An Experience with Yuji Hirayama

by Jeffrey Clair

   Unlike most Japanese who have studied six years of English in school but
can't order a Coke on an airline without fear of sounding like they are in hot pursuit of the male sexual organ, Yuji Hirayama has no problem conveying his thoughts in English.  For that matter, he has no problem in French either.  When asked why he had such an easy time learning languages that cause his fellow countrymen endless headaches and embarrassment, he responded "I don't have any hesitation." 

This banzai attitude no doubt contributes to his climbing performance and to his impressive record of climbing accomplishments. Yuji is the only non-European to have won a World Cup event (He has won three.), and ticked countless impressive ascents at the cliffs including difficult crack routes.  I had a chance to meet him at Mission Cliffs climbing gym in San Francisco before his trip to the ESPN X Games, and it was obvious Yuji is still a fierce competitor.  At the end of a long climbing day, resignation was not even an option.  At a tenuous crimp he got a quick shake and was able to regain his focus.  Doggedly he threw for and stuck powerful move after powerful move all the way to the top even though he was exhausted and had an interviewer and a hungry wife waiting for him.  Mental strength and the willingness to push personal limits, world champion qualities, have not been dulled by time.

However, going for broke can be a double-edged sword, especially in homogeneous Japan where it has caused him considerable difficulty and has strained his relationship with his parents more than once. 

"Sometimes they think I'm a bad man,"  he says.

Since his parents are "very strict for money", he has had to finance just about everything he has ever done. His most recent parental strain was caused by his marriage to his former hip-hop dance teacher. Yuji and his wife share the same devotion, athleticism and upbeat attitude and their chemistry appears to be right on.  However, she is from Taiwan, and his parents fall into the generation that still harbors xenophobia to varying degrees. 

They don't approve of the new bride but "they are still mentally supportive of me"

(Just for the record, his wife's father wanted her to marry a nice Taiwanese boy and isn't too happy about the marriage either.)

This "bad boy" trend started early, for by age 17 Yuji had done something unheard of in Japan.  He quit school so that he could climb the "big white granite" of Yosemite. By working for a moving company for a couple of months, he managed to save some money and wound up at Camp 4 watching a group of Europeans send Midnight Lightning.  "They were so beautiful, like ballerina."  He went back to Japan to finish high school, which helped pacify his irate parents, but he found a calling in life.  Through the intense dedication of a Samurai warrior, he pushed himself to the forefront of competition climbing and in the early 90's he was on top of the pack.  His has won several World Cups including Tokyo in '91, Japan in '92,  Frankfurt in '93. He also won the Arco Rock Masters in '91.  He is consistently ranked the top 10 in the world cup circuit and lives and trains for about 7 1/2 months a year in France with Francois Legrand, Jibe Tribout, Robyn Erbesfield and the rest of the world's best.  Not only proficient on plastic, he was the first to on-site Sphinx Crack, a 13 b/c route in Colorado, placing all the gear. Until recently, he chose to train in Europe because Europeans have dominated the male climbing competitions.  According to Yuji, the reason for this is that "when in training we help each other.  Americans look like more independent, like developing their own style of climbing. Also, in America climbing location is so far apart."  The best don't converge and push each other as in France or England. 

 Living in France and training with the best sounds like a good start but that in of itself does not make a world champion.  When I asked him his secret to success,  he mentioned his "sensei of the psyche."  About 6 years ago, Yuji befriended a Japanese man in his mid 70's and started listening to the advice he gave. 

"Old men have lots of ideas,"  he recounts.

By absorbing this non-climbing sage's ideas and advice, Yuji honed his inner katana and developed the mental edge it took to become a world champion.  What did the old man say?  

"It was just small advice but small things make you change a lot mentally." 

Although Yuji was far from being a school role model, he realized the importance of this mentor's lessons and learned them well.

These lessons have transcended into other parts of his personality as well.  When talking to Yuji you can't help but enjoy yourself.  He has incredible energy and a "joie de vivre" which is contagious.  Even though he is one of the best climbers in the world, there is no pretentiousness or no ego.  He is just a 28 year old man with boyish good looks, a few world cups under his belt, a new wife, and inner harmony. Win or lose at the X Games, it doesn't matter.  Yuji has nothing to prove to anyone and he is competing for the pure love of the sport.  As he and his wife were waving goodbye from the rented Geo Metro, it was impossible not to smile and cherish the moment. "There goes a man who has it all" was the feeling we shared as we watched him drive away.

No hesitation.
 

This interview was made by Rock and Groove(Copyright). Se linkpage.