Friday, August 21, 2026
Hello everyone, thanks for all your hard work! We are exactly one week away from the August 28th Yoyogi show.
Mizunami-san came to morning practice today! And Takase has been here in Sendai since yesterday!!
Mizunami-san’s presence means so much to me. She is a senior who genuinely makes me think, “I want to follow in her footsteps.”
It’s about her physical strength, of course, but even more than that, it’s how she interacts with people and how she approaches life. Lately, whenever I feel a bit like, “Ugh, this is a pain,” or “I really don’t want to do this,” I catch myself thinking: “What would Mizunami-san do in this situation?” And when I do, it’s almost magical—I immediately think, “Right, let’s get it done,” and I can just take action.
Sometimes we need someone’s words to push us forward, but I’ve realized that sometimes, just remembering how someone else lives their life is enough to motivate yourself.
That’s how huge her presence is in my life. I really, truly love her as a senior.
And today during practice, she gave me guidance down to the absolute finest details. She taught me about technique, of course, but she also gave me specific advice because I am now in a position where I have to teach the junior wrestlers.
Becoming stronger yourself and making someone else stronger are two completely different things.
Even if I think I understand something perfectly, articulating it to someone else is incredibly difficult. Now that I’m on the teaching side, I feel even more grateful for the things my seniors teach me than I did before.
Today, when practice wrapped up, I simply thought: “Man, pro wrestling is so much fun.” That kind of feeling is so important.
I want to get stronger. I want to win. I have to protect my home. There’s a lot of pressure, but at the very core of it all is the fact that I just absolutely love pro wrestling.
One week until Yoyogi.
I want to step into that ring true to myself, carrying every ounce of this “fun” feeling with me.
And after practice, we all ate watermelon together! 🍉😙 We were beating the absolute crap out of each other during training, but once it was over, we were laughing and eating watermelon together. That time we shared made it a truly great day.
August 28th. I’m heading to the Yoyogi ring in absolute peak condition. I’ve got one week left to do what needs to be done.
Gyun!
Translator’s Notes
- Author Identification (Gyun!): The post ends with “ぎゅん！” (Gyun!). This is the signature catchphrase and muscle-flexing pose of Sendai Girls’ ace and World Champion, Chihiro Hashimoto. Based on this and her role as a senior trainer defending the promotion at Yoyogi, Hashimoto is the author of this blog post.
- Thanks for all your hard work (お疲れ様です – Otsukaresama desu): A ubiquitous Japanese workplace and lifestyle greeting that acknowledges shared effort. It is commonly used as a polite “hello” to colleagues or fans at the start of a blog post.
- Mizunami-san & Takase: Referring to veteran freelancer Ryo Mizunami and Miyuki Takase.
- “Follow in her footsteps” (背中を追いかけたい): Literally translates to “I want to chase her back.” In Japanese, staring at someone’s back implies they are ahead of you and leading the way. “Following in someone’s footsteps” is the most natural English equivalent for expressing deep admiration for a mentor.
- Senior/Junior (先輩/後輩 – Senpai/Kouhai): The hierarchical mentoring system is the backbone of the Japanese wrestling dojo system. Hashimoto is reflecting on her transition from being a kouhai (junior) who only needed to focus on herself, to a senpai (senior) tasked with training the next generation.
- “Beating the absolute crap out of each other” (バチボコやってましたが): Bachiboko is a very casual, intense slang word meaning to beat someone up severely or go incredibly hard. Translating it this way captures the brutal, hard-hitting reality of Joshi dojo sparring sessions contrasted with the wholesome image of eating watermelon immediately afterward.