Photo Jin Yingying
Photo provided to Hangzhoufeel
By Jin Yingying
In a gym in Liangzhu Cultural Village, five kids were listening attentively to a man in sports suit.
The man was teaching them the rules of Muay Thai boxing. "When it's your turn to defend, raise up your hands to protect your face. You should figure out quickly whose fists are the most threatening," he then designated a boy to defend.
After several rounds of the attack-and-defense drills, he played the defender to teach the kids how to attack.
The man is Kim Yujun, a former Muay Thai boxer from South Korea.
Meaning of life found in boxing
Born in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, Kim began to practice Muay Thai to keep fit in junior high school. "The biggest change is that I become more confident and empathetic with people," said Kim.
After practicing for three years, Kim joined a local team to become a professional boxer. The team used to go to Thailand for three months every year for intensive training. Having fought 38 games, Kim chose to become an instructor of a city team in 2007 by following the advice of his coach.
"An introvert and shy boy who became open and cheerful was one of the reasons for me to become a Muay Thai instructor," explained Kim. He has also obtained a world pro Muay Thai Kickboxing certificate.
Up to now, he has taught hundreds of people from five-year-olds to over 70-year-olds, from artists, policemen to professional athletes.
"People found their targets in their lives from boxing or other sports." Kim claimed that he had not earned much money in boxing but he was pleased with the sense of accomplishment by seeing the progress of his students.
"The weight of sandbags never lies," said he.
Besides his coaching work, Kim joined a rescue team which has boxers as its members. On the wall of his gym are some of his certificates as a rescuer, such as one for being a swimming pool guard, one for a first aid CPR instructor, and one for a bow survival instructor.
After being licensed as a diver, Kim's first task was to haul junk out of the sea. "The ocean's kind of scary. Rubbish makes the sea water dirty and with low visibility," added Kim.
Later, he has also learned emergency lifesaving and outdoor rescuing skills as the team sometimes has to save those who have suicidal tendencies. The first man he saved was a 25-year-old who broke up with his girlfriend. "I was about to finish my night fishing when I saw this guy jumping into the river," said Kim, "This is what a rescuer should do."
A new start in China
In South Korea, Kim was a widely-known Muay Thai boxer.
"But he left South Korea for me," said Coco, Kim's wife from Beijing. Coco worked in South Korea when she met Kim Yujun by chance. They fell in love, got married and lived another two years there before they came to China.
Born in Beijing, Coco moved to Hangzhou after high school. She always missed the city so much that they decided to settle down in Liangzhu Cultural Village when they chose to move back to China in 2019.
"Life here is peaceful and quiet. Our neighbors are very friendly," said Coco. The first time I met Kim and Coco was on a Sunday in front of the gym where Kim teaches. Their neighbors passing by greeted us frequently while we were talking.
Like many South Koreans do in Hangzhou, the couple used to run a Korean restaurant with some partners. Yet, due to the pandemic, it is now closed.
Kim has been teaching his son boxing for self-defense. "The ideal way to keep your kids fit is to do sports with them." Kim practices his belief by teaching other children too.
In February, they opened this gym in their own community.
"People do not know much about Muay Thai, and some even consider it too violent," said Kim. But things have got much better after half-a-year of efforts.
The children mainly play games in the class. "They enjoy winning in competitions while learning to defend themselves in the games," said a mother.
The lessons after 19:30 are for adults. Rope skipping, surprisingly, is the popular workout. It seems easy, but I, who had never tried Muay Thai before, failed several times when I first tried it.
"It's the basic skill of Muay Thai boxing", Kim told me that the three-minute non-stop warming-up improves the coordination and rhythm.
"My leaping ability has been improved, and I have become more physically active. The atmosphere here encourages everyone to move. Some of my colleagues also joined Kim's club when they witnessed my changes," said Wu, a trainee in the gym who has practiced boxing for three months.
Many martial arts schools or boxing gyms have been opened in the past three years, which Kim sees through rose-colored lenses. "The COVID-19 pandemic also raised the awareness of keeping fit," said Kim. The couple plans to build up a ring in a new stadium which is still under construction. "We hope to hold some public-friendly boxing matches to make people find fun in sports," claimed Coco.
Although the gym is full of people on Saturdays and is supposed to be hot on Sundays as well, they choose to close on Sundays. "Sunday is our family day, a day to spend with our kid. That's important," said Kim, "we would go camping on sunny days or do sports."