Take a moment to try to think seriously about cheerleaders. Nowadays, they don't just wear skimpy outfits, wave pompoms and do high kicks. Oh no, the cheerleaders jump, tumble and perform acrobatic stunts. And, of course, they dance, chant and smile as well. But colorful pompoms and short skirts apart, get ready for this: cheerleading teams can be men-only too.
Yohei Kano, a 23-year-old senior at Waseda University in Tokyo, didn't see anything strange in that notion — and he wondered why most teams are all-female. So three years ago Kano founded Shockers, the country's first all-male university cheerleading team.
"Now I am a senior and retired from cheerleading activities. But you can come to see the team's practice and you will realize how hard and exciting the sport is," Kano told me over the phone.