What do Judo boys, Shohei Ono (30 = Asahi Kasei), who won the Olympics for the second time in a row, think now? At the All Japan Championship in April, which was the return race from the Tokyo Olympics, the true intention that I wanted to express in an indiscriminate battle, the proposal for the declining domestic judo population, and the feeling that I was worried about continuing active duty. I talked about it in an interview.
- Shohei Ono (July 26, 2021), who defeated Rasha Shavdatuashibiri (rear) in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Judo Men’s 73kg Class Final and achieved consecutive victories.
“Somehow, I’m playing tag, judo is now for me.”
When I asked Ohno what he meant to participate in the All Japan Championship, he said the premise of the answer was the conflict on the way to the second consecutive Olympic title.
“Whether I will chase after the opponent running away and the difference will be closed. If it gets stuck, it will be thrown, and it will be scraped and packed over time with GS (overtime) etc., and it will be thrown at the end. In other words, there are many players who run away. It’s not good because the top players are fighting like that. “
- 2020 Tokyo Olympics Men’s 73kg Class Final Ohno (July 26, 2021) attacking Georgia’s Shavdatu Asibiri (front)
Strong and beautiful, its judo attracts envy from all over the world. However, he was never able to embody the judo he was looking for.
“I was doing some work I didn’t want to do, not to be strong (until the Tokyo Olympics), but to win the game. It’s about chasing things that change, chasing rules that change. That’s a great need. But when it comes to the goodness of judo, I think it’s the essence. “
So what is the essence?
“It’s about pairing (holding both the fisherman and the puller firmly) and throwing. We’ll meet each other. That hasn’t changed since Judo was created.”
To win the game and to become stronger as a judoka. It was up to Tokyo that I felt that the two were getting farther apart.
Within the scope of the rules, there were also opponents who pursued the technique of small hands in order to win. I often felt that I was running away. There was a part of myself playing tag so that I could be caught in that range.
“Let’s kill the goodness of Ohno over there, then I’ll kill more here. It’s subtraction and subtraction. Today’s judo is shaving, and there is no good point for each other. It’s boring for those who see it. “
There will be more guidance due to negativeness, and less single wins due to throwing. It was the All Japan Championship that I wanted to make that composition “multiply”.
- Shohei Ono (April 29, 2022) attacked by Muneya Maeda (right) in the first round of the Judo All-Japan Championship
“It’s a head-on collision. I thought,’Eat it.’ Isn’t that the original martial art? I’m trying to get rid of the wins and losses and do what I want to express, the judo I want to do.”
In fact, he and Maeda, who are in the 90-kilometer class, had a meeting that they wanted, rather than trying to get into a fight for a team.
“When I saw my judo, I wanted to do judo,” or “I wanted to throw something.” I hope that children will see the essence. I wanted to get it, but 4 minutes is not enough. I want to do it for about 10 minutes. To show what I want to express. “
I wanted him to feel different from the tatami mats for consecutive championships, which had the Hinomaru on his back and his mission was to win.
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At the age of 30, there may be a consciousness that it is a signboard of the Japanese judo world. Over the last few years, her interest in other than her own fighting and a sense of crisis have spread.
“Now there are a wide variety of professions. Not everyone wants to be an athlete. It’s not just about sports-only children. Then, the birthrate is declining. I wonder what we can do with our efforts.”
Judo suffers from a sharp decline in the competitive population. In the 17 years from 2004 to 2009, the number of individual registrants of the All Japan Judo Federation decreased from 202,025 to 122,184. In particular, the number of elementary school students increased from 47,512 to 25,636. The Scout Association of Japan also set up a branding strategy promotion special committee in September last year to emphasize dissemination, but Ohno himself thinks about it.
“We have to think about starting judo, not approaching a child who started judo.”
Participation in the All Japan Championship was also a desire to have an interest in judo by showing them throwing each other. Now, a concrete approach other than the game comes to mind.
“Don’t you want to throw it, you mean me?”
I want to create an experience opportunity for inexperienced people.
“Isn’t it okay to be thrown in the opposite direction? I don’t think it’s flying in the air. I think it’s interesting. I want to do that.”
There is a reason to stick to the present while active.
“I wonder if I should do it now. It’s a pity, I’m over 40 years old and my children are asking” who? ” I have to do it. “
Sensitive to the expiration date of the name, there is also a sense of impatience and a sense of mission.
It also mentions the significance of the existence of the All Japan Championship.
“I think it was interesting this year, but if it’s a selection tournament (of an international tournament), the heavyweight class feels pressure and sticks to winning. It is better to move to the end of the year, which is easy to do. “
He points out that it is okay to draw a different line from the international competition as a place where everyone can see the judo that they long for.
- Shohei Ono (April 29, 2022) lost to Muneya Maeda (right) in the first round of the Judo All-Japan Championship
He hasn’t mentioned the Paris Olympics, which will take him three consecutive victories.
“I don’t have much motivation for the game. If I go to the game, I have to win. I want to get rid of things that I don’t mean, but that’s a disadvantage. I don’t have the energy to do it. It’s tough. “
What you want to express and achieve while you are a player. Because he is a player, he suffers from suffering. Ohno is still standing on the tatami mat, shaking.[Kengo Abe](Nikkan Sports.com / Sports column “We Love Sports”)
- Shohei Ono, the gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, puts his hand on the Hinomaru and asks for you = August 8, 2016
