Yoshihiro Akiyama’s Team Cloud held an opening ceremony for its new school in the center of Tokyo (Hiroo, Shibuya-ku – home to many foreigners) on Saturday, just a few days after Akiyama announced its completion on his blog. The gym includes 30 tatami mats for judo and jiu jitsu, a six-meter square boxing ring and three octagonal cages; Akiyama told reporters that he selected the orange color scheme to make the gym more inviting to all comers. It officially opens to the public in September.
Other fighters attending the ceremony included Bernard Ackah, DREAM Featherweight Grand Prix semifinalists Hideo Tokoro and Hiroyuki Takaya, plus Caol Uno, who recently ended his 12-year association with dojo Wajyutsu Keisyukai and, like Akiyama, is UFC bound.
In his latest blog entry, Akiyama calls the school a dream come true.
More pictures in the extended entry.