Hideo Ochi
Encyclopedia
Hideo Ochi is a Japanese master
Grandmaster (martial arts)
Grandmaster and Master are titles used to describe or address some senior or experienced martial artists. Such titles may be, to some extent, aligned to the elderly martial arts master stock character in fiction...

 of karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...

. He is ranked 8th Dan
Dan (rank)
The ranking system is a Japanese mark of level, which is used in modern fine arts and martial arts. Originally invented in a Go school in the Edo period, this system was applied to martial arts by Kanō Jigorō, the founder of judo and later introduced to other East Asia countries.In the modern...

, and is a former Japan Karate Association
Japan Karate Association
Japan Karate Association is one of the most influential Shotokan karate organizations in the world...

 (JKA) World Champion in kumite
Kumite
Kumite means sparring, and is one of the three main sections of karate training, along with kata and kihon. Kumite is the part of karate in which you train against an adversary, using the techniques learned from the kihon and kata....

(sparring) and kata
Kata
is a Japanese word describing detailed choreographed patterns of movements practised either solo or in pairs. The term form is used for the corresponding concept in non-Japanese martial arts in general....

(patterns). He was also coach (European Championship in 1971, 1972 and 1975) of the German national team and Chief Instructor for JKA Europe. In 1997, he received the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Biography

Ochi began his Shotokan
Shotokan
is a style of karate, developed from various martial arts by Gichin Funakoshi and his son Gigo Funakoshi . Gichin was born in Okinawa and is widely credited with popularizing karate through a series of public demonstrations, and by promoting the development of university karate clubs, including...

 karate training at the age of 14 years.

As a student of economics at Takushoku University
Takushoku University
Takushoku University is a private university in Japan. It was founded in 1900 by Prince Taro Katsura . The university is located in Tokyo and has two campuses: the main campus in the Bunkyō district, and a satellite campus in the Hachiōji district...

, he was a member of its karate team and due to his success as a competitor he consequently applied as instructor for the JKA. He passed all the tests, and in 1964 the JKA made him instructor for the honbu dojo
Dojo
A is a Japanese term which literally means "place of the way". Initially, dōjōs were adjunct to temples. The term can refer to a formal training place for any of the Japanese do arts but typically it is considered the formal gathering place for students of any Japanese martial arts style to...

(headquarters training hall) in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

.

During the following years, he was champion of Japan several times. Because of his victories in kata and kumite from 1966 to 1969 he eventually achieved the title "Grand Champion" and took over Hirokazu Kanazawa's position as National Karate trainer in Germany.

Under his guidance, the German national team won the European Championships three times. After they had placed second in the world championship in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 1975, the very next year he competed himself once again during his holidays in Japan, defeated 1976's World champion Osaka, and won the National championship of his home country Japan.

In 1993, he founded the German branch of the JKA.

Ochi is the successor of Keinosuke Enoeda
Keinosuke Enoeda
was a Japanese master of Shotokan karate. He was a former Chief Instructor of the Karate Union of Great Britain. Enoeda was ranked 8th dan in Shotokan karate, and was widely renowned as a formidable karateka . Following his death, Enoeda was posthumously awarded the rank of 9th dan.-Early...

as Chief Instructor for JKA Europe.

External links

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