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LUJ's Ocean Shioya Competes in Jiu Jitsu Tournament
It was in January 2025 when a friend introduced Ocean Shioya to a different kind of fighting: Jiu-jitsu. "He told me to come to tryouts. I went to my first class, and it was really good. I started training a lot, started to bulk up." For those first three months, Ocean had to learn quickly. "People were beating me up. Before this, I had only played soccer on and off."
In June 2026, Ocean competed in the 2026 Tokyo Open put on by the Asian Sport Jiu Jitsu Japan Federation (ASJJF). The tournament was held at the Higashin Arena in Sumida City, near Kinshicho Station. Ocean finished as the runner-up in the No-Gi featherweight division.
No-Gi is a variation of Brazilian Ji-Jitsu. Instead of wearing more traditional cotton-based garb, participants wear t-shirts (also called rash guards) and shorts. The change of clothing creates, as the website Naga Fighter puts it, “greater emphasis on positional control, speed, and transitions.”
Ocean’s grandfather introduced him to Aikido, a Japanese self-defense martial art founded by Morihei Ueshiba, when he was 8 years old, after Ocean had suffered a dangerous concussion. At school growing up, Ocean had been bullied, and his grandfather had wanted to help him defend himself. “But I didn’t find it that effective,” says Ocean. Jiu-jitsu on the other hand, has given “me something that helped me gain confidence in myself.”
The match against his opponent at this year’s Tokyo Open will be a learning experience. The 1-round, 5-minute battle was recorded, and he’ll be reviewing it constantly. “That’s how you improve.”
Ocean’s hoping to move up to the middleweight division and has long term goals of competing in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) tournaments, which combine three fighting styles: Kickboxing, grappling, and striking.
For now, Ocean will continue to train and learn, all while completing his studies as an undergraduate at LUJ.
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