Former Japanese bantamweight champion Kentaro Masuda recently opened RAD BOXING Gym in Tokyo’s elite residential area Seijo.

The gym, a relatively small 45 m2 in space, is on the third floor of a building and is equipped with various weight training equipment in addition to heavy bags and other boxing goods.

The gym will not join the Japan Pro Boxing Association and will mainly teach boxing and karate to children ranging from around four to 12 years old in the form of ‘’kids boxing’’ and ‘’kids karate.’’ He will also teach them ‘’Dōjō kun,’’ a Japanese martial arts term literally meaning (training hall) rules.

Masuda has already been teaching karate to children every Sunday since a year ago at Tokyo’s Nerima Ward. There are at present 17 students learning karate from Masuda.

Besides, the gym has a weight-reduction program aimed chiefly at women. Personal training and the so-called ‘’boxer’’ stretch program will also be held, according to Masuda.

The 38-year-old Masuda had practiced ‘’Kyokushin’’ style stand-up karate before becoming a professional boxer from Shin Nihon Kimura Boxing Gym in 2006.

Masuda became the Japanese bantamweight champion twice. He retired in December 2017 by losing to current Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation bantamweight champion Takuma Inoue. He had 27 wins, including 15 knockouts, against nine losses during his boxing career.

After retirement, Masuda has been serving as a personal trainer at GLOVES Cardio Boxing in Tokyo’s Yoga run by Yuichi Kasai, a former Japanese and OPBF super bantamweight champion and ex-Teiken Boxing Gym trainer,

Shown in the photo are former hard-hitting super lightweight boxer-turned actor Hidekazu Akai who lives in Seijo (far left) and former Kyokushin karate-turned kickboxer and writer Terutomo Yamazaki (far right).