The real history of Hidy Ochiai/Washin-ryu

[ShibumiNiSen]

Aletheia - very well written! (The bus station from which planes happen to take off and land is an amusing description.) But also your insight into possible origins of WaShin Ryu is interesting and plausible. I'd like to add another incongruent aspect of Ochiai's claim (which you mentioned) about everything he learned, he learned from his master: In addition to teaching Go Ju Ryu katas, he began to teach Neipaipo - a Shito Ryu kata that had not even been developed until Ochiai came to the United States. How then could he have learned this kata from his master?

[RWaggs]

However, sparring is all non contact point sparring meant for tournament use which is simply a game, somewhat of a show and not real kumite. Master Ochiai points that out to us constantly. But that is what is used at karate tournaments.
It is a 3 point match and you stop after each 1/2 point or full point to award it.
The idea behind the full point is that IF it was executed correctly, one punch is all you need to stop your opponent. That is probably not easy for most people to actualize.

Steve

It is not easy for most people to actualize because it is pure fantasy. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with point sparring so long as the practitioners realize that it is a game and ONLY a game and want to engage in said game.

The second part of your statement, however is completely ridiculous. Please tell me, as a grown man with the ability to be logical, that you do not think that the striking applied during point sparring would somehow translate to stopping a committed attacker in one strike, just because you're ramping it up a bit for the street.

Do you honestly think you possess the striking power to stop even an amateur boxer with one strike? I hope you never are put into a situation where you're forced to 'actualize' this thinking in a real self defense situation.

[sempaiman]

Ochiai flew into Broome County Airport in the 60's. The Gentleman who picked him up at the airport " A previous Binghamton police chief" Stated "Ochiai came to the USA with Only a Black Belt in Judo." Ochiai then studied in American Karate with from what I could gather was with a local instructor at the time. After several years Ochiai then developed his own style. I FIND THIS INFORMATION VERY CREDIBLE DUE TO THE SOURCE BEING A POLICE OFFICER AND THEN POLICE CHIEF NOW ret. Many of these claims can be verified just by asking one of many of his original students. ie. Frank Kushner (FMK Karate).
Keep digging, the people and information is out there.

That is complete bull. In the mid 60's there was no compitant local karate instructors. Antonittis (sp) had a school next to current BAE plant and shortly became an Ochiai student. Kushner is not one of his original students. Ochiai had a number of black by the time he started. It's interesting that Kushner does not list Ochiai as his intructor (in fact he does not list any intructors or his own rank) on his websidte. Also, Ochiai does not list his rank on his website either the last time I checked.

[Wounded Ronin]

Hidy Ochiai Black Belts have a superiority complex. Somphore year I went to take there Karate class for my gym credit. The evil bitch monster that ran the class spent 30 minutes on how awesome Hidy Ochiai and by extension *she* was. Then declared that if any body went in to challenge her to a fight that she would have to kill them.

I dropped the club and tried the club, they were just as bad.

Basically Washin-ryu is a inferior Shotokan branch with a myth about Karate Monks.

Considering this is bullshido.net, I cannot believe you didn't challenge her and then post it on youtube.

[Aletheia]

@font-face { font-family: "Cambria"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } Maybe I am bitter because I watched “Enter the Dragon” over the weekend, and didn’t find Ochiai in it.

This is a film that Ochiai (or at least someone on Wikipedia and IMDB) claims he was an uncredited part of…

Yeah, I’m taking off the gloves (and perhaps my mask).

It’s been almost a year now since I posted my experiences with, and speculations about, Hidy Ochiai. No one, and, especially telling, no one of who presumably remains of his dwindling number of deluded students, have stepped forward to defend his honor. The Japanese, as is perhaps even more stereotypically reinforced by those who buy into the “wisdom of the far east” farce sold by Ochiai and all those gym teachers who are members of the Hokubei Shihankai (the stillborn dead, last ditch effort to save the charlatans of the 60s who emigrated to the US to propagate a fascist form of martial arts on all-too-eager Westerners who were willing to swallow everything hook, line and sinker that these ninja-samurai wannabes could sell but are recently realizing has lost its appeal now that they have to sell their houses like the rest of America), are supposedly people of “honor” (whatever that means).

So Mr. Ochiai, and any of the students who are foolish enough to give him any money month after month, tell us, if you be of honor, what your true lineage is. I want to press this point even more forcefully to Mr. Ochiai himself, who has presented himself as a “professor of philosophy” in recent years. This is, Mr. Ochiai, a simple modus tollens: If you are a man of honor, then you will explain yourself truthfully. You have not explained yourself truthfully. Therefore, you are not a man of honor. (There is an enthymeme here: namely that silence is indicative of guilt, but I’m willing to risk it….and if you have to look up that word, Ochiai, well, that tells me everything I have to know).

Given the number of people that Ochiai humiliated on his dojo floor for no other apparent reason than his own hubris ( a dojo floor paid for by those very people), am I being too harsh on this Musashi-wannabe-cloak-everything-up-in-terms-of-some-ludicrous-mortal-combat-fight-to-the-finish? I don’t know. Maybe somewhere in “Enter the Dragon” there’s some great cameo by you. Or maybe it’s in some extended scene that’s been lost permanently and forever (like the greatness that your Washin-ryu organization could have once become).

So, there’s my challenge Ochiai. Take it or leave it. (as if he reads any of this anyway)


I think everyone knows you already lost. And even if you wanted to redeem your lost honor in the traditional Japanese way, I don’t think anyone would even care…..

[sempaiman]

Was training with him when "Enter The Dragon" came out. He made no mentioned that he was in any way associated or was in the movie. He just mentioned that he met BL only once at that time.

[toad44]

did this in college, now 20 years ago (time flies). it was fun LARPing/choreographed dancing (kata).
We went to Binghamton for grading, and got to listen to him yell, "Power! BALANCE! SPEED! POWER!!"

we weren't even allowed to make eye contact as lowly yellow belts.

was really glad to be saved by MT/kickboxing and pancrase-type full fighting...

[sempaiman]

U were wise to c the fallocy in Washin-Ryu. When he instituded timing sparring (LARPING in slow motion), I bailed also.

[Plasma]

Considering this is bullshido.net, I cannot believe you didn't challenge her and then post it on youtube.

I only had 3 months of JJJ at the time. In fact when I left their club is when I found the BJJ club on campus. It was 2001 I don't even know if there was a Bullshido yet.

I fact it was first time I encountered Bullshido in real life. I am lucky I left so quickly when things didn't feel right.

[sempaiman]

Yesh, the old smell test...question u live in the area...