC, he went on to began his own art and real estate investment in order to support his early bodybuilding career. Bodybuilding even professional was never easy. Among the most pros who cannot eat from the sport, Ken created his own ways to have a real professional athlete’s life style. After winning the Mr. Japan title, he became the first Musclemania Professional Bodybuilder, who consistently placed top 10 in the world since year 2000. His appearances in TVs, films and events have increased since then. In 2007, he was offered to organize and lead a team, the Tokyo Sabres of the IFL (International Fight League).

Ken has many more goals in his life. One important point through everything he does in his life is to aim to become a person who can positively influence people, society, and different cultures or ethnic background through the sport of bodybuilding, MMA, martial arts, films, and seminars. He is quoted as saying, “I want to influence one person’s life positively with what I do. Everything I do in my life has to be meaningful. It has to give people hope and motivation.”