Nobuhiro Sawada

Nobuhiro Sawada is a Japanese born black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Mitsuyoshi Hayakawa, being also one of the main representatives of the Tri-Force Academy in the sport/martial art’s international circuit. Sawada made a name for himself as one of Japan’s brightest grapplers after his many podium placements in important tournaments such as the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) World No-Gi and American National Championships.

Nobuhiro Sawada Jiu-Jitsu

Full Name: Nobuhiro Sawada

Nickname: N/A

Lineage: Mitsuyo Maeda > Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Rolls Gracie > Romero Cavalcanti (Jacaré) > Alexandre Paiva (Gi-gi) > Mitsuyoshi Hayakawa > Nobuhiro Sawada

Main Achievements:

• IBJJF World No-Gi Champion (2018)
• IBJJF American Nationals Champion (2017)
• UAEJJF Grand Slam Tokyo Champion (2018)
• JBJJF All Japan Champion (2018)
• IBJJF World No-Gi Championship 3rd Place (2017)

Main Achievements (Colored Belts):

• IBJJF World No-Gi Champion (2014 purple)
• IBJJF Pan Champion (2015 brown)
• IBJJF Asian Open Champion (2014 purple)
• IBJJF European Open Champion (2014 purple)
• IBJJF World Championship 2nd Place (2012 blue)
• IBJJF Asian Open Championship 2nd Place (2015/2016 brown)
• IBJJF World No-Gi Championship 3rd Place (2015/2016 brown)

Favorite Position/Technique: Armbar

Weight Division: Peso Galo (57.5Kg – 127.0 lbs)

Team/Association: Tri-Force

Nobuhiro Sawada Biography

Nobuhiro Sawada was born on June 23, 1991, in Urayasu, a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan.

Growing up Sawada’s first serious sporting endeavor was karate, a martial art Nobuhiro started as a child, influenced by his father. A few years into his combat training, however, 11-year-old Sawada gained interest in ping-pong (table tennis), a sport he decided to pursue, then trading the karate-gi for the racket.

In spite of leaving martial arts, Nobuhiro continued to follow the fight-game, being a big fan of mixed martial arts events such as PRIDE Fc. Watching fighters such as Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira (Minotauro) and some of the other BJJ athletes on the ring opened Sawada’s eyes to grappling and led the young Japanese to return to martial arts.

At the age of 18, Nobuhiro Sawada joined the academy of Mitsuyoshi Hayakawa, founder of the Tri-Force Academy. It was under the guidance of Hayakawa that Nobuhiro climbed the ranks of jiu-jitsu becoming one of the rising stars in Japanese grappling. His success on the mats led Sawada to quit his job with a government office on April 2017, to focus solely on his jiu-jitsu career.

Nobuhiro Sawada’s sacrifice and hard work led coach Mitsuyoshi Hayakawa to promote the young Tri-Force star to black belt in a ceremony that took place on June 2017.

Cover photo by Bukuro-BJJ @bukurobjj

Nobuhiro Sawada vs Chad Lundy