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Graduate Interview: Ms. Shino Kawai, Japan Wheelchair Fencing Representative
- Sep 05, 2022
Profile.
Shino Kawai
Born in Toyama, Japan in 1992, Shino Kawai graduated from Faculty of Lifelong Learning and Career Studies in 2014, joined Hokkoku Bank Badminton Team and became a S/J-Leaguer, switched to wheelchair fencing in 2018, also an athlete model, joined Toyama Environmental Maintenance Co. in April 2020.
Walking the path I have chosen, in my own way, is how I shine.
Shino Kawai was active as a badminton player both during her school days and after entering the workforce. However, seeing her friends from her college days in action, she made up her mind to take up the sport again.
The real thrill of wheelchair fencing is speed and bargaining
She is aiming to represent Japan in wheelchair fencing at the Paris Paralympics in 2024. Wheelchair fencing is played with a fixed wheelchair, so it is not possible to step back. The fencer must be fast and focused, and the blink of an eye can be fatal. In addition, the real thrill of fencing is in the tactics and psychological battles with the opponent, and in this area I am able to make use of the instincts that I have cultivated in badminton in the past.
I was not able to participate in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games because I missed the selection race and international competitions were cancelled one after another due to the Corona disaster. I was very disappointed at the time, but now I am glad that I did not manage to qualify as the host country, and I am training hard with the hope of making it to the Paris Games on my own and competing with pride.
In the past, I mainly competed in épée, an event in which points are awarded only if the fencer pokes the opponent with a certain amount of pressure. However, I have weak bones and joints, and in order to reduce the burden on my body, I am switching to sabre, in which the sword is lighter and points are awarded only by touching the opponent. Since I thought about doing wheelchair fencing, I have had a lot of help from people from the fencing club at Hosei University, and I am currently receiving instruction in sabre from Mr. and Mrs. Masashi Nagara and Ms. Yen, who have competed in the Olympics twice.
He competed in the World Cup Netherlands in November 2019 and won three games (Kawai is on the left). Fighting with a custom-made wheelchair, fixed to the floor.
Four years of badminton at university
Since elementary school, my life has been centered around badminton, and I wanted to continue competing in a top-level environment at university, so I entered Hosei University with a sports recommendation. I was determined to keep up with my peers, who were all at a high level and had a high level of awareness, but in the summer of my freshman year, I injured my hip joint and underwent surgery. I still remember the excitement I felt when I returned to competition and won the team championship in the intercollegiate team competition.
Still, because I did not feel that I had "done it all" at university, I chose to become a professional athlete, which I had longed to do since childhood. However, while aiming for the All-Japan Championships, he injured his hip again and had to undergo surgery.
He was scheduled to return to practice in six weeks, but the surgery took several times, and the aftereffects left him with a paralyzed left leg that he could not move by himself. I suddenly couldn't walk, I lost badminton and my job, I didn't want to see anyone, I didn't want to see or hear anything about badminton, and these days lasted for almost two years.
I appeared in fashion shows as a model. Currently on hiatus to concentrate on fencing.
Two events that made me look forward again
It was then that she saw a model in a wheelchair on TV. Her smile was so beautiful that he thought it might be a chance for him to get out of this condition, so he tried modeling and started living on his own. When I had the opportunity to work with her on a photo shoot and asked her why she could smile, she said, "You'll understand with time. You just have to be patient a little longer.
I did not understand at the time, but now I do. If I can accept my situation, I can move forward with a cheerful smile. Using a wheelchair because of my bad legs is the same as wearing glasses if you have bad eyesight, and before I knew it, I no longer thought of myself as handicapped.
My passion for sports was rekindled when I met Shiho Tanaka, who was the number one student in Japan when we were both in college. When I saw her win the world championship, I thought to myself, "I want to shine again. Sports is the only way for me to live my life to the fullest.
Going forward on the path I have chosen in my own way
Some people around me were apprehensive about my challenge. To be honest, I am not sure that I have accepted everything, and I am also impatient and conflicted about my disability. Still, I believe that I only live once, and I have no choice but to do what I want to do, and prove that my choice was not wrong by achieving results, so I am now putting my life on the line for fencing.
I thought I had put in a lot of effort in badminton, but the determination and enthusiasm I have for fencing now is incomparable to that. I have also started to change and move things around on my own, such as raising funds through crowdfunding so that I can continue competing, and pitching to the media so that many people will support me.
This November, the selection race for the Paris Paralympics will start, and if I can win a medal in 2024, I will be able to say, "I can live and shine as myself even if I am disabled. With this belief, and with the help of many people, I am now walking "Shino's Way.
(First published in the June/July 2022 issue of Hosei, a public relations magazine)