2022.12.13
Continuing the Fight to be World Champion
In 2022 Hikaru Ono took first place at KARATE1 Premier League-Rabat,making it her first time to be ranked No. 1 in the world. The profound disappointment she felt about not being able to compete in the Olympics gave her the opportunity to reevaluate how she does karate. Now she is racing to be the top in the world by returning to karate’s roots.
- ― How did it make you feel about not being able to achieve your goal of competing in the Tokyo Olympics?
- From the time of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics to when the athletes for the Tokyo Olympics were selected, I went around the world and experienced some twists and turns along the way. Eventually I found my own unique way of doing karate, or how I approach karate. Although I wasn’t able to compete in the Tokyo Olympics, it has been an important five years.
I even considered quitting karate. I was a candidate for the Olympics up to about a month before the opening day, so I had to be mentally and physically prepared. That was the hardest time. But during that time I was able to look closely at myself and at my weakness, which was being too concerned about winning. By confronting my own issues, I naturally recovered and was able to evolve my kata.
- ― Tell us about your unique approach to kata that you found.
- Now I can choose how I fight, my kata, and how I put my kata together. Competing in the World Karate Championships was a huge asset for me. Before that I would worry about how the kata I was pursuing would be evaluated and was indecisive, but then I realized that there was no point in winning if I don’t do kata that I can be satisfied with. The roots of karate are in self-defense. Now that karate is becoming more of a sport than a martial art, the more spectacular moves tend to receive higher scores. But I am committed to becoming a karate expert who serves as a model for others by achieving victory through being the world’s fastest and most powerful without losing sight of its essence.
- ― Tell us about your goals for the future.
- If I qualify for the Asian Karate Championships and take first place it will be my second time in a row, and if I come in first at the All Japan Karate Championship and National Sports Festival, it will be my third time in a row, so I will focus on upcoming competitions and strive to win. The National Sports Festival is the only competition where I can give back to my hometown. If it wasn’t for the 2008 Oita National Sports Festival I wouldn’t be where I am today. It gave me the same feeling as in representing Japan. I want to keep up my strength, so I’m training very hard. I’m actively engaging in intense practice and training. I want to quit while I’m at my peak, so in the end I will decide regardless of my growth or other factors. I practice hard and strive to keep beating my best performance, so I can’t imagine ever entering a competition without exerting my full strength. But I’ll consider becoming a coach as I want keep being involved in karate.
10 Questions ~Shinken Wanna Know!~
- What food do you like to eat?
- Anko (sweet bean paste). I like Japanese sweets better than Western style cakes.
- What food do you dislike to eat?
- Carrots. I do give attention to my diet. My mother is qualified as Athlete Food Meister, so I leave my nutrition management to her.
- What do you always keep in the refrigerator?
- Energy drink.
- What do you like to do?
- Sleeping. I have bed clothes for athletes. I think sleep and diet are important. When I come back to Japan from overseas, I sleep the whole night and the whole next day. I can get over jet lag.
- How do you get rid of stress?
- Hot spring.
- What’s something that made you happy recently?
- I lost weight and improved strength.
- What do you do in your time off?
- Shopping.
- What is your favorite saying or phrase?
- Nichi- nichi- kore- kojitsu ( Zen word). It means every day is a good day.
- What do you want to be doing in ten years from now?
- 40 years old. I want to lose weight in 10 years. My body won’t be athletic any more.
- What item do you want the most right now?
- Luxury skincare products.
Profile
| Results |
|
|---|
