Kumagai Kyuta, a 10-year-old from Edo, is a sumo wrestler whose whole family has risked everything in pursuit of their dreams, according to a Reuters photo.
“Why am I passionate about sumo wrestling when I started training in kindergarten?” Sumo wrestling is a long-established and strict Japanese national sport. In addition to natural physical talent, the intense and painful training is a must for every professional wrestler.
Despite the changes in society and the popularity of various modern sports, the influence of sumo wrestling as a national symbol of Japan is constantly falling into the self-fear of being marginalized by the times, but among the new generation of Japanese youth, there are still many young fighting souls who continue to burn with their youth and march towards the sacred tawara of the peak of their dreams. In this photo from Reuters, Kumagai Kyuta, a 10-year-old Edo teenager, is a sumo wrestler whose whole family has risked everything to pursue their dreams.
Kumagai Kyuta, who is in the fourth grade of elementary school, is 10 years old and is just starting to grow, but he already weighs 85 kilograms, more than twice the average for elementary school students of his age. Having received strict training from his father since kindergarten, Koma is not only physically gifted, but has also won the world championship in his age group for two years in a row at the Shirapeng Cup World Junior Sumo Tournament.
“I didn’t teach him anything, it was all Kumi-tae’s own talent.” Kumagai’s father, who has trained Kumi since he was a child, told Reuters with pride, “Sumo requires talent, and Kumi has just that, he is already a champion junior among his peers, I believe he really has different qualities!
The picture shows Dad training with Kumi-tae. (Photo / Reuters)
The picture shows Kota Kane who was pushed by the coach (Photo / Reuters)
Kota, who is in the 4th grade of elementary school and is 10 years old, is already undergoing rigorous sumo training.” I like sumo wrestling… But why?” Kumiya, who is strong and powerful but actually still behaves like a normal elementary school student, shyly said, “I like sumo wrestling – because I like the painful feeling of knocking out older opponents!”
Kumagai’s father said that he was an amateur sumo wrestler when he was young, and after discovering that his son “might be a sumo wrestling genius” from a young age, he and his entire family’s focus, and even their fortune, was devoted to his training – for example, the Kumagai family moved to Tokyo’s Koto district for the future development of Koma. For example, the Kumagai family moved to Tokyo’s Koto district, the heart of sumo wrestling since the Edo period, and many powerful bunka houses are located there; at the same time, as the father himself, he always trained his son himself, from basic weight training to athletics and swimming, and he personally supervised Koma’s “training according to the schedule.
“Sumo wrestling is not only about weight and tonnage, but also about balance, explosive power and body flexibility, which are important strengths. However, for a teenager like Kumi, weight development is still the key to advancement afterwards.
Koma is currently 85 kg, and in order to maintain the evolution of his sumo physique, the average daily calorie intake of the 10-year-old falls at about 2,600 to 4,000 calories, and the daily cost of food is a significant regular expense for such an average family, but according to Kumagai’s father, “Koma must gain another 20 kg before he graduates from elementary school… Only then will he have a chance to be seen and trained as a new disciple by a prestigious sumo bunya!”
The picture shows Kogota in physical training (Photo / Reuters)
Sumo wrestling is not only about weight and tonnage, but also about balance, explosive power and body flexibility. However, for a teenager like Koma, weight development is still the key to advancement afterwards.
The picture shows Kumi-tae in a culture class (Photo / Reuters)
Is this kind of training too strict for elementary school students? But Kumagai’s father doesn’t seem to think that these over-age workouts are a pressure on the elementary school student, “He has enough personal time and has fun with his classmates, he just additionally has sumo training that he should be doing.”
Although the path of training for Rex is the earlier the better, according to the Japan Sumo Association’s instructions: the minimum age threshold for formal training in modern society must be a national high school graduate who has completed compulsory education in order to become a new disciple of Sumo Beya. The most basic threshold is 15 years of age or older, 23 years of age or younger, in good health, 167 centimeters in height and 67 kilograms or more in weight; however, it seems that whether or not there is room for weight gain in the introductory physique is also one of the important indicators used by the bunka in selecting disciples.
“Kumagai father and son trained constantly after class, and the father would use his adult body to push down the 10-year-old cone too… Sometimes the fallen child would gasp for breath and even shed tears, but the strict dad-coach would still ask him to stand up straight away.” The Reuters team of reporters wrote: “But Papa Kumagai doesn’t seem to see these over-age forges as pressure on the youngster.”
“I never gambled, but bet the entire life of my family on the sumo wrestling talent of our Mrs. Kuma!” Kumagai’s father said that his and his son’s dream is for Koma to one day achieve the highest title of “Yokozuna”. But the harsh and tiring training is frustrating and confusing for Kumi, who is only 10 years old and has not yet officially joined the sumo bunya training tradition.
“Sumo wrestling training is a rigorous practice, and I don’t think I would use the word ‘enjoy’ to describe the process.” The shy Kumi-ta secretly said that there were times when she thought about giving up sumo, but now that there is still a chance for a family to take their dream to the next level, she will definitely persevere.
The picture shows Mrs. Kuma doing training of pushing tires in sumo house. (Photo / Reuters)
Despite the fact that the earlier the path of training for Rex, according to the Japan Sumo Association, the minimum age threshold for formal training in modern society is that a person must have graduated from junior high school and completed compulsory education in order to become a new disciple of the sumo beya. The most basic threshold is 15 years of age or older, 23 years of age or younger, in good health, 167 cm in height and 67 kg or more in weight; however, whether or not there is room for weight gain is also one of the important criteria for selecting students.
The picture shows Mrs. Kuma in training (Photo/Reuters)
Kumi-tae, who had dinner with her mother and sister, but had to eat a large pot of hot pot for one person.
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