The host of the SENSHI fight nights and legendary K-1 karate fighter Nicholas Pettas was a special guest on the “Nothing Personal” segment of one of Bulgaria’s most-watched TV channels, NOVA. Just days before the first SENSHI Grand Prix, he shared the story of how his martial arts journey began. And his story is more than impressive – he is the last uchi-deshi (live-in student) of Kyokushin founder Mas Oyama.
Speaking to journalist Krasimir Boev, only meters away from the place where the ring for SENSHI 28 was about to be built just a few hours later, Pettas revealed that at only 18 years old, he traveled to Japan to undergo training under the legendary karate master Masutatsu Oyama. Today, he is known worldwide as the Blue-Eyed Samurai, and in recent years his life has been split between Japan and Bulgaria, where he regularly comes as an instructor at the SENSHI training camps and as the host of the professional fight nights.
“In 1993, during the very first round of the biggest Japanese karate tournament, I faced their absolute champion and defeated him. But they couldn’t allow a newcomer to beat their favorite, so I didn’t win. However, the fight was so exciting that they put me on the cover of a popular magazine and titled the article: ‘He is the Blue-Eyed Samurai,’” Nicholas Pettas shared.
What he loves about Bulgaria, how his career in combat sports has developed, and what he considers the biggest mistake of his life can all be discovered from his first-person account on NOVA TV’s morning show “Wake Up.” See the full story here: “Nothing Personal”: Who is the Blue-Eyed Samurai?
