Nori Bunasawa

Noriaki Bunasawa (樗沢憲昭, Bunasawa Noriaki; born November 3, 1947) also known commonly as Nori Bunasawa, is a Japanese martial artist, judoka, US technical coach at the 1972 Olympic games in Munich,[1] coach of team USA at the 1975 World Judo Championships, Japanese judo-jujutsu researcher and historian, writer, sports journalist, actor, fight choreographer, script consultant,[2] and IJF media executive for the coverage of the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta.[3] He owned (until 2008) and established martial arts specialty newspaper Judo Jiujitsu Pro-fighting Journal in the US, which covered judo, jujutsu, sumo, BJJ, MMA and other professional combat sports news. He co-authored a novel based on Mitsuyo Maeda's life The Toughest Man Who Ever Lived which will be adapted into a feature film by a major production company of which he will be a script consultant and action choreographer.[2] He is also the founder of the Mitsuyo Maeda based fighting method: Bunasawa Jukkendo.[4]

Nori Bunasawa
BornNoriaki Bunasawa
(1947-11-03) November 3, 1947
Saitama, Japan
DivisionLightweight, Middleweight
StyleJudo, jukkendo
Teacher(s)Yoshimi Osawa
Masahiko Kimura
Rank9th dan (red belt) in Judo
Occupation
  • Judoka
  • judo instructor
  • writer
  • actor
  • fight choreographer
  • sports journalist
UniversityWaseda University

Biography

Nori Bunasawa was born on November 3, 1947, in Saitama, Japan. He studied judo under Yoshimi Osawa and Masahiko Kimura.[4] As a high school student he trained with Waseda University's Judo team, and as a result, he won the high school championships in the middleweight division.[5] He attended Waseda University from 1966 to 1970 and graduated with a Bachelors of science in the social sciences.[6] During this time, he won the Tokyo collegiate championship in the lightweight (under 154 lb) division.[6] In 1969, he won silver in the lightweight division at the All Japan weight limit national championships by fighting world champions Hiroshi Minatoya, Hirofumi Matsuda, Asian champion Yujiro Yamazaki[7] and defeating the latter two competitors.[6]

Hideo Yamamoto, Yoshimi Osawa and the Waseda Judo Team in 1968

Due to Bunasawa's success on the national stage, in August 1969 he was chosen as a part of a talented group (which included future Olympic champion Toyokazu Nomura and future world champion Yoshio Sonoda) to attend training camp in the mountains of the Nagano Prefecture. At the end of the camp, the All Japan Judo selection committee decided to send experienced Hiroshi Minatoya and newaza specialist[8] Yoshimitsu Kono as representatives to the 1969 World Judo Championships held in Mexico City and appointed young newcomers Bunasawa and future world champion Hisashi Tsuzawa as reserves for the −70 kg division.[9]

Career

Bunasawa traveled to the United States in 1972 to further his education and attended Edinboro State in 1973[10] where he was named as the university's varsity head coach.[6] In May 1974, Bunasawa came to Johnstown,[11] and later attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania while coaching its judo team.[10]

Bob Hope, Bunasawa, and Willard Robertson at the Ichiban Dojo in 1975

In 1975, automobile tycoon Willard Robertson selected Bunasawa to be the inaugural head judo instructor of Robertson's newly constructed, 6-million dollar[12] (equivalent to 34 million USD in 2022[13]) Ichiban Sports Center in Rogers, Arkansas.[14] At the Ichiban, Bunasawa served as the assistant coach and head camp coach for the United States national judo team that competed at the 1975 World Judo Championships.[11]

In 1978, Bunasawa founded the specialty newspaper Judo Journal in the US and the first issue was published on June of the same year.[15] The newspaper initially covered Judo, but later added coverage of MMA, sumo, BJJ, and jujutsu and thus was renamed Judo Jiujitsu Pro-fighting Journal. The final issue was published in April 2006.[16]

The story of Mitsuyo Maeda first appeared as a serial in Judo Journal starting in 1995[17] from a collaboration between John Murray and Bunasawa. In 2007, the collection was published in book form and released as The Toughest Man Who Ever Lived.[4]

  • Judo Jiujitsu Pro-fighting Journal. Vol.29 No.1
    Judo Jiujitsu Pro-fighting Journal. Vol.29 No.1
  • Bunasawa as a sports journalist with Hélio Gracie
    Bunasawa as a sports journalist with Hélio Gracie
  • The first appearance of the Mitsuyo Maeda story in Judo Journal starting on May 1995
    The first appearance of the Mitsuyo Maeda story in Judo Journal starting on May 1995
  • The Toughest Man who Ever Lived by Nori Bunasawa and John Murray
    The Toughest Man who Ever Lived by Nori Bunasawa and John Murray

Bibliography

Novels
  • The Toughest Man Who Ever Lived (with John Murray, 2007, ISBN 978-0-9648984-1-7)

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1990Martial MarshalGonji TamashitaLead role
2006Letters from Iwo JimaJapanese Journalist

References
  1. Rezell, John (March 3, 1988). "Top Judo Instructor comes to the defense of self-defense". Orange County Register.
  2. "Noriaki Bunasawa, Judoka, JudoInside". www.judoinside.com. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  3. "Judo". Orange Network. 385: 7. April 2023.
  4. Bunasawa, Nori; Murray, John (2007). The Toughest Man Who Ever Lived. Nevada: Innovations, Inc. and Judo Journal. p. 299. ISBN 978-0-9648984-1-7.
  5. Shindo, Kenichi (October 3, 2020). "青春スクロール 市立浦和高校". Asahi Shimbun.
  6. "Title Techniques". Black Belt. 16 (7): 38. July 1978.
  7. "All Japan Judo Championships Fukuoka, Event, JudoInside". www.judoinside.com. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  8. Adams, Andy (November 1967). "A Prelude to Salt Lake City". Black Belt. 5: 12.
  9. Kudo, Raisuke (September 10, 1969). "日本代表決まる". The Judo Shimbun.
  10. "New Judo Instructor at 'Y' Here". Indiana Evening Gazette. February 21, 1975.
  11. "Instructor on Show". Rogers Daily News. April 1975.
  12. Zimmerman, Richard (January 1980). "Ichiban-Fourth Olympic Training Center for Judo". Black Belt. p. 30. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  13. "CPI Inflation Calculator". data.bls.gov.
  14. "Ichiban Sports Complex shares strange story". Arkansas Online. May 12, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  15. "World Wide Leading Judo Newspaper". Judo Journal. 1. June 1978.
  16. "Heavyweight Battle: Pride Champ Fedor Takes on all Challengers". Judo Jiujitsu Pro-fighting Journal. 30 (1).
  17. "Mitsuyo Maeda: Origin of Gracie/Brazilian Jujitsu". Judo Journal. May 1995.
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