"Dinner with Mr. Baba" ~ "Absolute Champion" Former professional wrestler Kenta Kobashi talks to "Hot Pepper" about "Wrestling Meals"

Every day, pro wrestlers show an intense battle in the ring.
The foundation of their training is hard pracice and a "meal"!
Of course, the trained body not only needs meals to support it, there is the taste of the memories, the chanko made early in the morning, the unforgettable taste of regional tours, overseas expedition and sharing sake with fellow wrestlers...
There is a romance somewhere in the food of the professional wrestler.
In this series we will look at Professional wrestlers, and hear their food stories.
Mr Kenta Kobashi will be interviewed first.
This is a series about professional wrestlers and their food stories, "Wrestler Meals", and Kenta Kobashi will appear in the first article. All Japan, Pro-wrestling Noah, the athletes who are from wrestling or sumo wrestling, continue to exercise the mind and body with their constance practice and hard game. In the All-Japan era where the battle to open up the new era was fought, although he kept up a lot of competition with those later in Noah, he was called "The Absolute Champion"; there was a deep connection with Mitsuharu Misawa, even if he fought against him or was in a tag with him.
In 2006 kidney cancer was diagnosed and he made a miraculous comeback, although this is said to be difficult to recover from, this created an unprecidented excitement not only amongst pro-wrestling fans.
After retiring in 2013, he runs a promotion called "Fortune Dream"; the name is based on his experience on overcoming cancer, various injuries and his feelings on the "realization of dreams", "the importance of life" and the messages he would like to deliver to fans on this.

Mother's home cooking during difficult school days
In his active period as a wrestler, Mr. Kobashi bestowed a strong image on the fans, especially with the muscles in his arms.
There is no doubt he was born to eat and train, but during his active era did he have a strong interest in food?

Kobashi: Well, I am not a gourmet (laughs). Rather than going out and seeking a variety of places for myself, I tend to go to a place I like. I have children now, and it means that where we can go is limited, and I do not like to eat outside with my family.

Interviewer: I would like to hear Mr. Kobashi's childhood story, you are from Fukuchiyama in Kyoto?

Kobashi: Yes. I was not born into a very wealthy house. My parents were separated and I lived with my mother. They both made rice. I only ate it and that is why I am said to be big.

Interviewer: Well, it might not be luxurious, but the stomach is always filled with rice.

Kobashi: I wish I would have been enough that my belly was full, I never went to any sharp places as a child. It was not because it was Kyoto, but because rice is tasty, even just with pickles.

Interviewer: Ah! The Kyoto pickle!

Kobashi: My mother liked cooking, she devised and did a variety of things. She created many things. Amongst them....well, an egg or cream stew dish. The cream stew was a white froth, a common farmers dish with potatoes, onions and carrots, she guess and tried hard. I still remember it.  

Interviewer: Mother's handmade stew is the best memory!

Kobashi: It was not an environment in which I could casually choose what I wanted to eat. My mother worked hard to give me food, and I could not say anything when I saw it.

Interviewer: When you were a child, your father was not there, I understand that your mother went to work at noon and then made rice upon her return?

Kobashi:That's right. My mother made dinner and then washed the dishes again that evening. There were a few families who had houses in Fukuchiyama's countryside at the time. So she came home from working at midnight, woke up in the morning, made breakfast and then worked, it was frequent.    

Interviewer: Your mother was amazing. Up until late at night working to raise children.

Kobashi: That's right. Watching her it was no wonder that I could not say I don't want to eat this, I
felt too sorry for my mother to leave anything. I knew that I could not waste the rice, I tried to make it last by eating one piece at a time, I didn't want to lick the dishes, but... (laughs)

Interviewer: You did not feel like going to the family restaurant who your mother was working for?

Kobashi: Well, I did not want to go. In those days a family restaurant was a new thing in Fukuchiyama (laughs). Besides it costs money, and they have an image, so I always thought it was bad for me to worry about it. So I do not have any memories of eating there; I am not dissatisfied with that though.

Interviewer: At that time you were engaged in sports?

Kobashi: Yes, I played juvenile baseball and did judo at Junior High. Because I was doing a lot I did not inconvience my parents much by saying "I want to go and play". However I ate rice (laughs) and I think that saved me the cost of food.

Interviewer: There is a popular image of judo club high school students eating rice or donburi.

Kobashi: During practice I used a lot of energy, so I ate many bowls. My mother made a lot of side dishes too, which I think were very serious. In high school in the morning there was also a voluntary tray canteen, so I bought a couple of lunch boxes as my hunger was diminished.

Interviewer: Lunch boxes as well?

Kobashi: One had a Japanese pickled plum in it, I thought you could eat only rice and I didn't understand.

Interviewer: Because you now have children, do you look back and see your mother differently?

Kobashi: Yes, as a child I thought it was natural to able to eat, but when I started working I found it wasn't that easy and truly my thanks to my parents became stronger.

Mr. Kobashi worked at Kyocera after his High School days and devoted himself to judo.
However, he could not break his feelings for professional wrestling, and he went back to it. Of course the first choice was All-Japan led by Giant Baba.
However, there were a few groups at the time compared to now, and it seems that there was considerable difficulty in joining the promotion.

I: Mr. Kobashi experienced being a worker, and then joined All Japan pro wrestling that you adored, but it seems that it was a pretty tough decision.

Kobashi: In order to fulfill my dream of becoming a professional wrestler, I stayed with the company for two or three months before quitting and worked on my body. I needed money to live, to save and then to enter. I had it in my mind that "Professional wrestlers are big" so I wanted to work on enlarging my body.

I:These days there are better facilities and nutrition to for muscles such as gym and protein, but what about your training at the time?

Kobashi: I exercised and ate and slept. I ran, it was like running towards the setting sun (laughs)

I: You were known as "Fist of Intense Youth" (laugh), and you continued to eat rice?

Kobashi: Yes. At the time I had no idea what to eat to train the body. I guess there were also proteins at the time, but they were not generally used at the time. Since the protein makes muscle, I took alot but did not know it at the time. I enlarged and sent the documents to Mr Baba, but it made no difference at the time of the review.

I: To what extent did you try it?

Kobashi: At that time, the All Japan wrestling scouts wanted someone who had proved himself like amateurs or sumo wrestlers. A wrestler who wanted to join All Japan who had no proven track record was not able to talk to Mr. Baba and already in the office the people were dropping you, especially if there is no achievement or someone who can introduce you. I didn't want to give up, so increased in weight (laugh) and that helped me through. I do not care too much about my weight now I think, but since practice was hard, it dropped in a mont (laugh).

I: By the way, where did you live and train?

Kobashi: When I was at Kyocera it was in a dorm, but my mother lived alone in Shiga prefecture so in order to train I lived there. I paid my rent and food expenses.

I: You paid rent?

Kobashi: Yes, I had to make a commitment. I may have been living, so to speak, in my parents home but I, the son, was not indulged. Hovever, when I saw a photo of me at the time, I felt I was being fattened rapidly a little bit (laugh).

I: You then entered successfully into All Japan?

Kobashi: I think now that physique did not matter. A long later when I reached a standpoint for myself, I thought that "wrestling is not a track record, you can do much to motivate yourself." Even if you are scouted you cannot help yourself if you are not motivated, it is useless.

I: Mr. Kobashi joined All Japan, but first of all there is the trainees life.

Kobashi: Yes. I woke up early in the morning and waited on the seniors for 30 minutes before practice. I would wake up, clean the dojo and then go shopping. With the ingredients I would make a chanko after practice, clean the dojo and have it finished by the time I waited for the seniors.