U.S. Forces Fitness

Story by Winifred Brown  US Army Garrison - Japan CAMP ZAMA, Japan – Yotaro Mukai has taught aikido at the Yano Fitness Center here for 21 years, and he welcomes everyone. For those who want to learn, Mukai offers classes at convenient times for anyone who has access to the gym. He offers free classes every day during the work week during lunch; two more classes in the evening on Tuesday and Thursday; and another class from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday. Mukai, a retired colonel from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, began studying aikido 56 years ago when he was a cadet at the National Defense Academy, the Japanese equivalent to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York. He holds the second-highest rank in aikido, the rank of seventh “dan,” or “shichidan.” He is a “shihan,” or master instructor, and volunteers his services. At this point, Mukai said he doesn’t feel like he is teaching, but rather practicing and learning new things every day. According to the Int...

Story by Jesenia Landaverde 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs Animated fighter jets roar across the sky as Duke, the G.I. Joe Team first sergeant, and his band of highly-trained special mission operatives fight for freedom against the Cobra organization, their arch-enemy. The theme song, “A Real American Hero,” starts to play through the television set, inspiring five-year-old Jarad Underwood. U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Underwood, 22nd Training Squadron Advanced Skills Training NCO in charge, is the first and only person in the Department of Defense who is eligible to teach combatives to all servicemembers, despite their military affiliation. Underwood began his military service in the Marine Corps as an infantryman in 2002, where he received his introduction to combatives by participating in the Marine Corps Martial Arts program. “I started combatives in the MCMA program and I was able to earn my green belt before I separated in 2006,” said Underwood. “I continued to trai...