(NOAH) Kenoh's column ~ Come At Me You Bastards (March 2019)

Q: Now is a good time for discussion on the theme of the dojo. You started your career in Michinoku Pro?
KENOH: Speaking of dojo's, before I entered wrestling there was only a tatami mat*, it was a big difference when it was replaced by a ring.
Q: What was it like living all together?
KENOH: It was tough. I didn't want to live in the dormitory, even in college, so I chose Meiji which didn't have one...but, if you want to become a professional wrestler, then you have to enter a dojo. You have to persevere. If you don't like living together, then in the first place its going to be very unpleasant.
Q: What kind of impression do you have of the dojo members?
KENOH: Kesen Numajiro lived there, but not at the time I entered. There was Hyugaji (Rui), Aizawa No. 1 and Yoshihiro Shimizu.
Q: Are there any interesting episodes?
KENOH: The toilet was very dirty
Q: Do you like it spotless?
KENOH: I am pretty clean. The toilet was too dirty, and I went in the field for a long time.
Q: A so called outdoor excretion.
KENOH: There was a beautiful apple orchard outside. I gave it some fertilizer!
Q:... so, before that, you went back to your training camp life and traveled around on a martial arts training program?
KENOH: It was totally better than Michinoku. Pro wrestlers came from all over, and were all training together while living in one house. Everyone was from the same generation, and so there was a sense of being all together for the first time. Everyone had gathered for martial arts training, and so we all grew, had ambition and it was fun. We all ran towards our goals at that time.
Q: You were young.
KENOH: Other than myself, some guys didn't make it though. Some of those guys are in a rival group to Noah, and that is where the drama begins.
Q: It was in Yokohama that Kaito Kiyomiya who has three years, told Kenoh, who has ten years, that he was "Hidden".
KENOH: Shut up!
Q: Sorry! So, did you live alone since going from martial arts training to Michinoku Pro?
KENOH: Yes. It is rural Iwate. There was no transportation. So, I needed a car and bought it from Mirras. It will be the third inspection it has in May, and it will pass again. I have had it for seven years already. (He then talks about a twenty minute drive to Noah when they were at Differ, which doesn't translate well).
Q: Why do you go to train at the dojo more than the gym?
KENOH: It braces the mind. All the guys at the dojo aspire to the same thing, and you can get a higher quality practice by sparring with your rivals. If you go to the gym in the city, you have to practice with the health conscious guys.
Q: I see.
KENOH: There was a joint practice from 11:00 at Differ, but before that Kenta Kobashi used to practice, and a puddle was made by his sweat. Despite retiring, it was like he was putting that on a plate and leaving it there to show us. I had heard the rumors about it, but it was really every day.
Q: Noah left Differ, and relocated to the city on May 17th, and you moved near the dojo too.
KENOH: I like the dojo I think. The gym may be more popular, but Pro Wrestlers have to practice more at the dojo. You can also use the ring to practice. You can't do rope work at the gym. Even if you don't have a match, you can practice in it, and your intuition will not slow down.
Q: How is Noah now?
KENOH: I loved Differ, but I have already gotten used to it. Noah = Differ, so if you don't change the image, then you will not go to the next stage.
Q: You and Kiyomiya in the tag team "Kaioh" have been practicing together in the dojo for many years.
KENOH: I like to practice by myself, and sometimes I go until 11 o'clock at night. Sometimes there are some other guys, and although I don't like it, I think I have to practice without giving in (rough). There is one guy who works not only hard in the ring, but at the dojo too. Out of everyone in the group, it is Kitamiya. Everyone came to Differ, but now, probably because it is so far away, not really many of the others come at all. 
Q: It looks like it.
KENOH: The dojo is a dream. This is something you don't get of Noah's tradition or culture in the city's gyms. We practice daily with the training equipment and the ring that Misawa and Kobashi used. The dojo is full of sweat, it is full of Noah's history. The guys who are coming to the Dojo now will lead Noah into the Reiwa era. It is fate that the era of Japan has changed. The dojo is full of dreams! Noah has become a new system this year.

*Kenoh had been doing Nippon Kempo (a form of martial arts) since he was three years old, and a mat was used for training rather than a ring which does not form part of the practice area.

Picture credit (and translation taken from) Weekly Pro.