As an accomplished grappler, a MMA fighter, a software engineer, a Youtuber, and a cosplayer, Aya Murakami is many things. At 29 years old, she will be making her Microweight (44kg/97lbs) debut against fellow up-and-comer Kyoka at Deep Jewels 34 on September 4th. At just 1-0, she got a lot of attention when it was announced that she was going to take part in the Atomweight tournament earlier this year. Unfortunately, her opponent, Sakura missed weight, causing the first fight to be canceled and then Aya was unexpectedly hospitalized, causing her to miss the tournament completely. On a positive note, she appears to be fully recovered and is excited to get back in the cage. (Header is courtesy of Akihito Tatematsu)（下に日本語がある）
While Aya made her professional MMA debut not that long ago, October of 2020, she is no stranger to martial arts. She started training in BJJ 9 years ago, after watching the movie Rush Hour and getting inspired by Jackie Chan. Since then, she has risen to the rank of black belt faster than any other woman in Japan and won two championships as a brown belt . Eventually, she went to an MMA event with a friend and got inspired to give it a try as well. A short time later, she made her amateur debut. When asked about how she likes it, she says that the training and fights are fun and that she enjoys seeing herself improve.
Standing at 150cm (4″11), Aya has told us in the past that she walks around at 48kg (105lbs) and could easily get down to 44kg (97lbs). Because of her size and comments, this drop to Microweight isn’t surprising, especially since Deep and Deep Jewels have been working to develop the division, crowning Saori Oshima and Amp the Rocket as champions. It is also worth noting that Aya has told us that one of her goals is to fight for Rizin. This is interesting since Rizin only has 49kg at the moment, indicating that Aya might take a course similar to Oshima and Furuse and fight in both divisions.
We had a chance to talk to her about her recovery, her upcoming fight, and passion for cosplay, which you can read below.
You can follow Aya on Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube.
CJ: It’s nice to speak to you again. First off, how are you doing? You had to pull out of the tournament due to some medical issues. Are you back to 100%?
Aya: It’s an honor to be interviewed again. Yes, I’m back to 100% and practicing as much as I want.
CJ: That’s great to hear! Your next fight is against Kyoka. What do you think of her and how do you see the fight going?
Aya: I don’t think there are many fighters smaller than me and this is the first time I’ll fight someone smaller than me, so I’m both curious and looking forward to seeing how it goes. Since this is gonna be fight between a striker and a grappler, I think the key will be whichever one of us can play to our strengths. I’m very confident that I can dominate on the ground.
CJ: Can you also tell us a little bit about your training?
Aya: My training is made up of repeated sparring and drilling, I am constantly drilling any area of my offense or defense where I think I am lacking or where I have to stop and think about what to do. I haven’t changed where I train, so I’m still train at Shooto Gym Tokyo, Carpe Diem, and Rising Sun.
CJ: Your are known primarily as a grappler, how has your striking been developing? Do you like it?
Aya: I haven’t had a chance to throw a punch full power in an actual fight yet, but I think I’m getting better at throwing and landing them in practice. Also, I am trying to get more comfortable with striking so that I don’t get freaked out, cause if that happens, I might lose. I don’t think I really like striking all that much, but I think I’m getting better at timing my punches and thinking about my striking techniques. It’s fun to think about feints and offense and defense.
CJ: Can you also talk about what motivates you as a fighter? Do you have any goals? Do you want to fight abroad or for Rizin?
Aya: It’s fun to feel that I’m growing little by little through practice. My motivation is to be able to do things I couldn’t do before, and to win matches. Rather than aiming for a distant goal, I’d like to win one fight at a time and reach a level where I can compete overseas or in RIZIN.
CJ: I see! On a different note, you are known for your love of cosplay. Can you talk about how you got into that?
Aya: I haven’t been cosplaying as anime characters for very long, only about a year or two. I first went to Comiket as a character from an anime called FGO. I remember how fun it was because it was so unrealistic and like a different world. Some of the cosplaying was so high quality that the cosplayers really looked like they came directly out of the screen. When I saw that, I wanted to cosplay like that too, so I got into it.
Courtesy of Aya
CJ: Do you have any plans to cosplay before your next fight?
Aya: Yes, I do. I have some costumes and there are a few that I haven’t been able to wear yet. Since they’re video game and anime character costumes, I’d like to go do a photoshoot, when I have some time.
CJ: In addition to your cosplay, you have also been busy on Youtube recently. What motivated you to start a Youtube channel? What kind of content do you want to create?
Aya: I started Youtube because my friend wanted to do it with me. I’m thinking of doing more videos on jiu-jitsu techniques and fights rather than daily life, since those seem to be more popular. But it’s lonely filming alone, so I’d like to work with someone.
CJ: Do you have any hobbies outside of cosplay? What do you do in your free time?
Aya: I love cosplay, so of course I love anime and games. Recently, I’ve been watching One Piece all the time. My favorite music is Vocaloid and Visual Kei, and my favorite foods are salmon roe and recently, melon.
CJ: Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. Do you have any message for the fans?
Aya: Thank you to everyone who has been supporting me and looking at this interview. I’ve only been doing MMA for a short time, but I really like and enjoy training and fighting. I want everyone to see me fighting hard in the ring and cosplaying outside of it. I would like to raise the quality of my fights and cosplay by practicing a lot.
Japanese Below
CJ: またお話ができてうれしいです。まず最初に、お元気でしたか？村上選手は病気のためにトーナメントを辞退しましたが、今は100％の状態に戻りましたか？
村上選手: こちらこそまたインタビューいただき光栄です。はい。もう元気になってほぼ100％の状態にもどって練習も思うようにできています。
CJ: それはいい事ですね。次の相手はKyoka選手ですね。相手としてどう思いますか？ どのような試合になると思いますか？
村上選手: 今まで私より小さい格闘家ってあんまりいないと思ってて、実際自分より小さい人と試合をするのは初めなのでどんな感じになるのか興味があるっていうか楽しみです。試合はストライカー対グラップラーなのでどれだけお互いの得意な展開に持っていけるかがカギかなーと思います。私は寝技は優位に攻めれる自信があります。
CJ: なるほど。トレーニングの調子はどうですか？ 最近はどこでトレーニングをしていますか？
村上選手: トレーニングはスパーと打ち込みの繰り返しでまだ攻防が甘いところや考えてとまってしまうようなところは打ち込みして反復練習しています。 練習場所は変わっていないですが、修斗ジム東京、カルペディエム、出稽古でライジングサンで練習させていただいてます。
CJ: 村上選手は主にグラップラーとして知られていますが、打撃（ストライキング）はどのように成長していますか？ 打撃は好きですか？
村上選手: まだ実際試合で打撃を思いっきり振ったことがなかったのですが、練習で強いパンチを打てるようになってきたかなーと思います。あとは打撃はビビったら負けそうなんで気持ちで負けないようにしています。 打撃は多分あんまり好きじゃないと思うのですが、タイミングよく入ったりとか打撃の技？フェイントとか攻防を考えるのは楽しいです。
CJ: なるほど。選手としてのあなたのモチベーションは何ですか？ 目標はありますか？ 海外やRIZINで戦いたいですか？
村上選手: 練習を重ねてすこしづつ自分が成長していってると感じるのがとても楽しいです。 やっぱり出来なかったことが出来るようになって、試合で勝つことがモチベーションですね。遠目の目標というより一つ一つ勝利を重ねて海外やRIZINに出場できるレベルになっていきたいです。
CJ: 面白いです。村上選手はコスプレ好きで知られていますね。いつからコスプレを始めたのですか？ 初めてのコスプレを覚えていますか？
村上選手: アニメのコスプレは歴としてはそんなに長くなくて、１～2年前くらいからです。 始めてはFGOというアニメのキャラでコミケに行きました。異世界っていうか非現実的ですごい楽しかったの覚えてます。 なかにはほんとに画面から出してきたみたいなクオリティがとても高い人がいて私もそんなコスプレをしたいとおもってはまりました。
CJ: そうですか。そういえば、次の試合の前にコスプレをする予定はありますか？ もしするのであれば、何かアイデアはありますか？
村上選手: そうですね。衣装はあるのですが、まだ着れてないのがいくつかあります。 ゲームとアニメのキャラなので時間があるときに撮影に行きたいです。
CJ: コスプレだけでなく、最近はYouTubeでも活躍されていますね。YouTubeチャンネルを始めようと思ったきっかけは？ また、どのようなコンテンツを作りたいと考えていますか？
村上選手: Youtubeは友達が一緒にやろうって感じで何となく始めました。コンテンツは日常とかより試合だったり柔術のテクニック動画が人気ありそうなのでそっち方面を今後もやっていこうかなって思ってます。 でも一人で撮影するのさみしいので誰かと一緒にやりたいですね。
CJ: コスプレ以外に何か趣味はありますか？ 暇なときは、何をしていますか？ 好きな映画や漫画、音楽、食べ物があれば教えてください。
村上選手: コスプレ好きなのでもちろんアニメ、ゲームが大好きです。最近はワンピースをずっと見てます。すきな音楽はボーカロイド、ヴィジュアル系、好きな食べ物はいくらと最近メロンです。
CJ: インタビューをうけていただき、ありがとうございました。最後に、ファンの方々に何かメッセージをお願いします。
村上選手: 私を応援してくれている皆様、インタビューを見てくれた皆様ありがとうございます。 私はMMAを始めてまだ短いですが、練習や試合がとても好きで楽しいです。 リングでは強く戦っている姿、その他の場面ではコスプレをしている姿を皆さんに見てもらいたいです。 試合もコスプレもたくさん練習をしてクオリティを上げていきたいと思ってます。
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