Kunou attended Kokushikan High School during a notoriously strict era marked by mandatory dormitory life and over five hours of daily judo training.
“I was a kid who wasn’t all that strong, but I loved judo and had a straightforward desire to get stronger, so I picked the absolute worst school to go to,” Kunou said.
That punishing routine stripped away fear. “After that, no matter how terrible the experience was, it didn’t feel hard,” Kunou said. “Whatever happens, my life has reached a point where I can just shrug and think, ‘Oh well…'”
While students were supposed to study, exhaustion left the judo team sleeping through classes. Outside school, their distinctive ribbed uniforms served as an effective deterrent against street altercations. “When people saw our uniforms, everyone backed away saying, ‘It’s Kokushikan…'” Kunou said.
Transition to Bodybuilding in California
Fascinated by Antonio Inoki since childhood, Kunou initially targeted judo as a stepping stone to professional wrestling. Seeking an Olympic berth alongside contemporaries like Toshihiko Koga, Kunou transitioned to collegiate wrestling before joining the Self-Defense Force physical training school.
Injuries derailed the wrestling path, pushing Kunou toward weight training and eventually bodybuilding. “Back then, it was about 40 years ago, so it was a time when nobody knew any know-how,” Kunou said.
Kunou moved to Venice Beach in California, heading straight to the original Gold Gym as part of Japan’s first wave of bodybuilding expats. Financial strain eventually forced Kunou to retire from bodybuilding after working as a shiatsu practitioner to support a strict training diet.
The Pan American Jiu-Jitsu Triumph
Retirement left a void until a chance encounter with Jean-Jacques Machado at Gold’s Gym. Machado learned Kunou had a judo background and invited him to enter a local mixed-rules tournament matching judo against jiu-jitsu.
Kunou lost the initial bout by a single point under submission-grappling rules, sparking a competitive return.
When asked where he learned Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Kunou denied having any formal instruction. “Kokushikan was known as a place where they made you drill groundwork endlessly,” Kunou said. “Kokushikan’s groundwork has amazing attacks from the bottom and reversal techniques.”
“UWF beat jiu-jitsu!” Kunou said.
Kunou Competed in Inoki Genome Federation
Kunou later competed in Inoki Genome Federation. “I’m a pro wrestler who isn’t recognized as a pro wrestler,” Kunou said.
“If you applied an Achilles lock to Inoki-san, that’s not where…” Kunou noted regarding the unpredictable reality of Inoki’s locker room.
Worth a look
