The press has tested for you | Close -up on Montreal Sumo

Every Friday evening. Furthermore, at sunset, Agustin Gimenez starts in the ring without knowing if he will win the next fight. Similarly, Never mind. However, His most important bet is played outside the arena. Nevertheless, For the past two years, Montrealers have been responsible for democratizing sumo in Quebec.

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Every week. Furthermore, with a handful of sportsmen from Montreal Sumo Club, he works his address, strength and balance in a former Hochelaga warehouse. Consequently, When he heard about this unusual activity. In addition, it is impossible not to have at the top of the wrestlers with a strong size, a belt at press tested you | close the waist, and bun on the head. Meanwhile, The press participated in training at this unique club in Quebec.

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By welcoming us in the room. For example, Agustin Gimenez, the founder of the club, admits that his practice attracts the curious. Furthermore, Here, beginners and more experienced come together in a relaxed atmosphere. Furthermore, “In the first class, most people realize that it is a combat sport still intense, full contact. Nevertheless, Some people thought it was more relaxed. For example, The intensity of the fighting, at the end, surprises the world. For example, »»

This did not prevent Nadia Cardin from having a crush on this sport from her first participation, in February. Meanwhile, The only woman presents the evening of our passage, she no longer hesitates to jump into the fray. press tested you | close Similarly, “When you stop being afraid of getting into the other, it’s really satisfactory. In addition, »»

With her pink hair, she differs from the group. She landed here a little by chance, hearing about an inclusive Sumo club in Vancouver. Within Montreal Sumo Club, “I never felt apart,” she confirms to us.

It must be said that the amateur sumo is open to all templates. press tested you | close Almost all over the world. the followers of this ancestral sport have been able to develop their own interpretation of martial art, by distanting themselves from certain millennial traditions.

In Montreal, the Mawashi, the traditional belt emblematic of sumo is still put on. By tightening the wide strip of fabric around our size, Agustin Gimenez explains the genesis of his passion.

Love at first sight occurred. on the last day of his wedding trip when he attended a captivating sumo tournament with his wife.

In Quebec, there is no club to learn this sport. The training accountant therefore launches into judo. Then, he meets Tommy Limoges, a small, but muscular judoka.

One day, they demonstrate sumo to their dojo colleagues. “The world has found it interesting and funny, but I wanted to do it more seriously,” says Agustin Gimenez. He therefore rushes first in the creation of a meeting place to allow those who share his passion to. refine their combat techniques.

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Push up

In the room where we are. the time has come to unfold the large gray carpet on which the fights take place. After a few warm -ups, the initiates embark on the arena. To win, they must make the opponent lose foot or get him out of the circle drawn on the ground.

The fighters quickly start to be hot. Their thighs are burning. The only part of the part is struggling to refresh the breathless bodies.

Leaving the ring, under the applause, Lucas Paladines wipes the drops that run on his forehead. It’s his second evening with the group.

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With a little technique, less physically imposing athletes can get away with it, explains Tommy Limoges. No excuse, therefore, so as not to lend us the game a few times.

After the ritual of greetings. we take, in front of our opponent, the starting posture: the legs apart and bent and the fists on the ground. From the signal of the referee. given in Japanese, we project our body to the opponent, hand and head in front, without losing the balance.

Gain experience

On the carpet, the power of three of the fighters is striking. When they collide, we hear their skins slam. Last May, these Sumotoris participated in a tournament in New York. “It was a whole experience. “Recalls Phillip Hayes, who works in marketing.

“There, the community [du sumo amateur] was exceptional. It doesn’t matter who won. all the other competitors were part of the delirious crowd, ”adds Maxime Raymond, committed in the army.

With his colleague Lucas Aubé. who was also in New York, he will soon join a Canadian delegation during an international tournament in Thailand. A whole course for someone who discovered the sumo during the COVVI-19 pandemic, watching videos on YouTube.

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Today, the club publishes its own fighting videos on social networks. At the end of March, this initiative gave surprising results.

“There is a trend [sur le web]. Football players from the United States that go to Japan to measure themselves at Sumo pros, ”explains Agustin Gimenez. After discovering the online club. a coach From the Sorel-Tracy secondary school asked him to teach sumo techniques to his line players.

Just like us, “they really liked it,” concludes Mr. Gimenez.