(NOAH) Coach points out! What is the current situation of young people as seen by Ogawa through the "Mauritius Cup"?

Weekly Pro

November 2007

One of the highlights of this tour is the round robin league match, "The Mauritius Cup" between six young wrestlers. In November 1987, during the All Japan Pro Wrestling era, Haru Sonoda died in a plane crash near Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. Since Sonoda was in the role of a coach to the younger wrestlers, the event was held to pass on the teachings of that time to the young wrestlers of today. Misawa, Ogawa, Taue, Kobashi, Kikuchi* - there are still many wrestlers in Noah who were taught by Sonoda. The reason why I wanted to ask Ogawa especially about the "Mauritius Cup" was because he has been coaching the young people on a regular basis, and because the chats we had while watching the league matches at the venue were quite interesting, and I want you to look back on the league from Ogawa's point of view. 

In the eyes of Ogawa, who grew up under Sonoda's guidance, what do today's young wrestlers look like? After all, the absolute part of the current wrestler Yoshinari Ogawa, was created by Haru Sonoda. "From my debut and before I made my debut, I was taught strictly. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't be here now, and I think it's a huge part of it. After that, there are various parts that have been added, but I think the biggest thing is what Sonoda taught me."

It would not be an exaggeration to say that "only the teachings of those days" were the foundation of Sonoda's teachings. It is probably the same in every sphere, but the things that were instilled in you when you were young will remain ingrained in you forever. 

How was the "Mauritius Cup" seen by Ogawa? 

"No matter what form it takes, people with the same career level will fight in round robin singles matches, that is a plus isn't it? From my point of view, even if I don't fight in league matches that much, I still have a connection (laughs). It's like, it's okay to keep doing it four times in a row (smile)"

As many of the fans saw at Ogawa at the venue, he often watched the first half of the matches. Of course, he watched the league matches without exception, but when he saw the clashes between the young wrestlers and compared them to his own youth..."The level is much higher than when we were doing it. The skill level has risen, and when I was young, I used to be able to get one suplex out in one match. I only had matches like that." At that time, unlike now, you had to build matches using only basic techniques. As a result, he experienced an uncomfortable atmosphere, and it is said that he was often told by the audience to "go home!" The match lasted for about 10, 15 minutes without flashy techniques, while being jeered at. This must have been quite difficult, but surprisingly it was not. "I didn't find it difficult to have a match without using techniques, and I liked being able to think about various things during it. So let's do this, ah, let's really think about it in a split second or two. At first I couldn't do it that way, but gradually it became interesting". 

Ogawa felt that thinking with his head was more interesting than using techniques, so it is not strange to have doubts about the matches of today's young wrestlers who use a lot of techniques. He laughed and said, "My goodness, I can do all kind of techniques, but I guess that's the way times are. Even if I tell them not to use it now, they will still use it. On the other hand, I don't think you can put together a match if you don't. Even if I give advice on various things, it's the spice that lies beyond that, or rather everyone is going to add all sorts of things".

The reason why young wrestlers return to the locker room after watching only the first half of the match is that if they watch the structure of the first half, they will already know enough, but in Ogawa's sense, young people today just want to move forward. However, since this is the current trend, he doesn't think it is necessary to teach them this and that by yelling at them. However..."I think it would be nice if I could make each and every one of them important or secure or my own. It's not by halves, but I have a lot of things to remember about things that aren't perfect. Well, that's the way it is now". Of course, Ogawa is not doing it all by himself when it comes to teaching young people (i.e. it doesn't end with him), even if he does it one way, each person has their own way of doing things. "I am looking forward to seeing how that kind of person teaches the wrestlers and how they turn out. There are things I am looking forward to, and there are some things I am afraid of. Seriously speaking, I wonder if it hasn't changed that much." Now that he's back to talking about in-ring matches, I'm curious who Ogawa saw as the player who made the most progress. I tried to ask him, but he couldn't come up with a name. In the end, he even mentioned the name of Shiozaki, who was not participating. Shiozaki's growth speed, especially the speed of the past few months, is something that everyone has already recognized, so it may be hard to compare, but even so, compared to about a year ago, the growth of young people has stopped. Ogawa points out, "I don't know who they are, but compared to a little while ago, I wonder if everyone's growth has stopped. It sounds harsh, but compared after all to Shiozaki, I wonder if they are approaching each other in the same way, after a few months it felt like they were drifting away." I thought that Taniguchi, who even though he had gotten better and won the championship was different.

"I might be necessary to praise him in the company, but I think that Taniguchi is the type of person who gets better when he feels better. For the time being, I think it's good that he was able to leave behind good results, but compared to half a year ago, no matter how much things have improved, I don't think that much has changed". 

Yoshinari Ogawa believes that he does not want to do things like he did in the past, and that it would be good to provide guidance that is suitable for the current times. He says he will continue to coach, but there are so many things he hasn't taught yet. This is how Yoshinari Ogawa has accumulated so much wealth.   

Translated from Weekly Pro

Picture credits: Weekly Pro

  

Notes

For more on Haru Sonoda see "Dandyism, it's not like that" and "Soar! Young elites who will lead the future of All Japan (Goto, Kawada, Ogawa)"

Kikuchi: Tsuyochi Kikuchi, All Japan's whipping boy, who it is said "had the crazy" beat into him by Stan Hansen and Jumbo Tsuruta.