ItalianoFor 3 Solid Hours Before A Live! GACKT’s Close-Up with Kyotore.
The stoic daily training that he has been said to impose, is done in anticipation of a “destination”.
By the time the 4-hour long live that made an audience of 12,000 go wild ended, it was 9 p.m.. However, the man who was bathed in the spotlight on stage entered Saitama Super Arena, the concert venue, 12 hours ago at 9 a.m.. It was for training.
「I’ve been doing trainings before lives since 17 years ago when I first went solo. From around 3 months before the tour starts, I’ll begin doing this everyday」
The man right in the middle of the stage, GACKT, began to speak queitly.
GACKT
Height 180.0cm, weight 70.0kg, body fat percentage 7.0%. At present, he has released 46 singles and 18 albums. He holds the record for the most singles in the top 10 rankings for male solo artistes (as of September 2016). He will be lending his voice for the character “The Fiend with Twenty Faces” for the anime 『TRICKSTER―Edogawa Ranpo 「Shounen Tanteidan」 Yori』, which starts October 2016, and will also provide the opening theme song for the same anime.
Every time, exercise mats will be spread out in one corner of the concert venue, and equipment that made look like they were establishing a gym would be brought in. There, GACKT and over 30 members of the staff will gather, and carry out a 3-hour long workout. Even the guitarist and the manager will be among the faces gathered for the training session.
「If you have to stand in front of others, it’s only natural that you should train and polish up your body. In addition, when everyone helps each other out while training, the team will become united, and a great power to head towards the same goal will be born. Compared to 3 months ago my body has gotten stronger, confidence has been gained from gradually becoming able to perform moves that previously couldn’t be executed at a satisfactory level, and from there, my expressive ability has also levelled up」
Witnessing them with our own eyes, the prejudice that “band men = unhealthy” has been blown away.
「The idea that “rock = sex, drugs, alcohol” is one that belongs to the older generation. We are new school. We don’t fly using drugs, but using our own mental strength instead. Going on stage while tripping on drugs, is just masturbation, what the third-raters or small timers prefer. To be able to deliver true music, one has to both physically and mentally tough, otherwise it won’t work」
Just what kind of training does GACKT, who proclaims something like that, do? Let’s close in on the incredible reality and deep philosophy.
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They heighten their sense of unity and expressive ability in the close-up session before the actual performance.
The schedule for the day of the concert begins with training. Depending on the level of physical strength, they split up into around 3 teams, and train continuously for 3 hours while encouraging each other. It’s harmonious but, with the peculiar tension that filled the session, it felt more akin to a dojo than a sport club.
「Everyone whose bodies were as thin as pencils before the tour started, have filled up quickly. Once they understand that just doing it as long as you can will increase the results, they’ll also become more positive towards training」(GACKT).
The teamwork that has sprouted through training is a driving force which led to the success of the live.
This is a special space that was temporarily set up in Saitama Super Arena. With gear like the smith machine, the chin dip stand, dumbbells and others being brought in, the participants worked hard exercising while teaching each other.
At a glance they look like regular dips but, without using his back muscles while bending his knees, it makes the triceps contract and expand to its maximum. This is GACKT’s original “Zero muscle” training.
Athlete So Byungsoo, the Japan champion of Taekwondo who has taken up the security position for this tour, said 「Physical training as dense as this is a first in my life. I’d like to challenge the world’s champions with what I’ve learnt here」. To study how to use one’s body, and enhance the application of the muscles and power that they cultivated, at the end of the session, they even incorporated martial arts and on-the-spot somersault practices.
In issue 704 of this magazine, get to know GACKT in the 5000-word interview published!
Source: kyotore.jp
Translation: GACKT ITALIA Team
Translation © GACKT ITALIA