No longer going by Karen Date, the newly dubbed Karen Pravajra is part of an interesting group of young talent emerging on the Japanese MMA scene. Turning 18 this year and still being in high school, she is part of an emerging talent pool that includes fighters like Otoha, Eru Takebayashi, and Sakura Mori. Yet, Karen is unique for several reasons. First, she is the only member of the group not with Deep Jewels and second, she comes from a unique background, Team Date. While the exact reason NØRI, Karen, and Darani left Team Date and formed Team Pravajra is unknown, according to one article, it is due changing circumstances as a result of the pandemic and a change in general direction. If I had to guess, this change in direction is probably related to their recent success in Pancrase. (The header photo is courtesy of Akihito Tatematsu)
Karen, for those who are unfamiliar, like her teammate NØRI, has been fighting since she was young, making her debut when she was around 12 years old. Also like NØRI, they both are predominantly strikers who utilize kicks to maintain distance. This was on full display in her last fight, where she used kicks to keep Edge at distance before she was able to TKO her in the 3rd round. With this victory, Karen moved to 3-0 professionally. In addition, this fight was her second finish in a row. Up till now, Karen has been fighting once a year, but with the move to a new team that seems more oriented towards martial arts and with the teams existing relationship and success with Pancrae, it seems likely that she will be appearing more regularly for the promotion in the future.
We recently had the opportunity to ask Karen some questions and I have included our conversation below:
Karen: The team name, Pravajra, comes from the Sanskrit words “prava” and “vajra.” Prava means brilliant/radiance and vajra means diamond. Together with my team members, we are going to refine our bodies and minds using our base of Maharajan Kalaripayattu and Yoga, and like our team name indicates, we want to illuminate the martial arts world like a shining diamond. We just started and are schedule is a little hectic but we would appreciate if your readers would watch our future activities.
CJ: Hello and thank you for taking the time to answer these questions. Lets get started with the new team. You recently left Team Date and joined Team Pravajra. I believe it was announced on June 29th. Can you tell us about that?
CJ: Thank you! Can you also tell us a little about yourself? How did you get involved in martial arts? How old were you when you started?
Karen: My background is Indian Royal Martial Arts (Maharajan Kalaripayattu and Yoga). I’ve been in that environment as long as I can remember. My mother even told me she was doing it when she was pregnant with me, so I guess you could say I started when I was in her belly. (lol)
CJ: That’s interesting. Do you remember why you decided to turn professional?
Karen: I never really thought about turning professional. I guess that’s because it was always assumed that I would turn pro and compete as a pro.
CJ: Can you talk about your last fight? Did you expect to win by TKO?
Karen: I think there were some parts where she was able to overwhelm me with her pressure. Going into the fight, I didn’t necessarily think I was going to win, but I wasn’t planning on going to a decision. I didn’t want to fight to a decision and I in the fight, I didn’t miss any of the opportunities that arose, so I think that led to my victory.
CJ: Thank you! Can you also talk about what your training is like and if it has changed recently?
Karen: I train everything from striking to grappling. Going into this fight, I got the impression that Edge was a striker so I worked a lot on distance control.
CJ: You’re currently ranked as the number one contender in your division in Pancrase. Do you think you’ll have a title match with Emi Fujino sometime in the future?
Karen: While I would like to get a title fight quickly, I would also like to get more fighting experience before.
CJ: What do you think of Emi and how do you think a fight between you two would go?
Karen: She has a lot of experience and she’s fought NØRI before. She seems like a really tough fighter. If we fought, it would probably be mostly striking with her throwing punches and me throwing kicks.
CJ: Back to you, can you tell us about any goals or dreams you have as an athlete?
Karen: I want to win more and aim higher and higher. I’m in my 3rd year of high school (LJK) and if possible, I’d like to compete in Rizin while I”m still in high school, I think that would be newsworthy and create a lot of buzz. I also want to fight overseas and become a fighter that other fighters think is dangerous.
CJ: In these introduction interviews, I always ask what the fighter’s hobbies are and such. What do you like to do outside of fighting?
Karen: I like to make sweets, I recently started a Twitter and Instagram and I post pictures of what I make there. If you are interested, please drop by. I’m looking forward to your likes and follows lol.
Here are the links: Twitter and Instagram.
Besides that, I study or watch anime in my free time.
CJ: Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions! Do you have a message for the reader?
Karen: I’m Pravajra’s Karen. From now on, I’m going to continue to compete and win more and more matches in order to make even greater strides and become the top fighter in the women’s martial arts world, both in Japan and overseas. I’m the sweet, neat and tidy, violent Karen, and I am going to go on a rampage! Thank you for your support!
Japanese Original Answers
CJ：インタビューのために時間を割いていただきありがとうございました。6月29日にTeam DATEからの脱退が発表され、昨日、新たな所属チームとして「PRAVAJRA」が発表されました。新しいチームの事を紹介してください。
Karen選手：チーム名の『PRAVAJRA (プラヴァージュラ)』は、サンスクリット語の〈PRAVA〉と〈VAJRA〉を合わせた造語になります。
意味は、PRAVA = 「輝き」VAJRA = 「ダイヤモンド」メンバーと共にマハーラージャ カルーリカ&ヨーガをベースに心身を磨き上げ、チーム名同様、輝きあるダイヤモンドのように格闘技界で輝き続けるチームを目指しています。立ち上げたばかりで、まだ慌ただしい中ですが、今後の活動を見守っていただけたら嬉しいです。
CJ：Karen選手の格闘技のバックグラウンドを教えてください。 いつからMMAの練習を始めましたか？
Karen選手：インド王族武術(マハーラージャ カルーリカ&ヨーガ)です。物心ついたときにはその環境にいました。母親からは、私を妊娠している時からやっていたと聞いているので、お腹の中にいる時からやっていました(笑)
CJ：なるほど。そして、プロになりたいと思った時期を教えてください。
Karen選手：特に、プロになりたいと思うことはありませんでした。プロになることが前提であり、その上で試合に上がっていました。
CJ：面白いですね！前回の試合の印象はいかがでしたか？ TKOで勝てると思っていましたか？
Karen選手：EGDE選手の圧に押されていた部分もあったかなと思います。勝ち方は想定していませんでしたが、判定まで試合するつもりはありませんでした。決められるチャンスを逃さずに戦えたのが、勝ちに繋がったのだと思います。
CJ：なるほど。平均的な１週間のトレーニングは、どのようなものでしょうか？ 前回の試合に向けて、トレーニング内容に変化はありましたか？
Karen選手：打撃、寝技など全ての練習を積み重ねでやっています。EGDE選手は打撃の印象だったので、距離を取る練習をしました。
CJ：Karen選手は現在、パンクラスのナンバー１コンテンダーにランクされています。次は藤野恵実選手とタイトルマッチをすると思いますか？
Karen選手：すぐにでもタイトルマッチをしたいと思っていますが、もう少し試合経験を積みたいところです。
CJ：チャンピオンである藤野恵実選手について、どう思いますか？ 試合すれば、どんな試合になると思いますか？
Karen選手：試合経験豊富であり、以前NØRIも戦ったことがあるのですが、かなりタフな印象です。藤野選手はパンチ、自分は蹴りで打撃の試合になるのかなと思います。
CJ：選手としての目標について教えてください。
Karen選手：もっと勝利を重ね、さらなる高みを目指しています。LJK(高校3年生)なのですが、出来れば話題性もあるJKの内にRIZINにも参戦したいですし、海外でもバチバチに戦って、こいつはヤバいな。と思われるような選手になりたいです。
CJ：格闘技以外の質問をさせて下さい。 趣味は何ですか？ 時間があるときは、何をしていますか？
Karen選手：趣味はお菓子作りです。最近TwitterとInstagramをはじめて、Instagramにお菓子投稿してるのでよかったら立ち寄ってください。いいね&フォローお待ちしております(笑)
→https://twitter.com/karen_pravajra
→https://www.instagram.com/karen_pravajra/
あとは、空いた時間には勉強かアニメを見ています。
CJ：インタビュー、ありがとうございました。ファンにメッセージがありましたら教えてください。
Karen選手：PRAVAJRA所属 KARENです。これからどんどん試合に出て、勝利し続けてさらに飛躍して日本でも海外でも女子格闘技界のトップを目指していきます。カレンで清楚で乱暴なKAREN、大暴れしていきます！応援宜しくお願い致します！
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