Bridges, a javelin-style throw and no weight room: how Japanese writers describe Yamamoto's method

Yoshinobu Yamamoto is listed at 178 centimeters and 80 kilograms, modest by pro standards, and the training that Japanese writers associate with him is not what most pitchers do. Its source is Osamu Yada, a judo therapist, a licensed Japanese trade in manual treatment, who opened a clinic in Osaka in 1980, SPREAD reported in March 2026. Yada calls his approach the BC Total Balance System. The exercises are meant to restore natural standing, walking and running, without relying on weights.

Daisuke Nakajima, whose 2023 Shinchosha book covers the subject, has given the most detail. In web Sportiva he wrote that Yamamoto does no weight training and uses bridges and javelin throwing, within a system of over 300 exercises. The javelin-style tool is the flecha, Spanish for arrow. SPREAD adds breathing work with a straw. Nakajima's book description says Yamamoto throws with almost no bend in his elbow.

The start date depends on the source. SPREAD says Yamamoto, drafted in 2016, met Yada through an acquaintance in the spring of his first year. Shinchosha says he has worked with Yada since the offseason of 2017, his first pro year. The two can fit if meeting and starting are different things, but neither source says so.

What the two sides of the Pacific noticed is also different. Nakajima wrote in 2022 that the delivery drew heavy criticism at first and that it is harder to hear now. In October 2024, MLB's official account posted the flecha routine as a curiosity, calling it very interesting. By 2026, SPREAD reported, Mookie Betts was trying javelin work in spring training. Yada, now working with the Dodgers, described his aim as being a bridge between East and West. This is reporting on one pitcher's approach, not training advice.