Paraestra is a mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts

Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...

 fighting team and gym headquartered in Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, with multiple gyms throughout Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, as well as one in Newmarket

Newmarket

Newmarket is a market town in the English county of Suffolk, approximately 65 miles north of London. It is generally considered the birthplace and global centre of thoroughbred horse racing, and a future UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the largest racehorse training centre in Britain, and home...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. The gym was founded by former Shooto

Shooto

Shooto is a mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the Shooto Association and the International Shooto Commission. Shooto was originally formed in 1985, as an organization and as a particular fighting system derived from shoot wrestling. Practitioners are referred to as shooters,...

 welterweight champion, and Vale Tudo Japan

Vale Tudo Japan

Vale Tudo Japan was an annual mixed martial arts tournament held in Japan from 1994 to 1999 with a reunion event in 2009.-Vale Tudo Japan 1994:Vale Tudo Japan 1994 was held on July 29, 1994 at the Tokyo Bay NK Hall in Urayasu, Japan....

 competitor Yuki Nakai

Yuki Nakai

is a retired Japanese shooto practitioner and mixed martial artist. He currently teaches Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and is the president of the Japan Shooto Association. He competed in Vale Tudo Japan 1995, where he was outweighed by every opponent in the tournament...

. Today, Paraestra endorses both Shooto

Shooto

Shooto is a mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the Shooto Association and the International Shooto Commission. Shooto was originally formed in 1985, as an organization and as a particular fighting system derived from shoot wrestling. Practitioners are referred to as shooters,...

, and Jiu-Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art, combat sport, and a self defense system that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting...

 and contains many gyms throughout Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

.

Current fighters on the team include former Shooto

Shooto

Shooto is a mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the Shooto Association and the International Shooto Commission. Shooto was originally formed in 1985, as an organization and as a particular fighting system derived from shoot wrestling. Practitioners are referred to as shooters,...

 Featherweight Champion Masakatsu Ueda

Ueda

Ueda may refer to:*Siege of Ueda, in 1600*Ueda Electric Railway Bessho Line-Places:*Ueda, Nagano, a city in Japan*Ueda Castle in Japan*Ueda Domain of Japan*Ueda Glacier in Antarctica...

, and most notably Shooto

Shooto

Shooto is a mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the Shooto Association and the International Shooto Commission. Shooto was originally formed in 1985, as an organization and as a particular fighting system derived from shoot wrestling. Practitioners are referred to as shooters,...

 Middleweight (170lbs) Champion and DREAM

DREAM (mixed martial arts)

Dream is a mixed martial arts organization promoted by former PRIDE FC executives and K-1 promoter Fighting and Entertainment Group. DREAM replaced FEG's previous-run mixed martial arts fight series, Hero's. The series retains many of the stylistic flourishes and personnel from Pride FC...

 Lightweight (155lbs) Champion Shinya Aoki

Shinya Aoki

is a Japanese mixed martial artist, grappler, and former police trainee who is noted for being the DREAM Lightweight Champion and former Shooto Middleweight Champion. Aoki holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Yuki Nakai, as well as a black belt in judo. He is one of the most prominent...

.

In addition to training fighters, the gym offers classes in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art, combat sport, and a self defense system that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting...

, Sambo

Sambo (martial art)

Sambo is a Russian martial art and combat sport. The word "SAMBO" is an acronym for SAMooborona Bez Oruzhiya, which literally translates as "self-defense without weapons". Sambo is relatively modern since its development began in the early 1920s by the Soviet Red Army to improve their hand to hand...

 and Shooto

Shooto

Shooto is a mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the Shooto Association and the International Shooto Commission. Shooto was originally formed in 1985, as an organization and as a particular fighting system derived from shoot wrestling. Practitioners are referred to as shooters,...

.

In 2007 and 2008, Yusuke Honma of Paraestra obtained a silver medal in the Black Belt Roosterweight Division of the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship

World Jiu-Jitsu Championship

The World Jiu-Jitsu Championship is the most prestigious Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament in the world. They are hosted annually by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation. The first Mundial tournament to be held outside of Brazil was in 2007 at the California State University in Long...

, the most famous Jiu-Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art, combat sport, and a self defense system that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting...

 tournament in the world. The events were held in Long Beach, CA.