‘Curvy dancing’ helps Japanese runner

Can wiggling your hips make you a better runner? One Japanese marathon runner says it has certainly helped him.

Runner Arata Fujiwara, who was named to the Japanese Olympic team earlier this week, says a hip-shaking fitness fad known in Japan as “curvy dancing” helped him qualify for the team.

Hiromi Kashiki, creator of the popular dance style based on hip-gyrating movements, told Reuters Fujiwara, who visited her studio for a one-on-one workout the day before last month’s Tokyo Marathon, is a natural.

“When I first saw Fujiwara, I noticed his pelvis was going up and down, left and right – it wasn’t very stable,” she told Reuters in her Tokyo dance studio.

“I tried to make sure his pelvic area was more relaxed – removing wasted energy to release that explosive power.”

Does it really work? “Up till now I’ve been really bad at using my hips effectively,” Fujiwara also told Reuters. “After I got some lessons from Kashiki and her curvy dancing my running style dramatically improved.”

Fujiwara, 30, qualified for Japan’s Olympic team after his second-place finish in the Tokyo marathon with a PB of 2:07:48.