2019.07.01
She has her eyes fixed on an “Olympic gold medal.”
Karate has been included as an additional sport for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Female karate kata athlete Hikaru Ono has been honing her style.
Victory at the Oita National Sports Festival was the first turning point.
In January this year, Ono clinched third place at the Karate1 Premier League - Paris 2019. To earn ranking points, she has been participating in Tokyo Olympic qualification competitions, held almost every month, and producing results. There is only one spot on the Olympic team for this event. With Japanese athletes placed higher in world rankings, the points they have accumulated will be added up and the top two will compete for the spot in a one-on-one fight starting next year. Currently, Ono ranks second among Japanese players in the Olympic standings, a good enough position to qualify for the Olympics.
Ono started karate when she was a first grader. She showed a talent with her fast-based movement and well-executed techniques. At the 2008 Oita National Sports Festival, when she was a first-year high school student, Ono came in third in the kumite junior individual female category and won the title in the kata junior individual female category. “The win at the Oita National Sports Festival, which took place in my hometown, became a turning point,” Ono recalled. She also won the title at world junior championships and other competitions.
Karate has two events: “kumite,” which is practiced one-on-one, and “kata,” which is performed as detailed patterns of movements. Ono had been a two-way player, practicing both kata and kumite until her second year on the job. “I have no regrets about having chosen both kata and kumite,” said Ono. “But I couldn’t practice them with the same amount of energy.”
Pursuing a kata that only she can perform
Ono graduated from college in 2014. She returned to Oita to train under Grandmaster Shigenori Sato. “The grandmaster believes ‘kata and kumite are like two sides of the same coin,’” said Ono. “He told me that a really great kata makes you feel as if you are looking at the player fighting against an adversary. I realized that there is a form of expression unique to me based on my experience of taking on an opponent in kumite.” She reclaimed her brilliance and made a comeback as a representative of Japan.
Ono won the female team kata event at the 2016 World Karate Championships, and then was selected as a member of the all Japan national team. “I felt the joy of competing on the world stage as a representative of Japan. I aim to be the best in the world, rather than the best in Japan,” said Ono.
In 2018, the rules of the kata event were revised to introduce a scoring system. It may feel a bit unnatural for karate, which emphasizes the appearance of performance. “Karate is not a dance. Even if the performance looks good, it makes no sense unless you defeat your adversary,” said Ono. “I would like to pursue a kata that is understandable to amateurs and convincible for professionals. I still have room to grow. I aim to win a gold medal in the Olympics.”
Hikaru Ono’s Philosophy
The kind of kata I want to pursue is one which is understandable to amateurs and convincing for professionals.
Profile
| Date of birth | 1992.8.30 |
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| Hometown | Oita Prefecture Japan |
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