All set to take on the world
By day, he’s a mild-mannered massage therapist who eases the aches and pains of his Hobart clients. But put him in a judo dojo and Yutaka Wakamatsu becomes a fierce martial arts competitor, hungry to win, as he prepares to compete for Australia in the Judo Kata World Championships in Poland in coming days.
The 44-year-old, from Electrona, will compete with 51-year-old judo partner Nick Mackey, from Taroona, on September 13 and 14, hoping to be crowned world champions in their Katame no Kata division.
Kata is exhibition-style judo, with the pair demonstrating various grappling techniques, including holds, chokes and joint locks, as part of the competition.
Wakamatsu grew up in Japan and started learning judo when he was 16.
He completed a bachelor degree in international communications then began working in the import/export trade and a job opportunity brought him to Australia in 2006.
He spent three years living in Melbourne before moving to Tasmania – he loves the state’s natural beauty and says it has been a great place to raise his two children.
Wakamatsu gained a diploma of remedial massage in 2012, then completed postgraduate study in craniosacral therapy, inspired by his judo training to learn more about how the body works.
He has spent the past 10 years working at the Massage Centre of Hobart in Salamanca.
Wakamatsu initially competed in combat-style judo but moved into exhibition-style judo after becoming injured, and says he enjoys kata as it allows him to continue to train, compete and hone his craft without it being as taxing on his body.
“I had a right knee ACL reconstruction and I’ve had finger injuries twice,” he says.
“Working as a massage therapist I need to really protect my body, so I’m not as keen to do the sparring any more.”
When Wakamatsu and Mackey achieved their third dan black belts in 2018 their coach Mike Griffiths suggested they consider competing nationally as a duo.
So they took his advice and were crowned national champions in 2019 and again in 2021.
Wakamatsu had to relinquish his Japanese citizenship to be able to compete for Australia in the World Championship (he became an Australian citizen in 2021).
“Giving up citizenship of your birth country is not something you do easily but I was so passionate about Australia and the world championships that I was willing to give everything to achieve my goal,” he says.
Judo competitors, Yutaka Wakamatsu and Nick Mackey are looking forward to representing Australia in the World Championships, in Poland.
This is the first time Wakamatsu and Mackey have competed at an international level but Wakamatsu is hoping for success. “We’ll do our best,’’ he says.
“At this stage we’re aiming to go to the final round, and if we could get to the finals we would try to aim for the medals. When I go to competitions I’m always hungry to win.’’