Finding Junomichi

I was introduced to Jumomichi at the beginning of this year (2026), and although my involvement has been going on for a short time, it’s making a big mark on my life and I can honestly say,

I’ve never been through anything like it. I come from a martial art background. Having started at the age of 14, as soon as I was competent enough, I started competing; at the time I was not mature enough to recognise the flaws and shortcomings of competition behaviour and mentality, I was excited, motivated by “winning”, feeling low self worth with “loosing”, and over the years,

I started realising “something” was missing… there were two major issues I was very disappointed with: good technique didn’t matter, as long as you score and win; when you get hurt, you’re forgotten and put aside, until you’re healthy enough to “perform” again. Over the years, the disillusion grew more and more and I stoped completely at the age of 29. Now, at the age of 49, I finally found this missing “element”, with Junomichi.

For the first time, it’s not about me, it’s not about how quick I can punch or kick, how fast I can throw, but instead I feel like a part of a whole body of knowledge and work, shared by a group of people, all different, with the same lifelong study objectives shared between us, growing together, with no selfishness or individualism.

As I see it, Junomichi is not a martial art, it’s much more than that, it’s more than just an interesting subject or academic knowledge or simple curiosity, it’s something genuinely fascinating, that makes me openly question preconceptions, rules and possibilities without fear… it’s incredible how we are constantly exploring and learning in every single moment with every single person, no matter the size, gender, experience, body strength or physical difficulties, cultivating an open mind and transforming our lives, about how we move, breathe and think.

And this is just the beginning…

See you all on the tatami.

Emanuel de Sousa (Manny) – Edinburgh, June the 15th, 2026