A conversation with Saya

[cjsreport]

I completed the interview with Saya Ito, which you can read here.

Thank you to those who asked questions! Sorry if I didn't ask your question but she is unsure about a lot of things since she is graduating soon, so questions about future fights and opponents probably would have gotten similar answers.

Enjoy!

 

 

[cjsreport]

Saya's coach posted this picture, with a link to a Japanese translation of the article.

He commented that Saya will return perfectly because she doesn't want to have any regrets, that she will fight for a long time, and that she will climb to the top of the Muay Thai world.

LadyGo! commented that it is a little late for her to still be thinking about taking the college entrance exams and that those might already be off the table for serious consideration

 

[Micc]

Thanks for the interview (and asking my questions ^_^). She seems like a really sweet girl, I hope it will all play out well for her in the future - fighting-wise and also academically. I can only imagine how hard it must be for her, dealing with an injury that makes her basically stop training and having to adjust her plans for the nearest future. Really, all the best to her and stay strong, Saya!! :)

[cjsreport]

No problem, Saya is fun to talk to. Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for asking some questions

[radarjam]

I agree with Mic haha - indeed she seems such a sweet little girl!! :) Thank you for taking the time to interview and share it with us. I'd love to meet her one day and perhaps train with her if I ever go back to Japan again; I am visiting Thailand in March/April 2017 however but it'll be around the time when she graudates high school. 

がんばって、さやさん！ヽ(・∀・)ﾉ

[Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu]

Thanks so much for this interview, Charlie. Is the window for college entrance exams one that closes and never reopens? Or does she just have to wait another year?

[cjsreport]

From what I understand, you can only take the test once a year. If you are going to a public school, generally the better schools in Japan, you will also have to pass a school specific exam. Unlike the U.S., a lot of the tests are scheduled within a small time frame limiting how many schools you can apply to.

It's kind of interesting, the students who don't get in and choose to retake the test are called "ronin", which is a term for masterless samurai aka 47 Ronin. Something like 40% of students accepted to top universities are ronin in Japan.

To put it into perspective, most companies and the government in Japan hire exclusively from certain schools, making the school you get into very important for your future. Especially since most people in Japan will only work for one company.

The exams take place mid to late January.