Ayo (a)y, aka Ayo Suzuki, is a young kid from Osaka, Japan who recently made his debut in the karate scene by winning the Asian Games at the Asian Youth Olympic Games in 2014.
He’s now competing in the world championships, which means he’s been training hard for months.
After his win, Ayo received some positive feedback from his coaches.
“I thought I’d been very aggressive, but that’s because I didn’t know the kata and didn’t understand the moves,” Ayo told VICE News.
“So I did a lot of things wrong and I was not doing the kumite [kata], so I lost my confidence.”
When Ayo first entered the karaoke scene in the late 1990s, he was very much a newbie, but he soon gained a reputation as a master of karate’s kumites and karate moves, and won competitions.
“The people who are doing the best are the ones who have studied, who know how to study, and they know how they should study,” Ayson said.
“That’s why they can perform so well.”
Ayo, who has also studied with Karate Kid, believes karate is a martial art that’s universal, and that people have different levels of ability.
“Karate is so powerful because it’s not about the level of the fighter, but about the person who has that ability,” AYo said.
“It’s about your level of concentration, and your level to control it.
It’s a very simple concept, but it’s a fundamental one.”
Aya’s karate training is very much in keeping with his character as a young karate instructor, Aoyama said.
He trains with the idea of teaching people to focus on their kumis, rather than on the movements.
“In karate, you have to focus and train for your own strength,” Aoyamas coach said.
The best way to focus is with your own kumiko.
The kumiyas are the muscles that hold the spine together and are the backbone of kata.
“If you lose your kumikas, you won’t have the strength and the power you need to control your body,” Aya said.
But, while the kashima (kata) is an integral part of kumiku, the best way for people to learn karate for themselves is to practice, and Ayo believes that this is the best training method.
“There are many different styles of kashimas, and many people train for different kashimi,” Aoys coach said, “but if you want to get better at karate then you have the right kumike.”
Karate training involves the use of a variety of techniques that range from simple, to more complex, to extremely difficult.
Some of the more challenging moves include kumido, the kung fu style of fighting, and kumideki, a form of kung-fu that uses the arms to perform strikes.
While karate schools like Ayo’s do have their kunshinryu (Korean martial arts), it’s still considered karate in Japan, which makes it more difficult to learn the more traditional style.
“Ayo is an excellent example of someone who is actually a master,” Aayama said, referring to Ayo, whose name means “one who has no weaknesses.”
“I think that when he goes out and trains, he can do things like karate kumidori, kumihon, katasana, and he does so well,” Aaya added.
“He’s one of the best in the whole karate world.”
Watch Ayo Ayo in action in this video: