The Mentor Who Shaped Nadaka Into Muay Thai Royalty
Every elite fighter has an origin point. For reigning ONE Atomweight Muay Thai World Champion Nadaka, that point is Natsuo Nakagawa, Chairman of Eiwa Sports Gym.
The 25-year-old headlines ONE SAMURAI 3 this Saturday, September 12, inside Yokohama Buntai, opening his professional kickboxing career against Myanmar’s Har Ling Om.
Before Nakagawa, Nadaka’s training was scattered between disciplines, including a local gym called Succeed that left his growing hunger for combat unsatisfied. Everything changed when he found Eiwa Sports Gym at age eleven.
“I started going there when I was eleven. From there, I started fighting a lot more often,” Nadaka recalled.
The shift into serious training was not easy at first, and Nadaka admits the sudden intensity frightened him as a boy who had only known Muay Thai as a hobby.
“At first, honestly, it was scary,” he said. “I actually didn’t want to go at first, if I’m being honest. But the more I did it, the more fun it became.”
Nakagawa’s influence went well beyond the gym floor. Exposure to Thailand training trips and hours of Muay Thai footage lit a fire that pushed Nadaka toward turning professional.
“I really don’t think I’d have gone pro without Chairman Nakagawa,” Nadaka said. “He’s the reason I fell in love with Muay Thai as a sport. If he hadn’t been around, I’d probably have just kept doing regular kickboxing and never gone pro.”
That foundation gave Nadaka access to genuine Thai expertise, and Nakagawa eventually sent his student to Thailand itself to sharpen his game.
“I’m always one to get scared in situations like that, but I went to Thailand anyway and got the chance to compete,” he said.
What followed was a decade of dominance rarely matched by a non-Thai athlete: ten Muay Thai World Titles, a Rajadamnern and Lumpinee Stadium double at 105 pounds, and a 67-6 career record.
He has not lost since July 2019, a streak now at 41 consecutive victories. Two more Eiwa Sports Gym products, cousin Shimon Yoshinari and training partner Ryuya Okuwaki, share Saturday’s card, all three unbeaten inside ONE Championship.
For Nadaka, growth has never been measured by trophies alone.
“The biggest visible sign of growth was just winning fights – the results themselves, such as beating an opponent I hadn’t been able to defeat before,” Nadaka said. “That was a period where I could really feel myself getting stronger.”
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