Page 61 - ISSUE 2

KARI ON

A ROLL

KARI
GUNNARSSON

Kari Gunnarsson is ready for a new challenge. He
recently moved to Hong Kong from Denmark, where he’d
been training with Christian Graugart for over a decade.
Gunnarsson is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu but views
martial arts as more of a hobby than a career. He is also
openly gay.

We asked Gunnarsson what his experience has been like
as a gay male in grappling, and if he has any advice for other
members of the LGBTQ community, whether they train or
not.

GrapplerMag: How long have you been training Jiu-Jitsu,
and how did you get started?

Kari Gunnarsson: I’ve been training since 2002 [Black Belt
in 2009]. As a kid I was into MMA and Taekwondo, but I
happened upon Choke, the Rickson Gracie documentary.
Something just clicked with me when I saw it. There was
no Jiu-Jitsu in Iceland at that point, so I Googled around,
and everybody [on the forums] said that (“The Westside
Strangler”) Chris Brennan down in California had a live-in
program. So I went there when I was 18, spent the summer
there, three months, and paid like $300. I could stay at the
gym with eight other guys and that was it. Training Jiu-Jitsu
two, three times a day, just got me started.

Written By:
BRANDON IBARRA

59