Kiyoko
Nagano 長野 聖子

2020.01.31

Believing and proving I’m the strongest

Known as a “martial art requiring the best foot techniques,” or as “foot boxing,” taekwondo is a martial art in which foot techniques count for a great deal. Kiyoko Nagano is vying for a medal in the Tokyo Olympics in the women’s 49 kg category. If she wins the final qualifying trial for Japan’s national team in February, she will earn a berth for the Tokyo Olympics.

Attracted to the beauty of kicking techniques

Measuring 170 centimeters in height, Nagano would normally compete in the 53 kg category. However, with this category excluded in the Olympics, she has to fight instead in the 49 kg category. From the end of last year, she started reducing weight little by little, planning to put on a spurt three weeks ahead of the Summer Games. “The Olympic Games come along once every four years, and the next one will take place in Tokyo,” said Nagano. “That is sheer luck, and I feel it’s my fate.”

Since childhood, she has devoted herself entirely to taekwondo. It was at the age of about four when Nagano first went with her father to his training hall, where he was teaching taekwondo. She was attracted to the beauty of kicking techniques, and kept practicing the sport, naturally developing her ability. Blessed with a large physical size and outstanding athletic ability, Nagano first became the best player in Japan as a third grader at a junior national competition. Then, in high school, she was selected as a member of the junior national team. After graduation from high school, Nagano, who was viewed as having a promising future, went on to Dong-A University in South Korea, where taekwondo originated. There, she experienced the first setback in her life.

Though seen as well-built in Japan, she is of average physical size in South Korea. “I was confident in my physical strength and speed, but it didn’t mean anything,” Nagano said. “The basic level was so different that I couldn’t keep up with the training.” Her first-ever dorm life in a foreign land, together with the immense amount of practice, made her exhausted both mentally and physically. She hung on desperately for three years, but eventually quit taekwondo. At first, she wanted to enjoy student life at the university, but she could not get the sport out of her mind. The time she spent watching taekwondo videos on social networking services got longer by the day, and then she found herself studying techniques. “I want to do taekwondo again,” she thought.

Mental strength as the linchpin

After returning home, Nagano began to train under Kim Jae-Woo, who once served as a coach for the Thai national team. In each practice session, the coach would say, “Practice with the confidence that you are the strongest, and you will get stronger.” Nagano said this advice had gotten her to think that way, and she clinched her first title at the All-Japan Taekwondo championships three months after her comeback. Their coach-athlete relationship, which started in December 2016, has been undergoing constant evolution.

Nagano is usually an easygoing person who does things at her own pace, but when it comes to taekwondo, she gets in the zone. She never abandons rigorous daily practice. Besides her physical strength and techniques, she learned tactics and strategy, which have enabled her to adopt a logical course of play.

From now on, she will venture into the unknown. “If I win the final qualifying trial, my dream of participating in the Olympics will come true,” said Nagano. “I’m thinking only about winning. It’s not impossible at all.” Presently, she is preparing herself for the crucial event, sharpening her concentration. “I want to prove that I’m the strongest,” she said with her eyes sparkling more than ever before.

Kiyoko Nagano’s philosophy

Conquer yourself