26.10.2007 PassionGMA isn’t made up only of Jiu-Jitsu academies. Anyone who believes in the ideal of spreading Jiu-Jitsu and wants to distribute GRACIE Magazine, as well as having their work divulged by us, can join the association.
A good example is Japanese photographer Kinya Hashimoto. He starting taking martial arts pictures at ADCC 2005, and currently works with “Gonkaku Magazine” and is the main writer of Bullterrier’s Brazil Blog.
The 34-year-old, who is infatuated with Brazil, got into GMA influenced by his good friend Emily Kwok, a GRACIE Mag sales representative who trains under Ricardo Almeida and is a world Jiu-Jitsu brown/black belt champion. Hashimoto’s goal? Simple: “To spread Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Japan,” he says.
A true grappling aficionado, Hashimoto came to Brazil long before he ever started working as a reporter. His first-ever trip was to watch the 2001 Worlds – but he took home more than just memories from good fights, as he got carried away and bought a lot of Jiu-Jitsu items, including gis, videos, magazines and T-shirts. “I spent 5 thousand dollars,” he confesses.
It is with that kind of passion for martial arts that Hashimoto helps distribute GRACIE Magazine at all the events he covers, taking it not only to the big ones like the ADCC or World Championship, but also across the globe to Japanese tournaments. It’s the same passion that drives us.
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