Suzuki with his 4 children in the promotion of his KJA
It should be noted that, in Japan, it is rare for judokas to set up their own dojos as a business, since much of the activity takes place in educational institutions or public sports centers and the few judokas who set up their own dojos do so. generally more as a hobby or a complementary activity, without seeking its economic sustainability.
With the founding of his KJA he also shows his entrepreneurial profile, differentiating his academy from others, from its name in English and its cool aesthetics, to a clear vision and objectives.
Also, in January of this year, he published a book exclusively dedicated to the ashi-waza or leg techniques that are his specialty.
On social media, he is particularly active on Instagram, both on his personal account (@gk.kizuna) and that of his KJA academy (@keijijudoacademy). And, lately, once the Paris 2024 Olympics were over, he returned with very interesting publications on his YouTube channel whose first video dates from October 1, 2023 in which it presents the location chosen for the installation of its KJA academy. The recent videos (5) with his reflections as Technical Director of the men’s team at the 2024 Paris Olympics from a more emotional than technical side are particularly interesting, as is the one corresponding to the dialogue with the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor and competitor ( BJJ), Masaki TAKEURA (1995), with whom they exchange opinions about the differences between Judo and BJJ.
Although in his reflections on the Paris 2024 Olympics with comments on each of the athletes and coaches he includes some somewhat disruptive observations, it could be described as being within what is accepted for a Technical Director of a national team, although listening to it several times, messages are discovered between somewhat disruptive lines. However, the dialogue between SUZUKI and TAKEURA is very juicy, where SUZUKI makes its disruptive side much more evident, for example, recognizing some aspects of BJJ that make it much more attractive compared to Judo for a segment of the market, in a context, as he himself indicates, where Judo lost 40% of its practicing population between 2004 and 2021, while BJJ tripled its population from the second half of 2010.
Likewise, the aforementioned TAKEURA, who is, in turn, founder of the company BJJ LAB that is known as an “online BJJ laboratory” that produces and markets technical videos and organizes specialized courses and seminars by renowned instructors, has recently published on his own YouTube Channel a couple of videos on the occasion of his recent visit to the SUZUKI dojo, one in dialogue with it (which does not overlap with the one published by SUZUKI) and another where he receives the explanation of some ashi techniques -waza included in his book.
Obviously, it would not be a coincidence that both SUZUKI and TAKEURA’s publications about their visit to the KJA were in the same first half of October in which the November edition of the specialized magazine “HIDEN BUDO & BUJUTSU” went on sale. ” with SUZUKI in the cover story, explaining their ashi-waza and also, the promotional video for said edition was published with SUZUKI showing their techniques.
It would also not be a coincidence that, in this same month of October in which SUZUKI is ratified as Technical Director of the men’s team and a promotional campaign for his book is carried out, his KJA academy has begun classes for adults.
