Hiryu Niwa
Hiryu Niwa grew from a child in AXIS Yokohama’s adult classes into an AOJ competitor and an owner of his first academy.
Biography
Sources for this profile
Niwa Bros, About.(opens in a new tab)
Guilherme Mendes promoted the brothers to black belt in2022 after the No-Gi World Championships.
Where in the source: About,2022 paragraph.
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The brothers say they became the owners of AXIS Yokohama in2024 and teach there while pursuing their own competition goals.
Where in the source: About,2024 paragraph.
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Hiryu Niwa was born on17July2001.
Where in the source: Hiryu profile birth date.
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The brothers began training at AXIS Yokohama in2008.
Where in the source: About, shared chronological biography.
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Their online teaching service offers technique and positional explanations, sparring footage and seminar or curriculum videos.
Where in the source: About, online service description.
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BJJ Heroes, Hiryu Niwa.(opens in a new tab)
Hiryu Niwa is a Japanese jiu-jitsu athlete and the younger brother of Reon Niwa.
Where in the source: Introduction and biography.
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He was born in Hiroshima and moved to Yokohama as a young child.
Where in the source: Biography opening.
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MMAPLANET, Satoshi Narita interview with the Niwa brothers,2August2019.(opens in a new tab)
Hiryu began at seven after João Paulo Kuraoka offered him a gi; his father was already training, and Reon joined the following day.
Where in the source: Opening training-origin questions.
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The academy did not yet have a children’s class: the brothers joined adults and practised self-defence while adults sparred, learning from João Paulo and João Carlos Kuraoka.
Where in the source: Opening answer on first classes.
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Hiryu recalled disliking competition as a child because he feared losing, then becoming more comfortable by junior high school.
Where in the source: Question on competing since childhood.
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His first American training trip was in2018; sparring at AOJ showed him the competitive gap could be closed, and repeated rounds with Zach Kaina strengthened his confidence and technique.
Where in the source: Answers on first US visit and AOJ sparring.
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After losing his2019 Tokyo Grand Slam brown-belt debut0–2 to Tomoo Ide, he described rushing and making small mistakes, and identified conditioning for repeated matches as work still needed.
Where in the source: Later questions on Tokyo Grand Slam.
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BJJASIA, The Niwa Brothers,5July2020.(opens in a new tab)
Takamasa Watanabe promoted the brothers to brown belt in July 2019.
Where in the source: Introductory chronology.
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Hiryu’s2019 Pan title changed the brothers’ sense of what they could achieve at adult level.
Where in the source: Question about the2019 Pan victory.
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Inspired by AOJ’s online instruction, the brothers developed a Japanese teaching platform during the pandemic and launched it on1May2020 to serve practitioners training at home.
Where in the source: Questions on launching online instruction.
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The brothers described Hiryu’s game as more acrobatic and modern, while Reon favoured fundamental positions and pressure passing.
Where in the source: Question on differences between the brothers.
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MMAPLANET, Satoshi Narita interview,31March2020.(opens in a new tab)
While finishing high school, Hiryu decided against going on to university and left for American training inDecember2019.
Where in the source: Interview on departure10December2019 and education.
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At AOJ he valued the early drilling period, when Guilherme Mendes could give detailed technical advice before advanced and competition classes.
Where in the source: Answers describing8:30drilling,9:00advanced and10:30competition class.
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The cancellation of the2020 Pan Championships and closure of AOJ interrupted their American stay; they returned to Japan inMarch, and Hiryu treated the interruption as time to prepare for another attempt.
Where in the source: Interview opening and concluding answers;19March return.
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Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu News Blog, Hiryu Niwa interview,8September2021.(opens in a new tab)
After winning the2021 Pan, Hiryu explained that AOJ’s emphasis on sustained top pressure helped him keep attacking in the final when his preferred sequence failed.
Where in the source: First answer on semifinal and final.
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He competed at light featherweight in Japan but chose roosterweight for major American events because he felt relatively small against the light-feather field there.
Where in the source: Question comparing domestic and international divisions.
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He said encouragement from AXIS Yokohama helped him through hard preparation and that results were a way to repay that support.
Where in the source: Final answer to Japanese supporters.
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MMAPLANET, Hiryu Niwa on the2021 Worlds,8January2022.(opens in a new tab)
Hiryu lost the2021 brown-belt roosterweight world final0–2 to Matheus Vilaça despite collecting eight advantages.
Where in the source: Opening final description and first answers.
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Before that Worlds he practised finishing against younger blue and purple belts as well as larger training partners, seeking both positional and direct guard submissions.
Where in the source: Answers on final two weeks of training.
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He said serious leg-lock study began as a brown belt at AOJ; work after an unsuccessful Pan approach helped him finish the world quarterfinal and semifinal quickly.
Where in the source: Answers on leg-lock development and Worlds preparation.
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He accepted that he had failed to finish the final and recalled Mendes teaching that a champion must find a way to submit from any situation; the loss also exposed how much remained before he could contend at black belt.
Where in the source: Final answers on the decision and promotion readiness.
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MMAPLANET, Niwa brothers before the2022 Worlds,1June2022.(opens in a new tab)
The brothers remained at brown belt for another world-title attempt in2022; Hiryu helped Reon’s roosterweight preparation with extra partner training.
Where in the source: Opening questions and discussion of Reon’s weight preparation.
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Hiryu distinguished trying new ideas in smaller opens from relying on his most dependable game at the Worlds.
Where in the source: Question comparing opens and the Worlds.
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He said five weeks of training with Thalison Soares before the2022 Worlds had increased his confidence and given him further technical learning.
Where in the source: Answer about training with Thalison.
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Jiu-Jitsu Times interview,11January2023, full text republished by Senso.(opens in a new tab)
The brothers closed out the2022 No-Gi Worlds brown-belt light-feather final before receiving their black belts.
Where in the source: Opening closeout/promotion paragraphs.
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They credited teammate Cole Abate with helping their no-gi development in2022 and described each other as close friends as well as competitive rivals.
Where in the source: Middle interview paragraphs on Cole and sibling relationship.
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IBJJF, 2019 Pan Championships.(opens in a new tab)
Hiryu Niwa won gold in the adult male purple-belt roosterweight division at the 2019 Pan Championships, representing AXIS Jiu-Jitsu.
Where in the source: ADULT MALE PURPLE-BELT ROOSTERWEIGHT: 1Hiryu Niwa;2Darryl Lebus;3Cory Walker;3Matheus Vilaça.
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IBJJF, 2019 World Championships.(opens in a new tab)
Hiryu Niwa won bronze in the adult male purple-belt roosterweight division at the 2019 World Championships, representing AXIS Jiu-Jitsu.
Where in the source: ADULT MALE PURPLE-BELT ROOSTERWEIGHT: 1Keven Carrasco;2Hiago Noboru Oliveira Ueno;3Hiryu Niwa;3Matheus D.C.M.Fonseca.
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IBJJF, 2021 Pan Championships.(opens in a new tab)
Hiryu Niwa won gold in the adult male brown-belt roosterweight division at the 2021 Pan Championships, representing Art of Jiu-Jitsu.
Where in the source: ADULT MALE BROWN-BELT ROOSTERWEIGHT: 1Hiryu Niwa;2Osamah Almarwai;3Carlos Florez;3Tadiyah Danforth.
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IBJJF, 2021 World Championships.(opens in a new tab)
Hiryu Niwa won silver in the adult male brown-belt roosterweight division at the 2021 World Championships, representing Art of Jiu-Jitsu.
Where in the source: ADULT MALE BROWN-BELT ROOSTERWEIGHT: 1Matheus Henrique A.A.Vilaça;2Hiryu Niwa;3Osamah Almarwai;3Pierre Pires.
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IBJJF, 2022 No-Gi World Championships.(opens in a new tab)
Hiryu Niwa won silver in the adult male brown-belt light-featherweight division at the 2022 No-Gi World Championships, representing Art of Jiu-Jitsu.
Where in the source: ADULT MALE BROWN-BELT LIGHT-FEATHERWEIGHT: 1Reon Niwa;2Hiryu Niwa;3Lucas Canto;3Valor Boyer.
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IBJJF, 2023 Pan Championships.(opens in a new tab)
Hiryu Niwa won silver in the adult male black-belt roosterweight division at the 2023 Pan Championships, representing Art of Jiu-Jitsu.
Where in the source: ADULT MALE BLACK-BELT ROOSTERWEIGHT: 1Zayed Alkatheeri;2Hiryu Niwa;3Francisco Jonas Andrade;3Frank Cespedes.
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IBJJF, 2021 American Nationals.(opens in a new tab)
Hiryu Niwa won gold in the adult male brown-belt light-featherweight division at the 2021 American Nationals, representing Art of Jiu-Jitsu.
Where in the source: ADULT MALE BROWN-BELT LIGHT-FEATHERWEIGHT: 1Hiryu Niwa;2Vance Kamminga;3Ermeson Ribeiro;3Matheus Fonseca.
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ONE Championship, ONE Friday Fights80 report,20September2024.(opens in a new tab)
At ONE Friday Fights80, Hiryu lost a ten-minute flyweight submission-grappling bout to Shoya Ishiguro by unanimous decision after attacking leg locks early and facing a late heel-hook attempt.
Where in the source: Hiryu Niwa versus Shoya Ishiguro subsection.
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Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu News Blog,2025 Abu Dhabi World Pro report,5December2025.(opens in a new tab)
A2025 Abu Dhabi World Pro report lists Hiryu Niwa of AXIS as runner-up in the professional black-belt56kg division.
Where in the source: Event report list: 丹羽飛龍 / AXIS / プロフェッショナル黒帯56kg準優勝.
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