{* *} Message From Founder - NPO法人モンキーマジック
About NPO Monkey Magic

Message From Founder

Message from Koichiro

Our organization was founded on August 2005 with our adamant desire to further climbing activities for people with sight disabilities. I first started free clibming in the summer of 1984, when I was sixteen years old. In 1996, I was told by the doctor that I will completely lose my sight in the future from my progressive eye-disease.
For years since then, I lived in desperation. I was, however, fortunate to be inspired by so many people I have become friends with, and through those experiences I founded NPO Monkey Magic to further free climbing - the sport I truly love - to others with sight disabilities just like myself.

Free climbing is a sport where we as human beings use our hands, feet and many other primitive abilities which we are born with to climb natural rocks and cliffs. Rocks and cliffs sit still for decades and centuries. As I, myself have now become being able to only sense light and darkness, I discovered that climbing those immovable objects with our own pace and goals is very much suited for sight disabilities.
This - "climbing with our primitive abilities" - is true not only for us with disabilities, but every single person living together in today's society.

10 years have past since Monkey Magic was founded. Since the foundation, there were many trial and errors to expand our activities to establish our mission as NPO wishing to further climbing activities not just for people with sight disabilities, but the whole society we live in.

We often get questions like these.
"Can someone like ME free climb?"
"Would my daughter be able to do THAT?"
Our answer is always this.
"We don't know. So come on over and let's try!"
When you achieve something you have never thought you could do, you climb over one invisible obstacle in your life.

Monkey Magic Founder
Koichiro Kobayashi

Monkey Magic Founder, Koichiro Kobayashi
Koba's Climbing Life 2013
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Monkey Magic @ 2015 Kennesaw
(English Caption Available)

< About Koichiro >

1968 Born Tokyo, Japan. First started free climbing when he was 16.
Began working in a tourism company after graduating from college, later takes the career in outdoor business.
1996 Diagnosed as Pigmentary Retinal Degeneration at the age 28. He was notified that he will lose his vision in the future.
2005 Founded NPO Monkey Magic. Climbs to the summit of Kilimanjaro - the highest point in the African continent.
2006 Wins the first place in ParaClimbing Championships - Men Blind category.
2011 Wins the first place in ParaClimbing Championships Italy - B2 Blind category.
2014 Wins the first place in ParaClimbing Championships Spain - B1 Blind category.
2016 Wins the first place in ParaClimbing Championships Paris - B1 Blind category.
2018 Wins the first place in ParaClimbing Championships Innsbruck - B1 Blind category.
2019 Wins the first place in ParaClimbing Championships Briançon - B1 Blind category.

Koichiro is still an active professional free climber. He is the founder and representative of NPO Monkey Magic, and a chairman of JARVI (Japanese Association of Rehabilitation for the Visually Impaired. He is actively travelling all over the world for lectures and furthering paraclimbing.

The Japan NPO Center has published an article introducing our organization.
Click here to read the article.

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