Episode 99: The President's Ukemi (The Art of the Bump)
June 30, 2026
When a young hopeful aiming to become a professional wrestler first steps into the dojo, the very first thing they do is foundational conditioning—squats, push-ups, and the like. ...However, once they push past that initial phase, their training in "Ukemi" (the art of taking a bump) begins.
How do you minimize the damage to your body when you are slammed flat onto the canvas? You repeat that technique thousands, even tens of thousands of times over the course of your career.
At a glance, it might seem incredibly plain and unglamorous. Yet, I believe that this act of taking a bump is the absolute essence of professional wrestling—and of life itself.
The world of business management is exactly the same. A leader's true worth is never put to the test when everything is smooth sailing. The test comes when the headwinds blow fiercely. When revenue drops, when marquee talent leaves the promotion, when unexpected crises come crashing down... wh... wait, that might actually be happening to me right now (￣(工)￣).
How do you absorb that devastating impact, protect the organization, and bridge the gap to your next strategic move? That is a leader's version of an Ukemi.
As a competitor myself, I have experienced massive, severe injuries time and time again. Knee surgeries, prolonged absences—there were days on end where I didn't even know if I would ever be capable of returning to the ring. What sustained me during those dark periods was the "spirit of Ukemi" that had been beaten into me at the dojo.
You don't deny the pain, you don't run away from reality; you simply absorb it dead-on from the front. It is only by doing so that the path forward finally reveals itself to you.
A wrestler who is terrible at taking bumps will turn even minor impacts into severe, career-threatening injuries. Similarly, a leader who cannot take a bump will allow a small mistake to snowball into a fatal, company-killing blow. Conversely, an individual who is a master at taking bumps can rise to their feet no matter how brutal the onslaught they receive. They possess the unique superpower to convert raw damage into invaluable "experience." And it is the accumulation of that experience that directly links to ultimate growth.
In the past, New Japan Pro-Wrestling has triumphed over countless existential crises. Every single time, we accepted reality head-on, moving forward even as we bled and took scars. I firmly believe that only an organization that is completely unafraid of falling is capable of soaring to the highest peaks.
No matter how severe the adversity, it can all be transformed into an "asset" depending entirely on how you choose to absorb it. ...Well, ideally, it’s much better not to have any adversity in the first place, though (laughs).
At any rate, my job is to stand at the absolute vanguard. After all, if I'm the one taking all the frontal attacks dead-on, everyone standing behind me remains completely uninjured, right? (Hero).