It was one of those trips that Sota got a taste of professional fighting. He was 13, in seventh grade, when he first fought in Thailand, and immediately fell in love. Unlike in Japan, where a child his age would have to wear headgear and shinpads by regulation, Sota was allowed to fight a professional, unpadded bout just like the Thai kids. He'd already been training in martial arts for six years, having started karate when he was seven. But Muay Thai was what he really loved; unlike karate, which centered on forms and performance, Muay Thai was about fighting, techniques like elbows and knees were legal, and Sota felt a new freedom in the ring.