Judoka Shohei Ono is one of the absolute exceptional experts in his sport.
The list of successes of the two-time Olympic champion and three-time world champion is long. In addition to his extraordinary merits, the 32-year-old gained notoriety through his special fighting style. After winning the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in the weight class up to 73 kilograms, the Japanese ended his competitive career. He moved his life to Scotland and dedicated himself to promoting the sport of judo by giving athletes and trainers insights into his methods. Andreas Lorenz, deputy department head at the German judo Bundesliga record champion TSV Abensberg, became aware of Shohei Ono’s offer – and won the Olympic champion for a training weekend in Abensberg. According to Lorenz, the reasons behind the idea of bringing the exceptional talent to Abensberg were simply obvious: “Ono is one of the most successful judoka ever, he is a sensation.”
The Olympic champion stands for an attractive fighting style
Every judoka knows the name Shohei Ono. “He practices exceptionally beautiful judo with very special throwing techniques,” says Lorenz. Osoto-Gari and Uchi-Mata were among Ono’s specialties. In general, Ono made the sport look relaxed with his emphatically technical approach. “We also try to teach this type of judo in our club, but implementing it in combat is relatively complex.” It is therefore a great honor to bring “the greatest specialist” with Shohei Ono to Abensberg to train this fighting style. Ono says on his homepage onodojo.eu that he owes a lot to the sport of judo and that he would therefore like to share his knowledge and experience with future generations. In this way, the teaching that he himself received should be continued. Shohei Ono is staying in Europe for two years to give judo enthusiasts a deeper understanding of the Japanese martial art. His special style with an extremely high Ippon rate brought him, in addition to the gold medals at the 2016 (Rio de Janeiro) and 2021 (Tokyo) Olympic Games, the world championship titles in 2013, 2015 and 2019. Ono also won several gold medals at Grand Slam and Grand Prix events, became Asian Games champion (2018) and junior world champion (2011).
The main focus is on learning the techniques
The extensive training weekend starts this Saturday with the welcoming of the participants. The first training session is scheduled for 9 a.m. Unit number two is on the program at 2:30 p.m. Sunday is structured similarly. Each training session should focus on a different technique. The units will have a similar approach, says Lorenz. After the warm-up, the focus is on the main technique. Finally, the techniques are used in Randori – in practice combat. According to Lorenz, the demand on the training days, which were limited to 150 participants, was enormous. At the beginning of the week there were still restarts available. The basic requirement for participation is a few years of judo. “Building on the experiences, the training sessions are about deepening and implementing that little bit of difference,” says Lorenz. The primary target group was young people from the competitive field.
Shohei Ono has great appeal
The training camp aroused interest beyond Bavaria and attracted judoka from all over Germany, but also from the Netherlands and France to Abensberg. The spectrum of interested parties is broad and ranges from ten-year-old judoka to competitive athletes to trainers who have already ended their active careers.
According to Lorenz, the goals for the camp are clearly defined: “The focus is on technology. Everyone should take their judo to a higher level,” said Lorenz. “We are looking forward to an exciting weekend.” Between training sessions, participants have the opportunity to have their photo taken with Shohei Ono and to relax before the second practice session.
Judo training camp in Abensberg
Ort: Two-time Olympic champion and three-time world champion Shohei Ono will hold two training sessions on Saturday and Sunday in the Josef-Stanglmeier-Halle (Abensberg, Aumühlstraße 1).
Program: The training sessions take place on both days from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The period between 11 a.m. and 11.30 a.m. is blocked for photos with the exceptional judoka.
