Chuseok Jangsa Ssireum Competition Perfect Winner
“Exposure of my habits, giving away the first edition”
Even after winning the Grand Slam, ‘greed’ remains
“I hope Kim Min-jae comes to mind when I think of wrestling.”
“I lost a lot more than I thought.”
Kim Min-jae (22, Yeongam-gun Folk Ssireum Team), whom I met in Yeongam-gun, Jeollanam-do on the 25th, said something that made those who heard it tilt their heads. After debuting as a folk wrestling Baekdu class (under 140kg) player in 2022, he said he was not satisfied with his record winning rate of 91.5% (65 wins, 6 losses, based on individual competition). Kim Min-jae, who came to the training center to do weight training even on this day during his vacation, said, “I don’t know if other people would see my results as good, but I went through a slump in the first half of this year. I won, but I didn’t like the content of the game. “The most important thing is to show my wrestling style on the sand board,” he said.
Kim Min-jae won the ‘perfect championship’ at the Chuseok Jangsa Ssireum Competition held this month without giving up a single match from the round of 16 to the Baekdu Jangsa match. However, Kim Min-jae explains that the content of the game was not easy. Minjae Kim said, “As the competition progresses, the opposition players’ control becomes more and more severe. Even in business decisions, I felt like my opponent was aware of my habits. “I almost gave up the first edition,” he said. Kim Min-jae achieved a grand slam by winning all four major tournaments (Lunar New Year, Dano, Chuseok, and Cheonhajangsa) by reaching the top of this tournament. Kim Min-jae, who was nicknamed the ‘wrestling monster’ for dominating the sand court, said, “I like it because it means I’m stronger than anyone else.”
Kim Min-jae, who won the Grand Slam two years after his folk ssireum debut, also left a confident comment at the time of the competition, saying, “From now on, when it comes to wrestling, I will make Kim Min-jae come to mind first rather than Lee Man-gi (Professor at Inje University).” Lee Man-gi, who was called the ‘Emperor of the Sandboard’ during his playing days, is the record holder for the most in this category, having served as world champion 10 times. Kim Min-jae said, “I mentioned Lee Man-ki’s business because I wanted to challenge the strongest opponent,” and “In soccer, fans now talk about Ronaldo and Messi instead of Maradona, but when it comes to wrestling, Lee Man-ki and Kang Ho-dong still come to mind first. “I will try to achieve my dream goal, whether it works or not,” he said.
It is not easy for Kim Min-jae, who reached the World Championship in 2022, the year of his debut, to surpass Lee Man-gi’s World Championship record. In the 1980s, when Lee Man-gi was at his peak as a player, the World Championships were held two or three times a year. But now it only opens once a year. In Baekdu Market, it is highly likely that Kim Min-jae will set a new record in this category, surpassing Lee Man-ki (18 times) and Lee Tae-hyun (Yongin University professor, 20 times). Starting with the 2022 Dano Competition, Kim Min-jae has climbed to Baekdu Jangsa a total of 12 times, including 6 times last year and 5 times this year. This is the highest record for an active player. The Yeongam-gun Folk Ssireum Team, founded in 2017, has so far won a total of 94 championships in each weight class thanks to Kim Min-jae’s performance.
Minjae Kim has won the last four competitions undefeated and is recording 19 consecutive individual wins. Since 2017, when related records began to be compiled, it is the second-highest record of all time, following Noh Beom-su’s 20 consecutive wins in the Geumgang class (under 90 kg). Kim Min-jae, whose hobby is ‘watching wrestling videos’, said, “I am learning each and every technique and step by watching the matches of my seniors who are like wrestling textbooks.”
Kim Min-jae, who is 190cm tall and weighs 140kg, is literally a master, lifting 300kg in squats, 290kg in deadlifts, and 200kg in bench press (per rep). But Minjae Kim knows that strength is not everything. Minjae Kim said, “There are cases where you push only with force and lose because you are exploited. In wrestling, even if the height of the opponent is different by just 1cm, the angle of force is completely different. “I want to create my own style of wrestling that is not confined to the mold,” he said.
Minjae Kim is determined to continue his winning streak at the upcoming Ansan Tournament (October) and the Cheonhajangsa Tournament (November). The Cheonhajangsa Tournament, which marks the finale of a season, is held in Yeongam-gun, Kim Min-jae’s home. Kim Min-jae said, “Just like senior Lee Man-ki did, I want to become a king in front of a crowd that filled the Jangchung Gymnasium in Seoul someday. “I will work hard to promote wrestling through good competitions so that the day will come when the popularity of wrestling will be revived,” he said.
Yeongam = Reporter Kang Hong-gu [email protected]
-
- great
- 0dog
-
- I’m sad
- 0dog
-
- I’m angry
- 0dog
-
- I recommend it
- dog
Hot news now
2024-09-28 03:24:41