Japanese octogenarian Yoshio Kinoshita skateboarder learns new tricks

Japanese octogenarian Yoshio Kinoshita skateboarder learns new tricks

by Joseph Anthony
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Yoshio Kinoshita takes a break during his skateboarding practice

Yoshio Kinoshita is living proof that you can teach an old dog new tricks.

The 81-year-old rides the ramps at his local skate park in the city of Osaka almost every morning, picking up tips from skateboarders decades younger than him.
โ€œThey are all my teachers,โ€ said Kinoshita, who worked as a technician in the construction industry before retiring and still works part time as an attendant in a bicyle parking lot.
โ€œAt first I was holding on to the railingโ€ he said, before he progressed to mastering a 180 degree turn and other tricks.
Kinoshita picked up skateboarding just two years ago, when he bought a board he saw at a market selling unclaimed goods left on the railway.
The 800 yen ($7.15) skateboard was a spur of the moment purchase that changed the Japanese octagenarianโ€™s life.
In a country that has the most aged society in the world, with more than 35% of its population expected to be 65 and over by 2050, Kinoshita recommended skateboarding as a way to prevent dementia.
โ€œItโ€™s a sport with a sense of tension,โ€ he said. โ€œRather than zoning out, I think skateboarding improves the ability to think even just by a little bit.โ€
โ€œFor (old) people like me who try to learn new things, if we donโ€™t practice it little by little every day we will forget how to do it immediately,โ€ he said. โ€œThatโ€™s why I think I have to (come here) and practice every day.โ€
Kinoshita, who has two children and two grandchildren, said he watched skateboarders at the recent Tokyo Olympics in awe. All three medallists in the womenโ€™s street skateboarding competition at the Games were in their teens, including the countryโ€™s own gold medallist, 13-year-old Momiji Nishiya.
โ€œThey are really incredible,โ€ said Kinoshita. โ€œTo be honest, I canโ€™t beat those 5-year-old, 4-year-old or 3-year-old kids. Thatโ€™s for sure.โ€
REUTERS

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