Hi Ian I have been a fan for heaps now and i just wanted to know when you are gonna be fighting in Sengoku again if at all..

And whats it like over there in japan..

Hey mate,
I still have 3 fights on my Sengoku contract. I was mainly focused on K-1 MAX for the last few years, but MMA has knocked on my door again. Im really enjoying my mma training and training partners and i will be back, fighting for Sengoku very soon.

Japan gives me a new experience everytime im over there. I really enjoy the place, the people and the culture.
Fighting and competing in Japan is a blast. We usually arrive at the airport, wait for our baggage and then pass all check points. Then there will be someone waiting for us with a name sign...They put us on whats called a bus limousine. We travel for around an hour before we get to the hotel.
We arrive at the hotel, see the ladies at the front desk (fight promotion front desk, not hotel front desk). They will then give us our iteniary, which will consist of 3 days organising.

Day 1 -

photo shoot and press. Every fighter gets his own time slot, to get his interviews and photos taken. First session is usually photos....You walk into a room and you will see the photographer and his crew...you strip down to your fight shorts and walk onto a massive white peice of paper used as a back drop, which travels from around 10 feet in front of you and curves up the wall behind you. The photographer will then ask u to perform different poses. Practically every angle possible. Once he is happy with it all, he then gives u the ok to go.
Next is your interviews. U basically just walk into a room and answer questions...

Then that afternoon we will get out a training session.

Day 2 -

Weigh-in. Usually go to an Onseng (sauna/steam) near by or in the hotel. This is where you will find most fighters on the dayof the weigh-in. Its always fun making weight. Everyone is half crazy, with one thing on their mind...WATER! hahaha nah, itsnot that bad.
We will then cruise over to the weigh in and then jump on the scale. After this we eat, drink and just enjoy ourselves before we go into battle.

Press conference - Depending on the organisation, sometimes all fighters are required to dress in smart/formal attire. I throw a suit on..
All fighters sit in a back room with the press waiting on the other side of the room for each fighter to get called out and look eye to eye with his opponent. We stand staring out each other for the press and their cameras for around 45-60 sec, then we go to our seleced seat. A microphone then gets passed around and each fighter gets to say a paragraph or so of what he wants to say.


Fight Day -

All the fighters get picked up from the hotel. Blue corner in one coach and the Red corner in another.
We arrive at the venue, hop off the bus and enter the venue, cameras following every step. We all walk down corridoor after corridoor to get to our stable. Each fighter has his own name tag for his own little stable. There is a mat, a blanket, food and drink, for the corner.
All fighters then get a dr. check. Heart rate, blood pressure, urine test etc.
We go back to our stable and rest again.
We get called up, go to the warm up room and fight.
After the fight, whether you've been knocked out, lost, won, whatever, each fighter is required to do another urine test and dr check.

Ive left out a couple of things in detail, like the opening and closing ceremony. The opening ceremonies are that spectacular that im sure the fans and the fighters are all feeling the same way.

Hope this gives u an idea of what Japan is like when i go there to compete.

Ian Schaffa.

I'd rather die on my feet, than live on my knees.

as an over weight fan form a long ways away, that sounds awesome and very full on. it looks like your treated like a full on professional wich is what all the fighters are i guess.

thanks heaps for getting back to me you must be busy, when you fighting next i heard a rumour that it was here in sydney????

ps great web sight i hope to be on here alot.