Breaking, a new sport for the Paris Olympics, was held in Kitakyushu City, leading to the selection of Olympic representatives. In the women's event, Ami Yuasa (whose dancer name is AMI) won second place, and in the men's event, ace Shigekix and Shigeyuki Nakarai were in third place. I got the place.

Breaking, in which improvisational dances are performed to music played by a DJ and one-on-one competition is a new sport for the Paris Olympics, is an international tournament where you can earn points to participate in the qualifying series. It was held in Kitakyushu City for two days until the 25th, and a total of 180 men and women from 51 countries and regions participated.



The tournament is a format in which nine judges evaluate each match called a "battle" based on three criteria: technique, expression, and originality.



On the women's side, AMI, who won last year's world championship, advanced to the final and faced China's 671.



AMI won the first round with a variety of unique techniques, such as squatting and showing footwork, and flowing moves, but in the following two rounds, he faced the opponent's dynamic spinning techniques. Lacking in technique and expression, we lost 1-2 and were runners-up.



On the men's side, Shigekix, who won the All Japan Championship for the third time in a row this month, faced Kazakhstan's Amir in the semi-finals. The round was also taken and lost 0-3.

After that, Shigekix, who faced a Ukrainian player in the 3rd place play-off match, surpassed his opponent with technique, such as stopping his body in various positions in time with the music, and won 3-0. I came in 3rd place.



The men's winner was Amir, who defeated Shigekix in the semi-finals.



The other Japanese players, AYUMI and Ayumi Fukushima, who won the All Japan Championship for the second time in a row, and ISSIN and Isshin Hishikawa, all lost in the quarterfinals.

AMI "I enjoyed all the rounds"

AMI, the runner-up, said, "It was a tough competition, but everyone worked hard and had a lot of fun. I think there are many things to learn from participating in the competition, so I think it was a great time. I made some mistakes, but I enjoyed every round,” he said, looking back on the tournament.



He added, "Regardless of the fact that the Olympics are one and a half years away, I want to do my best to participate in the competitions I decided to participate in, and I think I was able to do so this time, so I would like to continue participating in the future. I want to be able to dance in my own way on the stage where I perform.”

Shigekix "I feel like I'm growing by getting results on the podium"

Shigekix, who finished in 3rd place, said, "Since we entered this tournament with a schedule that is more difficult to adjust than ever before, I think it will be a new experience for me in the future. I think it's not the best result for me. However, I feel that I have grown a lot by putting out my best at that time and being able to get a solid result on the podium,” he said.



On top of that, ``This year, world-class battles will be held frequently all over the world, so it will be very important to keep your condition up every time. is the best, and I want to accumulate experiences that lead to my growth step by step without rushing too much."