Bushido: The Way of the Warrior! What is the key to Jiri Prochazka’s success?

Jiri Prochazka is already in New York, where he will try to win the light heavyweight title at UFC 295 against Alex Pereira, which he had to relinquish a year ago due to a serious shoulder injury. The Czech samurai is also on a tear in America and has been fulfilling a lot of media obligations. What makes this man unique?

Jiri Prochazka is known around the world as the Czech Samurai

Jiří Procházka achieved a spectacular success in MMA and Czech sport in general when he won the light heavyweight championship belt of the world’s most famous organization, the UFC, in June 2022. Then came a serious shoulder injury and the Moravian fighter had to relinquish the title.

This weekend, however, he will get the chance to regain his lost title when he secures the main title bout with Brazilian Alex Pereira at UFC 295 held at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Whatever the outcome of the fight, his performances to date have secured his place among the elite of Czech sporting history. Procházka, who is already in New York, is attracting a lot of media interest overseas, where he is regarded as a star of great stature.

Has he really earned the respect of the sporting community and his opponents only because of his sporting achievements or has he captivated fans around the world with his unique personality? The truth will be somewhere in the middle.

Jirka makes no secret of the fact that his personal and martial life has been influenced by East Asian culture. He experienced it first-hand in the Japanese organization RIZIN, where he also won the champion’s belt and thus made an indelible mark on the history of the organization and the hearts of the local fans.

His life was influenced by the Book of Five Rings by the samurai knight Musashi

He himself attributes a lot of influence to the Book of Five Rings by the samurai knight Miyamoto Musashi, which he received from his coach Jaroslav Hovezak. It is said to have changed his life and led him to the path of a warrior.

In many interviews he has admitted that thanks to the book he has learned the Bushido samurai code, which guides him in combat as well as in his personal life. Let’s take a closer look at what this code means in general and what makes Walk so unique.

Bushido was a code of conduct for Japanese samurai warriors from the 8th century. The word “bushido” comes from the Japanese roots “bushi” meaning “warrior” and “do” meaning “way”. It literally translates to “the way of the warrior”, which incidentally is the title of a recently released documentary about Jiri Prochazka’s journey to a title fight within the UFC organization.

In the book, he learned about the Bushido samurai warrior code

The principles of “bushido” emphasized honor, courage, skill in martial arts and loyalty to the master warrior above all else. The more elaborate code includes seven virtues that guide a true samurai in everyday life and in combat.

These basic principles include:

• 義 – Gi – Calm Mind
• 勇 – Ju – Courage
• 仁 – Jin – Benevolence
• 礼 – Rei – Respect
• 誠 – Makoto or 信 – Shin – Sincerity
• 名誉 – Meijo – Honor and Glory
• 忠義 – Chougi – Devotion

In addition, true Japanese samurai had many strict rules to follow in life. For example, the majority of their diet was rice, their clothes had to be made of cotton or unadulterated silk, they had to read war books, and they had to perform various military exercises and battles at different times of the day.

The system of values mentioned by Prochazka formed the basis for combat sports. Mixed martial arts is a complex sport where the mind is a weapon on the same level as a punch or a move can be.

Whether his success is based on the codes of virtue of samurai warriors, the immeasurable diligence or the power of his strikes, Jiri Procházka has proven that even a boy from a small Czech village can make a dent in the world and earn the respect of the greatest warriors in the world. Will he prove it in his next fight with Brazilian Pereira?

Source: UFC, Thoughtco.com, Wikipedia