#SENSEI BEYONCE
Introducing Mina Yamazaki
USA KARATE OLYMPIC TEAM MEMBER
" The Beyonce spirit that I want young girls to identify with. Not just the performer, but the message that Beyonce gives. [The] path that she took to get to be a performer. "
-- Sensei Mina
1. How did your journey begin?
“I was born and raised in Anaheim, California. I went to Loara High School - Go Saxons! I’ve trained in Karate all my life. My father is famous in the Karate world, so this allowed me to train in areas that would otherwise be hesitant to allow a foreigner to participate. This opportunity allowed me to train with some of the best people in the Karate world. Nowadays I associate years with the tournaments I’ve participated in. The year of 2016 will be remembered as the year I went to Brazil for the international Karate tournament."
2. What is your training schedule?
"When I go to Japan, I get off the plane, and take a little flight to the smallest prefecture. Once I am there, I go to the dojo. From there I eat, sleep, and train. Any down time I have is spent sleeping to prepare for the next stress.”
3. Describe a meaningful moment in your athletic career.
“Last year in May, I tore my ACL mid move during the Brazil International Karate tournament. It was painful. However, tearing my ACL is nothing special in the Karate world. Since I am 31, this injury can be life or death for this career. Personally, I think it was a good thing because it refocused me on my passion. This injury has made me retrain from the bottom up, instead of coming into a dojo without knowing anything, I know exactly what I need to do and what I want to achieve. There is nothing mysterious about it, and I am relearning at an age when most people feel that they won’t learn anything. It feels new and exciting. In Karate, everyday you have battles, and every time you win. What matters is that you keep going.”
4. What is your “Spirit Word” and why?
“#SenseiBeyonce. The Beyonce spirit that I want young girls to identify with. Not just the performer, but the message that Beyonce gives. [The] path that she took to get to be a performer. She wasn't afraid to be who she is. She pushed the limits in her field and became a symbol of thought femininity. That is the type of spirit I think all girls should have.”
5. How do you use Azendea Products in your life?
"I love things that smell good, not just to mask odors. Unfortunately, my dog smells. He has a 5 day period where he smells okay, but after the 7th day he smells. I’ve researched ways, and he keeps making everything stinky. So, when I started using the Azendea products, I sprayed it everywhere - in his bed, on him, in my office… I sprayed [it] everywhere and waited for people to come by to see if they could smell anything. Once they smelled nothing, then I knew the Azendea products worked.”
"One day I was wearing a sports bra, and it dried underneath a wet towel the day before I wore it. Well I put [the bra] and the uniform on. [Once] I did a stance, a puff of air went up and I was hit with this bad, stinky smell. As a teacher, I have to be around kids and I did not want to be the “smelly teacher”, so I sprayed myself with Warrior and went back to work. The smell was gone! It wasn't masked; the good smell and the bad smell both dispersed [after using Warrior]. There was no odor!"
"[Also at the dojo,] junior athletes wear shin and fist guards. The guard is a vinyl, plastic [material that is] not waterproof. A lot of times, if you take off the guard there is sweat and the kids will throw them into their bags, making their bags smell terrible. So if any of the junior athletes' bags smells, I would throw any of the Azendea sprays into the bag: Warrior, Rhea, Moon Salutation, etc. and the smell will be gone.
Mina's Recommendations
Warrior
“After a workout - WARRIOR. I like Warrior because when you’re training, your muscles become sore and you start to get stinky because you trained so hard. So you spray yourself with WARRIOR because you are a stinky warrior, and you don’t want to be a stinky warrior. The WARRIOR spray doesn’t mask the odor, but eliminates it completely and refreshes you.”
Moon Salutation
“MOON SALUTATION makes me feel safe. It is a deeper kind of smell that makes me feel serene when I use it. I also spray MOON SALUTATION on my dog so he can calm down and not have a dog smell anymore.”
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