Nicholas Pettas: The Legend of Karate

Written By Sarah Furuya

In Season 7, Episode 4 with Nicholas Pettas we are taken on a trip through multiple painful and triumphant reinventions…

What happens when a K-1 fight you appear in takes 48% of the TV viewing ratings in Japan?

You become a household name in Japan

And that is what happened to our Legends guest at the turn of the Millennium. Since then Nic has had many reinventions, renaissance and has risen like a Phoenix from the fire over and over as any professional athlete MUST do in order to move with their bodies, minds and spirit, and constantly create new versions of themselves.

Nic is building an empire from now, and is constantly challenging himself

As you will hear in this episode, Nic has hit some super lows; injury in your prime will do that, relationship strife will do that, death and changed expectations will do that but he always reaches for this deep confidence, this unwavering self-belief and rugged optimism that pulls him to his next adventure, even through pain, humiliation and changing body condition.

In this Podcast you will learn:

  • What it takes to become a world-class athlete and how you can apply that to your own life, ambitions, setbacks and wins

  • What I call ‘pivot points’ those events that make you rise like a Phoenix, reinvent yourself or swear ‘not this’ or ‘never again’ that can set a trajectory in motion

  • How his inability to move, and a humiliating incident in a wheelchair led him to start writing his first book ‘The Blue Eyed Samurai’

  • Nic’s definition of manifesting and how he uses that even now in his next reinvention (and perhaps how he manifested the love story of the decade! A Pandemic miracle)

  • Empire building mindset and how he keeps starting different entrepreneurial exploits, such as hotelier, YouTube megastar with Junk Food Japan, in addition to his gym, his renaissance in his fighting career as Master in Senshi, and mentor to many karate hopefuls and champion fighters

Nic started his entrepreneurial inspirations at school in an enterprise that began with a stolen coffee machine and an angry Mother! His origin story is fascinating too. Yet it was an incident where Nic felt totally helpless that lit the fighting fire under him and started the wheels in motion for him manifesting a life of physical prowess, fighting skill and rising the ranks of the closed world of Kyokushin Karate as one of only 2 foreigners to complete 1000 days in the dojo as Uchidesu. After retiring from professional fighting Nic reinvented and reinvented from dark down days, to following opportunity and instinct to create business and to take his body and strength to new places. 

His successes include becoming European Karate Champion, K-1 Champion, training K-1 champions and fighters under the Pettas name, opening one of the first Cross Fit Studios in Tokyo.

Yet it wasn’t until he met the love of his life, that he also began to take his mind to new awareness and understanding…more of this love Legend in the episode.

I got FBGs (Full Body Goosebumps) when I heard Nic talk about when he put on the Dogi (Karate kit) for the first time in over a decade - it was quite moving…

Nic promised he would never be involved in the Karate world again after a deep betrayal that had 10,000 people booing in the audience and a news story that detailed how an unfair decision had been made, but with the encouragement of his partner and a recognition that he can leave a legacy of dedication and excellence to future generations, he is now part of Senshi Bulgaria and embracing his eldership as a Karate master and leader for the future.

*There are a couple of notes I would like to make here - Nic describes some pretty violent incidents during fights and some pretty violent activity. If this doesn’t feel good to you - please take care as you listen. I actually like fighting. It is grown men engaging with consent. I also like that fighting-sports are inclusive, with boxing gyms and other gyms often being in lower income areas with access for all and don’t require academic tests, wealth or degrees to get into. I got into fighting when I was working in pubs at university and then was on the graduate training scheme for one of the UK’s biggest breweries after university. It was always great customer service to be aware of what was going on in the fighting and sporting world and so I did. Working in pubs was an education of its own - I loved it and will likely talk about it one day! 

**Another note to make is that Nic talks a lot about body shape and size. As an athlete your body is your tool, as with models (actually all humans). He talks about going from being a chubby kid, to a skinny teen, to being disabled by injury, gaining a lot of weight during recovery and losing it again and how he is proud he maintained a weight he is happy at during the Pandemic. This is Nic’s story and the story of a person whose body is their tool. Your size and your is OK - SFC doesn't value one body as better than the other. Except Nic’s! He has dedicated his life’s work to activity that requires a certain body shape, size and function and I admire that and that is his path, his choice and his body. 

About Nic
Nicholas Pettas is known in Japan as the Blue Eyed Samurai, named so for his timeless fighting spirit. Having placed in the top 8 Kickboxers in the World with the Japan K-1 Grand Prix title in 2001, he is considered a household name in Japan. He is the last of only 2 non- Japanese to complete the 1000 days Uchi Deshi program led by founder of Kyokushin Karate, Mas Oyama. His rugged good looks and fluent Japanese won over the Japanese hearts and he has since used his rise to stardom by acting in movies and dramas, hosting his own radio show amongst other things. Currently he owns CrossFit Nishi Azabu and spends his time divided between Senshi and his YouTube channel "Junk Food Japan", and is a newly minted hotelier.

Follow Nic at Junk Food Japan - it’s a lot of fun and his wife Mrs Junk Food Japan also features!

If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some way, we’d love to hear about it and know your biggest takeaway. Head over to Apple Podcasts to leave a review and come and say hi over on @sarahfuruyacreative on Instagram and Facecbook.

Connect with Nicholas Pettas

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-pettas-804374aa/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicholaspettas

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicholaspettas_/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JunkFoodJapan

Senshi: https://senshi.com/k-1-legends-sam-greco-and-nicholas-pettas-arrive-in-bulgaria-for-senshi-12/

Fite TV: https://www.fite.tv/vl/p/senshi/

Sarah Furuya
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