My Samurai Blood

Most people don’t know that I am half Japanese. My mother is from Japan although she lived most of her adult life in Thailand. Funnily though, she has always spoken to me in Japanese, even when I was a child. I am fiercely proud of my Japanese heritage. In fact, my ancestors come from the lineage of samurai, Japan’s elite military warrior class. As a child, I remember seeing samurai military armor, weapons, and swords at my grandparents’ house when I used to visit Japan. Given my samurai blood, it is a natural dream for me to bring martial arts or kakutougi in Japan back to its greatest heights again. Japan is a land of warriors with a rich history of martial arts in Judo, Karate, Kendo, Sumo, Aikido, Mixed Martial Arts, and so much more. I will do my best to show Japan’s greatness to the world through bushido, the way of the warrior, and its deep-rooted values of integrity, humility, honor, respect, courage, discipline, and compassion.

Chatri Sityodtong is a self-made entrepreneur and lifelong martial artist from Thailand. His rags-to-riches life story has inspired millions around the world on BBC News, CNN, Financial Times, Bloomberg TV, CNBC, Channel NewsAsia, and other major media. He is the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of ONE Championship, Asia’s largest global sports media property in history with a global broadcast to over 1.7 billion potential viewers across 136 countries around the world. Forbes most recently selected Sityodtong as one of Asia’s next generation tycoons. He was also named “Asia’s King of Martial Arts” by the Financial Times and the “3rd Most Powerful Person in Sports in Asia” by FOX Sports. He is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at INSEAD, Europe’s top business school. Sityodtong holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from Tufts University.