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
1968 | Born Tokyo, Japan. First started free climbing when he was 16. |
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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.