At five years old, Tenshin Nasukawa was enrolled in karate class alongside his mother, father and siblings.
It wasn't necessarily supposed lead anywhere in particular. The plan, according to Tenshin's father Hiroyuki, was to impart the spiritual and psychological benefits of the martial arts—honor, discipline, respect, focus—into his son at a young age.
In the early 2000s, however, the martial arts in Japan weren't just black belts and horse stances. K-1 Kickboxing and Pride FC were combat sports powerhouses. The two promotions were turning heads overseas while packing tens of thousands of fans into arenas at home with larger-than-life events built around almost literal giants.