Nuno Gonçalves is a Braga, Portugal-based photojournalist, with a black belt in Judo, a degree in Education, and a french bulldog in his heart, always. He has worked at the University of Minho for a decade, serving as staff photographer for the university newspaper, UMDicas, and as coach of the Judo team.
Last year a group of university Judoka took their clothes off for a calendar, to raise funds for the UMinho Emergency Social Fund of the institution. Selling only from the campus bookstore, they raised over $9,000, and received a national ethics in sports award.
The project is a beautiful example of the concept of “Jita kyoei” (Mutual benefit), established by Judo founder Jigoro Kano. Such a spirit is perfected through Judo, thereby promoting the concept of mutual benefit and prosperity in the larger world.
For example, students from other sports at UMinho were so taken with the concept that this year they determined to repeat the feat. While the 2015 calendar was all Judoka, the 2016 version attracted students from others sports as well, including volleyball, handball and climbing. The students were in fields as diverse as Medicine, textile engineering, and polymer Engineering.
In total, 22 athletes get naked in the calendar.
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10) NAME GOES HERE
This was the second year of creating the calendar, and as noted, this year other teams joined in, including volleyball, handball, and climbing
Ângela Carvalho
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MR. & MS. JANUARY: Diogo Branquinho and Marta Coelho
Although handball (also known as (also known as team handball, Olympic handball, or European handball) is not widely practiced in the United States, like fighting, its origins are ancient. There is evidence of ancient Roman women playing a version of the game called expulsim ludere. There are also records of handball-like games in medieval France, and among the Inuit in Greenland. By the 19th century, there existed similar games of håndbold from Denmark, házená in the Czech Republic, hádzaná in Slovakia, gandbol in Ukraine, and torball in Germany.
The first international games were played under these rules for men in 1925 and for women in 1930. Men’s handball was first played at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin as outdoors, and the next time at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich as indoors, and has been an Olympics sport since. Women’s team handball was added at the 1976 Summer Olympics.
Handball players (from left): Diogo Branquinho and Marta Coelho
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VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS FOR THE JUDO CALENDAR PROJECT
“I accepted the invitation aware of serious and honest work of the proposal,” said volleyball player Mariana Falcão. “In my opinion, solidarity is the feeling which best expresses the respect for human dignity.
Volleyball players (from left): Mariana Falcão, Pedro Candeias, and Sara Gonçalves
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JOSE MARTINS
José Martins was a most enthusiastic supporter of the effort. He can be seen twice, once with three friends, who, oddly, have their clothes on…
No one sent them the solidarity memo. We don’t know why 😉
And once Jose can be seen with one of his true loves.
True love with nothing on:
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OUTTAKES FROM LAST YEAR’S AWARD-WINNING 2015 CALENDAR
“The second edition of the solidary calendar is the natural sequence of an initiative that has exceeded expectations and has awakened consciences,” said Charles Vine, President of Associação Académica de Minho University. “Above all, represents the strengthening of a commitment to the cause of who fights so no one gets left behind. Is both a cry of irreverence and social responsibility.”
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NUNO GONCALVES
Mr. Gonçalves inhabits a wonderful intersection between sports, art, and social good. Competing in sports can be a self-centered effort, but the Judo Sensei shows pursuit of excellence in a physical discipline can instead fuel efforts to help others. And he did so through his artistic eye. His actions are a wonderful representation of all Judo can be, and all we human beings can be.
We hope the calendar becomes an annual, inspirational effort at UMinho, raising untold tens of thousands for underprivileged students.
“Nothing under the sun is greater than education. By educating one person and sending him into the society of his generation, we make a contribution extending a hundred generations to come.”
-Jigoro Kano in 1934, at the Kodokan’s 50th anniversary
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HOW TO ORDER
The Academic Association of the University of Minho (Students’ Union) hereby inform you that you can online order your Judo Calendar, via the following:
Send an email to aaum@aaum.pt requesting the sale of the calendar.
This email should contain your name, address, TIN, the electronic proof of bank transfer or if you have made the transfer a point ATM, the scan of the transfer receipt.
Unit prices Calendar will be the following:
•Portugal: 7:41 Euros
•Europe: 10:41 Euro
•Rest of the World: 12.91 Euros
The base price is 5 euros, the remaining cost is to ship via a padded envelope to the above areas.
Instructions for online ordering… (in Portuguese)
Via Google translate… (in English)
