is a retired judoka who competed in the middleweight (−80 kg) division in the 1964 Summer Olympics.Isho Okana
. sports-reference.com

Biography

Okano entered the 1964 Summer Olympics while studying at

Chuo University , commonly referred to as or , is a private flagship research university in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1885 as Igirisu Hōritsu Gakkō (the English Law School), Chuo is one of the oldest and most prestigious institutions in the country. The univer ...

's law school, and won the gold medal in the middleweight division. He won another gold medal at the

World Judo Championships The World Judo Championships are the highest level of international judo competition, along with the Judo at the Summer Olympics, Olympic judo competition. The championships are held once every year (except the years when the Olympics take place ...

in 1965, becoming the champion of his division at only 21 years of age. He also won the open-weight class division of the

All-Japan Judo Championships is a judo tournament held every year in Japan. The men's tournament is held in Nippon Budokan on 29 April and the women's tournament (dubbed "Empress cup All-Japan women's Judo championships") is held in Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium in April. T ...

in 1967 and 1969, and placed second in 1968. At 80 kg, he and

Shinobu Sekine was a Japanese middleweight judoka. He won a gold medal at his only Olympics in 1972. Biography Sekine was born in Ōarai, Ibaraki, and entered the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department after graduating from Chuo University. He sought a spot on ...

remain the lightest ever competitors to win these championships. Okano suddenly retired from competitive judo at only 25 years of age, and founded the Sekijuku (currently the

Ryutsu Keizai University is a Japanese private university in Ryūgasaki, Ibaraki. It was founded in 1965. The school has secondary campuses in Matsudo, Chiba and also in Kashiwa, Chiba. See also * Ryutsu Keizai University F.C., affiliated football club. *List of univer ...

's judo team) in 1970, where he instructed future Olympic gold medalist

Kazuhiro Ninomiya is a retired judoka who competed in the 1976 Summer Olympics. Biography After graduating from Tenri University, Ninomiya entered the Shoki Juku under the instruction of Isao Okano. He joined the Fukuoka Prefecture police force in Ap ...

. He also served as a coach for the Japanese team during the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 P ...

. He later worked as a judo instructor at Keio University from 1989 to 1998, and the

University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project b ...

from 1989 to 2000. He is a retired professor and Head of the Judo Department at

. He has held the judo rank of 6th

dan Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa **Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoi ...

for more than 40 years. Isao Okano is the author of Vital Judo,Vital Judo – Grappling Techniques
BestJudo.com. Retrieved on 2015-06-04. which was published in 1976. Okano is famously known for his

seoinage is a shoulder throw, one of the traditional forty throws of Judo as developed by Jigoro Kano. It belongs to the first group, Dai Ikkyo, of the traditional throwing list, Gokyo (no waza), of Kodokan Judo. It is also part of the current 67 Thro ...

, kouchi gari and

osoto gari is one of the original 40 throws of Judo as developed by Jigoro Kano. It belongs to the first group, Dai Ikkyo, of the traditional throwing list, Gokyo (no waza), of Kodokan Judo. It is also included in the current 67 Throws of Kodokan Judo. ...

. Also known as a master in the field of

newaza Grappling, in hand-to-hand combat, describes sports that consist of gripping or seizing the opponent. Grappling is used at close range to gain a physical advantage over an opponent, either by imposing a position or causing injury. Grappling i ...

, Okano is considered by some an important contributor to the late art of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He was a teacher to Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts like

Joe Moreira Jose Carlos Moreira (born July 3, 1961 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and a former mixed martial artist.Fredson Paixao Fredson is a given name and surname. Notable people with the name include: *Fredson (footballer, born 1981), full name Fredson Câmara Pereira, Brazilian footballer *Fredson (footballer, born 1991), full name Fredson Vinícius Santos Oliveira, Braz ...

, Edson Carvalho and Oswaldo Alves, with the last citing their training with Okano as instrumental for the development of sweeps,

side control In grappling, side control (often also called side mount, cross mount, 100 kilos) is a dominant ground grappling position where the top combatant is lying perpendicularly over the face-up bottom combatant in such a way that the legs are free and ...

and

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

work in modern jiu-jitsu.

References

External links

*

Competition videos of Isao Okano at Judovision {{DEFAULTSORT:Okano, Isao 1944 births Living people Japanese male judoka Judoka at the 1964 Summer Olympics Olympic judoka of Japan Olympic gold medalists for Japan People from Ibaraki Prefecture Olympic medalists in judo Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics