“It’s an important time for breaking as it will be an official sport at the Hangzhou Asian Games and the Paris Olympics. I’m going to try to make it to Paris with a sense of mission.”

So says breaking emperor and b-boy (male breaking) legend Kim “Wing” Heon-woo, 36.

Kim has been dancing since 1999, when he was 13 years old. He has won more than 100 breaking competitions in his career, making him one of the best in the world. In 2008, he won the Red Bull B.C.One Final, considered the most prestigious international competition in breaking, and became the first Asian team to win the Circle Kings in Switzerland.

Since then, he has swept all five of the world’s top breaking events with his team, Jinzo Crew, including Red Bull B.C.O.W., Battle of the Year, R16 Korea, Freestyle Sessions, and the UK B-Boy Championships.

But he’s new to the sport. Breaking was included in the Asian Games for the first time, and Kim will be competing for the national team in Hangzhou. He is preparing for the Asian Games by spending weekdays in the Jincheon Athletes’ Village and weekends in the practice room outside the Jincheon Athletes’ Village.

In a recent interview with eDaily, Kim said, “Although I’ve only been playing for a year, I’ve been living a disciplined life like a sportsperson since before I became a member of the national team. I think the management of physical training, injury prevention, etc. is the same as that of a sports athlete because of the nature of the sport where you have to put your all into it in a short period of time.” “Living in the Jincheon Athletes’ Village, I was inspired and energized by seeing other athletes training hard,” he said.

Kim was initially scheduled to compete in the Breaking World Championships starting on March 23 before heading to the Asian Games, but he has been showing great enthusiasm in his quest to become a world champion, even forgoing the World Championships to focus on the Asian Games.

Kim won the gold medal at the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) Asian Breaking Championships in Hangzhou, China, in July to secure an early qualification spot for Paris. The Asian Breaking Championships were considered a precursor to the Asian Games, using the same venues, accommodations, restaurants, and other facilities as the breaking events at the Hangzhou Asian Games, so Kim’s victory bolstered her Asian Games gold medal prospects.

At the Asian Games, breaking is a one-on-one individual competition. Each athlete must demonstrate the ability to move to music played at random by a DJ. Athletes take turns on an 8-meter by 8-meter square of floor for 60 seconds to test each other’s breaking skills. A match consists of three rounds, and you need to win at least two of them. There are preliminary rounds, group stage, and finals.

“Not only basic skills, but also artistry, expression, creativity, and difficulty are all evaluated,” says Kim. “Before breaking became a sport, I competed in more than 100 competitions and won many championships. I’m not just pushing myself with my know-how and experience, but I’m training and researching more on what I need to include as a sporting element.”

However, he said it was a little disappointing to compete only in the one-on-one individual competition format at the Asian Games and Olympics, which are watched by the entire world. “Our dance also has team battles, such as two-on-two and five-on-five. Team battles are much more exciting to watch and allow us to showcase the more compelling parts of the dance. “The perception that Korea is good at breaking is also because we did well in the team competition,” he said. “The team competition is more fun. I hope there will be a team battle in the future.”메이저사이트

There are other reasons why Kim, a pioneer in the breaking world, wants to do well at the Asian Games. As a pioneer of breaking, he wants to do well at the Asian Games because it will lead to more awareness and interest in the sport. “To use an analogy, my breaking is ‘Korea’. Korea is a small country, but we have our own food, culture, and history. I try to dance like that. I will definitely not be swayed by the trendy dance and will compete with the scarcity that only I can do.”