Krazy Bee Gym, Itoman

I photographed MMA fighter Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto last December at my friend Ben’s capoeira dojo in Chatan (blog post here). A few days ago, I got a call from Norifumi to say that he was setting up his own Krazy Bee gym in Itoman, and could I take some photos of the team.

Son of Japanese Olympic wrestler Ikuei Yamamoto, Norifumi is a fearsome mixed martial arts fighter. (some video highlights on YouTube)

Norifumi Kid Yamamoto at Krazy Bee Gym, Itoman City, Okinawa, Japan

Norifumi’s older sister Miyuu is a three-time Freestyle Wrestling World Champion, and now fights mixed martial arts. Their younger sister Seiko, also a champion wrestler, now lives in Texas and is married to baseball pitcher Yu Darvish.

Miyuu Yamamoto at Krazy Bee Gym, Itoman City, Okinawa, Japan

Miyuu’s son Erson Yamamoto is a mixed martial arts fighter competing professionally.

Erson Yamamoto at Krazy Bee Gym, Itoman City, Okinawa, Japan

Along with the Yamamoto family, there are several other fighters in the Crazy Bee team: Betinho Vital a jiu-jitsu fighter from Brazil

Betinho Vital at Krazy Bee Gym, Itoman City, Okinawa, Japan

Aw Ratchayothin Sangmorakot a muay-thai fighter from Thailand.

Aw Ratchayothin Sangmorakot at Krazy Bee Gym, Itoman City, Okinawa, Japan

Kosuke Yokoyama a jiu-jitsu fighter from Japan.

Kyosuke Yokoyama at Krazy Bee Gym, Itoman City, Okinawa, Japan

It was great to meet the Krazy Bee team and I look forward to working with you all in the future.

Photo info:

All photos shot with the Pentax 645Z with the 90mm 2.8 lens.

Lastolite black velvet background. Profoto D2 light with 1×4′ gridded softbox back/right of the subject. Profoto B1 with softlight reflector white as the key light.

Want to learn how to take images in the studio? Next studio workshop is June 17th.