Aoki: Fighting anything and everything
Shinya Aoki has not allowed me to take a decent photo of him in over a year. Every time I…
Shinya Aoki has not allowed me to take a decent photo of him in over a year. Every time I ask him for a photo he covers his face. I have never had any problems with him, and we used to have a good working relationship. It wasn’t just me though, it was all foreign press. I have often wondered what caused this dramatic change in attitude.
Watching the signing ceremony for his title fight against Tatsuya Kawajiri at DREAM.15, I noticed that he was doing the same thing with the Japanese media. On Thursday, a member of the Japanese press commented on it.
“At the signing ceremony you had the aura that it was difficult for us to get close to you…”
Aoki commented without looking up.
“Well I don’t feel any different now.”
Such responses have been typical to foreign media over the past few months but it shocked the Japanese media. Someone else was brave enough to ask a follow up question.
“Before a fight is there anything you always do to prepare?”
It was a softball question but a roundabout way of trying to get some insight into his mind. It’s common within the Japanese media.
Aoki responded. “I feel like I am fighting a lot of things. So, I can focus on my fight.”
The Japanese press didn’t respond to this answer, but a member of the foreign press did.
“What are those things that you are fighting in order to focus on this fight?”
Aoki laughed when the question came in English and was then translated. He made eye contact for the first time and smiled, although not at all warmly and replied, “Anything and everything. Including things I am not able to share with you.”