Judo legend Shohei Ono provided insights into his globally renowned techniques at TSV Abensberg. In four training sessions, the two-time Olympic champion captivated the judoka who traveled from all over Germany – and beyond its borders.
When Shohei Ono stepped onto the mat in the Josef Stanglmeier Hall, there was complete silence. The participants of the two-day training camp listened excitedly to the words of the 32-year-old Japanese. Ono earned his status as a living legend in judo thanks to his two Olympic triumphs and his three world championship titles.
For chief organizer Andreas Lorenz, deputy head of the judo department at TSV Abensberg, Ono’s involvement in the Abensberg judo hall was an absolute stroke of luck: “The fact that we can bring a judoka of such quality to Abensberg is fantastic. During his active time, Ono was among the absolute best in the world.” Shohei Ono ended his active career after the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo and, as an ambassador for the sport of judo, devoted himself primarily to the goal of imparting his knowledge and unique skills.
Judo teacher with a mission
“I also want to further develop my own skills as a trainer, perhaps one day I can work as a national coach in the Japanese Judo Association,” explained the very modest Ono in a short conversation before training. He chose the Scottish capital Edinburgh as a base camp for his activities in Europe. “That was mainly so I could improve my English. At some point the language school became too boring for me. “I noticed that I get better in everyday life when I talk to my classmates or spend a lot of time with them,” said Ono in clear English. After training seminars in Italy, Serbia and Tajikistan, the athlete stopped in the German Judomecca Abensberg this weekend.
Around 150 participants of all ages were waiting for him there on both training days – all of them were performance-oriented and highly motivated to take their technique to the next level under Ono’s guidance. Among them was Ole Bischof, an Olympic champion from Beijing. The 45-year-old didn’t want to miss the opportunity to train with Ono: “Shohei practices such beautiful judo with such wonderful techniques, I definitely want to experience that,” said Bishop enthusiastically about the guest from Japan, who he was still away from competitions from his active time.
“I woke up after Saturday’s training with a sore muscle, but I’m happy to accept that,” said Bischof, who was spontaneously hired by Ono as a warm-up coach on both days. For Andreas Lorenz, Bischof’s commitment was also a sign of great appreciation for Ono.
High level in Abensberg
“It was cool to see someone like Ole suddenly slip into the role of a student. “After all, he is also an Olympic champion who tries to absorb everything that Shohei brings across,” Lorenz explained Ono’s special position. The exceptional athlete was happy to return the compliments and was impressed by the level of the participants: “I was quite surprised at how talented the boys in particular presented themselves. We also tried difficult techniques and they did really well.”
Ono, who works as a judo trainer for the Japanese chemical company Asahi Kasei, usually carries out his training sessions with significantly more athletes. In Abensberg, however, the general conditions in the hall only allowed 150 participants: That didn’t dampen the intensity and enthusiasm.
