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Mitsuyoshi Hayakawa

“The Toy Box of Techniques”

The first Japanese black belt under Alexandre Paiva — three-time All Japan champion, founder of Tokyo's Tri-Force and one of Japan's leading coaches.

Last updated: 20 September 2026

Biography

Mitsuyoshi Hayakawa is a Japanese black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and the founder of the Tri-Force Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Tokyo. He was born on September 21, 1975, in Toshima-ku, Tokyo, and had no martial-arts background before 1996, when he began training in Jiu-Jitsu under Naoyuki Taira at age 20 or 21. He took to the sport quickly, becoming one of Japan's leading competitors within a few years and winning the All Japan Open in both 1998 and 1999. From 2000 he started traveling to Brazil to compete and train, joining the Alliance team in Rio de Janeiro and spending an extended period there under Alexandre "Gigi" Paiva. The move paid off in 2002. Hayakawa won the Rio de Janeiro State Cup, and soon after Paiva awarded him his black belt — the first he had given to a Japanese practitioner. The belt placed Hayakawa in a lineage that runs back through Paiva, Romero Cavalcanti, Rolls Gracie, Helio Gracie, and Carlos Gracie to Mitsuyo Maeda. Later that year, now competing as a black belt, he returned to the All Japan Open and won it for the third time, after 1998 and 1999. In the final he is said to have beaten Yuki Nakai, already a legendary figure in Japanese martial arts for his historic fight against Rickson Gracie — a result that, by Tri-Force's account, cemented Hayakawa's own reputation as Japan's leading competitor at the time. The Nakai match is reported by Tri-Force and, more cautiously, by an independent profile; neither cites a tournament record, so it stands here as reported rather than settled. The rest of the Alliance years — the move to Rio, the State Cup, the black belt itself — is confirmed independently; of what follows, it is the nickname, the 2004 Worlds placing, the federation posts and the academy's ranking that rest on Tri-Force's own account of its founder. In 2004, while still competing near the top of the sport — he finished in the top eight of the black-belt division at the IBJJF World Championship that year — Hayakawa founded Tri-Force in Tokyo. His all-around game, able to draw on what the academy describes as a seemingly endless variety of techniques, earned him the nickname "The Toy Box of Techniques" in Japan. Since then he has also made his name as a teacher: he is regarded as one of Japan's leading Jiu-Jitsu coaches, and a generation of Japanese competitors has come up under him at the academy. From 2007, Hayakawa's role extended beyond his own academy: he served as both executive director and referee director of the Japan Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (JBJJF), helping establish the organization's foundations and heading its refereeing department. Tri-Force, meanwhile, grew into what the academy says has been Japan's top-ranked school in the JBJJF's academy rankings every year since that system began in 2018, having produced world champions and multiple All-Japan champions of its own.

Sources for this profile

BJJ Heroes, "Mitsuyoshi Hayakawa" fighter profile(opens in a new tab)
- Mitsuyoshi Hayakawa's black-belt lineage runs Mitsuyo Maeda, Carlos Gracie, Helio Gracie, Rolls Gracie, Romero Cavalcanti, Alexandre Paiva, Mitsuyoshi Hayakawa.
  Where in the source: Lineage: Mitsuyo Maeda > Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Rolls Gracie > Romero Cavalcanti > Alexandre Paiva > Mitsuyoshi Hayakawa
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
- Mitsuyoshi Hayakawa was born on September 21, 1975, in Toshima-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
  Where in the source: Mitsuyoshi Hayakawa was born on the 21st of September, 1975 in Toshima-ku, Tokio, Japan.
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
- Hayakawa began training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 1996 under Naoyuki Taira, one of the sport's early pioneers in Japan, and developed rapidly, becoming one of the country's leading young competitors in the late 1990s. BJJ Heroes and Tri-Force's own account of its founder both describe him as having no prior martial-arts background before this; Digitsu's independently-read account instead credits him with earlier training in Seido Kaikan, a full-contact karate style, before he took up BJJ.
  Where in the source: With no previous martial arts training, Mitsuyoshi started practicing Jiu Jitsu in 1996 under Naoyuki Taira. Hayakawa became very interested in BJJ training every chance he could and eventually becoming one of the main competitors in Japan (winning the All Japan Open 2 years straight).
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
- Hayakawa was crowned All Japan Champion in 1998, 1999, and 2002, and Rio de Janeiro State Champion in 2002.
  Where in the source: Main Achievements: All Japan Champion (1998, 1999, 2002); Rio de Janeiro State Champion (2002)
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
- Hayakawa is regarded as one of the top Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu coaches in Japan, having trained a generation of Japanese grapplers through Tri-Force.
  Where in the source: Considered to be one of the top grappling coaches in Japan, Mitsuyoshi Hayakawa is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under Master Alexandre Paiva
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
Tri-Force Jiu-Jitsu Academy, official English biography of its founder(opens in a new tab)
- From 2000, Hayakawa increasingly competed internationally and joined the Alliance Jiu-Jitsu team in Rio de Janeiro, training under Alexandre "Gigi" Paiva for an extended period.
  Where in the source: From 2000 onward, Hayakawa increasingly focused on international competition and achieved strong results at numerous tournaments. During this period, he joined the prestigious Alliance Jiu-Jitsu team and spent an extended period training with them.
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
- In 2002 Hayakawa won the Rio de Janeiro State Cup and was subsequently awarded his black belt by Alexandre Paiva, becoming the first Japanese practitioner to receive a black belt from the Alliance team.
  Where in the source: In 2002, he entered and won the Rio de Janeiro State Cup in Brazil. Following this victory, he was awarded his black belt by Master Alexandre Paiva, becoming the first Japanese practitioner to receive a black belt from Alliance.
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
- Later in 2002, in the final of that year's All Japan Open, Hayakawa is reported to have defeated Yuki Nakai -- already a legendary figure in Japanese martial arts for his historic bout with Rickson Gracie -- a result Tri-Force credits with cementing his reputation as Japan's premier BJJ competitor of the time.
  Where in the source: Tri-Force: "...faced Yuki Nakai, who had already achieved legendary status ... through his historic bout with Rickson Gracie." Digitsu: "...reportedly defeating Yuki Nakai in the final..."
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
- Hayakawa's versatile fighting style earned him the nickname "The Toy Box of Techniques" in Japan.
  Where in the source: His highly versatile fighting style earned him the nickname “The Toy Box of Techniques,” reflecting his ability to draw upon a seemingly endless variety of techniques at will.
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
- In 2004 Hayakawa founded the Tri-Force Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Tokyo while continuing to compete, finishing among the top eight competitors in his black-belt division at that year's IBJJF World Championship.
  Where in the source: In 2004, he founded Tri-Force Jiu-Jitsu Academy while continuing to compete at the highest level, finishing among the top eight competitors in his black belt division at that year's IBJJF World Championship.
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
- From 2007, Hayakawa served as both executive director and referee director of the Japan Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (JBJJF), helping establish the organization's foundations and heading its refereeing department.
  Where in the source: Beginning in 2007, Hayakawa served as both executive and referee director of the Japan Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (JBJJF), playing a central role in establishing the organizational foundations of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Japan. He also served as the head of the federation's refereeing department.
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
- Tri-Force has produced world champions and multiple All-Japan champions, and has held the number-one position in the Japan Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation's academy rankings every year since that ranking system began in 2018.
  Where in the source: In competition, Tri-force has produced world champions and numerous all Japan champions. ... Since the Japan Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (JBJJF) introduced its academy rankings in 2018, Tri-force has consistently held the No. 1 position and is recognized as Japan's leading Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academy.
  Accessed: 2026-09-20