Cheongseok High School in Cheongju is a prestigious judo school that has produced several medalists in international competitions, but has recently been losing its reputation due to difficulties in supplying players.
Feeling sad, the alumni decided to form a judo club support group and create a good training environment.
As part of this, Professor Kiyoung Jeon, an Olympic gold medalist, is said to have personally provided guidance to juniors at his alma mater.
Reporter Park Eon covered the story.
Cheongju Cheongsuk High School Judo Club Training Center.
Athletes focus on repetitive training, pulling and pushing each other.
However, a familiar face that is not usually seen among the players stands out.
This is Professor Jeon Ki-young, a gold medalist in judo at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
“You need to park it still and go in and kick it, and then pull it up and do a back-and-forth, and see which is better.”
Last year, alumni formed a support group to rebuild a famous judo school, and a former professor who is a symbol of Judo at Blue Gypsum High School visited his alma mater, donned his gi, and began to guide his juniors.
Professor Jeon generously shared national team-level know-how, including the piggyback technique, which was his main weapon during his heyday, as well as training routines and crisis situation judgment.
“I thought it would probably be most helpful to give direct feedback while training together and provide direct technical guidance using some of my experience…”
In addition, alumnus Shin Gyeong-seop, who was famous for his thigh-walking skills in the past, also joined the training and guided the juniors by directly demonstrating the technique.
“Bend your wrist like pouring water into a kettle. Hold it like this.”
Athletes say they gain new skills and confidence through a short but intense day of training.
“I was originally a piggyback thrower, but because I was just doing piggyback throws too much, piggyback throws didn’t work for me, so I tried to practice thigh legs. I think it was good to learn thigh legs like this.”
“I’m looking forward to learning well and doing well over the next three years.”
The Cheongseok High School judo team, which once had over 30 members, was not able to achieve the same results due to the supply and demand shortage of players.
However, alumni who felt a sense of crisis formed a support group and provided full support, and as this change became known among parents, the number of new students increased from 3 last year to 17 this year.
With strong support from alumni and the added experience of star seniors, the Blue Seok High School judo team is once again running powerfully toward the path to fame.
This is CJB Park Eon.
#Chungcheong #Chungbuk #Sejong
