NEWS

ICU Student Wins 2nd Place in the Freestyle Wrestling B70kg Division at the East Japan Collegiate Wrestling Championships (Spring Tournament) Rookie Division

Update: September 11, 2025

ICU Wrestling Club captain Yoshinaga Hashimoto (3rd-year student, College of Liberal Arts; major in Business, minor in Law) won second place in the Freestyle Wrestling B70kg division of the Rookie Tournament at the East Japan Collegiate Wrestling Championships (Spring Tournament), held July 9-11, 2025, at the Komazawa Olympic Park General Sports Ground Gymnasium in Tokyo (organized by the East Japan College Wrestling Association).

The ICU Wrestling Club, founded in 2023, embraces "Clever Wrestling" as its team philosophy. Despite being a young team, it has significantly grown to the point of competing on equal footing with established powerhouse universities.

Comment from the awardee:
"Clever Wrestling" is not about relying solely on brute strength. It emphasizes decision-making during the match, analytical ability in responding to the opponent's movements, and precision in selecting techniques, a style that is both intellectual and adaptable. Central to this approach is building one's own form of wrestling, grounded in good hand fighting and stance. Rather than rushing in recklessly and taking risks, we focus on creating a solid, impenetrable stance that makes it difficult for the opponent to attack, then use handfighting and feints to break down their stance. In addition, we place great importance on "counter-wrestling," where we deliberately draw out the opponent's reactions and guide them into traps in response to their movements.

What we always keep in mind is "knowing proper wrestling and making no mistakes." Even without flashy moves, we carefully and steadily accumulate points. This wrestling style makes the opponent feel that there are "no openings," which in turn naturally allows us to seize the flow and initiative of the match. Our own style, born from a relentless pursuit of "how to win under limited conditions", is what we call "Clever Wrestling," the core philosophy of the ICU Wrestling Club.

This result made it feel that our daily training and ingenuity have been steadily bearing fruit. Moving forward, with an approach that is distinctly ICU, every member of our club will continue striving to grow into strong, smart, and resilient wrestlers. We sincerely appreciate your continued support.