 Welcome to Think Tech Hawaii, Konnichiwa Hawaii, a Japanese language broadcast streaming live from downtown Honolulu and available on YouTube. I'm your host Yukari Kunisue and joining me today in the studio is Mr. Norio Okada, wrestling coach who was the first Japanese coach trained overseas athletes to send it to the school Olympics. Hello everyone, from downtown Honolulu, Think Tech Hawaii is available in Japanese. Hello, I'm Yukari Kunisue, a host of Hawaii. Today's broadcast is the first time in the world that a wrestling Olympic competition has been held overseas. I'm here at the studio with Mr. Norio Okada, who was the first Japanese coach trained overseas. Mr. Okada is currently in Hawaii and is the representative of the Ten-de-kyo. He is from the Ten-de-kyo Cultural Center. Mr. Okada, thank you very much for today. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. I was told a while ago that there are a lot of passers-by. This is the first time in Japan that a wrestling competition has been held overseas. It's a wrestling competition, isn't it? Yes, it is. The Olympics cannot be held overseas. That's right. It's a wrestling competition in the South of Colombia. At that time, wrestling was held in Colombia. Was it a fight? No, it wasn't. That's right. But it all started a little while ago. Before that, my master was Mr. Hanaharatsutomu. Mr. Hanaharatsutomu. He was a world medalist in the Tokyo Olympics. I see. He was a master in the Olympics for a year. He had already been in Colombia. Yes, he returned to Colombia. His master was the director of the Muhe Olympics. I see. I wanted to go to the Olympics again. Yes. Unfortunately, I couldn't lose in Japan. I couldn't lose, but I ended up in the 3rd place. You couldn't go to the 3rd place? No, I couldn't. I see. I was the only one who went to the Olympics. Mr. Okada was going to go to the Olympics in wrestling. Yes, in 1972. In 1972. You had been in wrestling for a long time. No, no. When I was in high school, I was boxing. Boxing? That's normal. Yes. I did a lot of sports. I didn't do a lot of serious things. I went to a university. I went to a Japanese university. I did wrestling. I see. I did a lot of sports until I went to college. After you entered the Japanese university, did you focus on wrestling? I chose the Japanese university to do wrestling. I see. You were a sports boy since you were little. Yes. I liked swimming and swimming. Since I was a kid, I used to swim and swim. I'm still young now. I was 70 years old. You were 70 years old. Yes, this month. Yes, this month. How long did you want to participate in the Olympics? Tokyo Olympics. There is a new Tokyo Olympics video this time. In 1964. Tokyo Olympics was a strong event. I see. How old were you in 1964? I was in 2nd grade in junior high school. You were 15 years old. Yes, I was 15 years old. Did you have a desire to participate in the Olympics? No, I didn't go there. It was amazing. There were 5 gold medals in wrestling. You were attacked. Yes, I was attacked. I was born in 2nd grade. I started wrestling there. I wanted to participate as a world champion. Of course. You became a senior in junior high school. After that, did you participate in the Olympics in Montreal? Yes, I participated in the Olympics in Japan for 76 years. You went to South Korea when you were in elementary school? Yes, I went to South Korea on October 28, 1973. You went to South Korea. It's easy to tell. Of course, there were some people who spoke English. Did you have any problems with your language or cultural differences? I don't know at all. You don't know at all? I don't know where Colombia is. You don't know where Colombia is? I don't know if it's in Africa. I thought it was in South Africa. How did you feel when you went to South Korea? Of course, there were some people who spoke English. Mr. Hanahana, who spoke English, asked me if I wanted to go to South Korea. I said yes. I thought it was in South Africa. There were many ways to become a teacher in high school. My father wanted to work hard in the next Montreal. So your father was a type of person who raised you a lot? He was a father who didn't say anything. I thought I wanted to go to South Korea. How old were you when you came to South Korea? I was 24 years old. You were still single. What was your first impression of South Korea? Colombia is a country with a population of about 4 times as low as Japan. The population is 3,000 times as low as Japan. So you felt like you had a lot of land? Yes, I had a lot of land, but there was a small plane in the middle. I felt like I was going down there. You must have had a teacher, Mr. Hanahana. Did you first start thinking about the Olympics? No, no. At first, I thought it was a good place. You thought it was a good place. After two years, I wanted to go back to Montreal in 1976. You wanted to be a contestant. Yes, I wanted to be a contestant. I was a student at the time. But I grew up in Japan. I thought it was amazing. You mean in Japan? Yes, in Japan. I grew up with a lot of young children. Did you feel like you grew up in Urasimatarou? Yes, I was given up in Montreal. Then I went back to Colombia. Did you have anything to say to your children at that time? I want to live in Colombia in the future. I live in the same country as in Hawaii. Oh, I see. What I want to say to my children is that there is no sea in California. I see. If you don't have a sea, you can live in the same country as in Hawaii. You can think of Colombia as a country. That's right. I showed you the newspaper. Did you think you would let your children live in Colombia instead of adults? That was a meeting with some people. I wanted to live in Colombia for a long time. So I bought a disco. Disco? Disco is a disco? Yes, it's a disco in Japan. It's a big disco. I brought a big disco with a total of 52 seats. Disco was built. The people who were aiming for the Olympic Games were also doing disco. The wrestling was held in Japan 3 or 4 years ago. It was held in Japan when I was young. Disco was held in a restaurant. You are a Maruti, aren't you? At that time, I met Mr. Tetsuzo Ota. Mr. Ota? He is a lawyer. I met him and asked him if he was teaching me wrestling seriously. Mr. Ota was also living in Colombia. Did you meet him at a disco? Yes, I met Mr. Ota at a disco. He came to my disco. I think he came to my disco after I checked everything. I asked him if he was teaching me wrestling seriously. I also drank alcohol and talked about various things. I see. You did it when you were young. Yes. Mr. Ota was also a wrestler? No, not at all. He was a teacher at the temple. He was a teacher at the temple. Mr. Ota was asked seriously. Did you drink alcohol and talk about various things? Yes. I thought I would do it. I left the restaurant. At that time, it was about 45,000 yen for a restaurant. At that time, it was about 280 yen. It was about 180,000 yen. I went through the bank of Chase Manhattan. I spent about a month and a half to get money from Panama and Colombia. You spent about half a month and a half to get money from the boat. I see. I was told that I was going to teach wrestling seriously at the disco. I decided to teach wrestling seriously at the disco. I see. But I didn't meet the teacher at the disco. I see. You were focused on wrestling and wrestling. You were focused on the director. Yes, I was focused on the director. I was going to teach wrestling from a young age. How old were you when you were young? I was about 8 to 10 years old. You started wrestling when you were 8 years old? You were only a boy? Yes. You were a girl at that time. I was only a boy at that time. How did you get those girls? I had a homecoming. You had a homecoming? I had a homecoming because I was sick of it. I brought them home and took them to school. I was sick of it all the time. I see. You were running barefoot. I see. We are going to take a short break here. And we'll be right back. Stay tuned. Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Think Tech Hawaii Studio. My name is Andrew Lanning. I'm the host of The Pretty Matters Hawaii. We air here every Tuesday at 10 a.m. Hawaii time. Trying to bring you issues about security that you may not know, issues that can protect your family, protect yourself, protect our community, protect our companies, the folks we work with. Please join us. And I hope you can maybe get a little different perspective on how to live a little safer. Aloha. Aloha. I'm Mellie James, host of Let's Mana Up. Tuesdays every other Tuesday from 11 to 1130. This show is meant to dive into stories of local product entrepreneurs and how they're growing their companies from right here in Hawaii. I'm so thrilled to have our show kicked off. And so please join us on Tuesdays at 11 o'clock as we talk to local entrepreneurs and hear their stories. We're back from break. I'm Yukari Kunisue, your host. This is Konnichiwa, Hawaii. Talking with Norio Okada, a wrestling coach in the studio today. Live, Oto dokesite orimasu. Think Tech Hawaii no Nihongo Bangumi. Konnichiwa, Hawaii. I'm Norio Okada, a wrestling coach in the studio today. So please continue to join us. Please do. We are going to show the picture here. So please show me a little bit. This is very wimmy-ish. This is the first time I went to the international tournament when I was in Japan. This is a Japanese tournament? No, I went to Japan. My back is in Japan. Japan and Japan are the national teams in Japan. I see. Are you about 18 years old? No, I'm 21 years old. 21 years old. I'm a university student. Let's show the second one. What is this? This is a local housewife. This is a small housewife. I'm a junior in Ooyama, and I'm a junior in wrestling. I see. After graduation, I ended up in Obikai. I've always been in Kanshi-cho. That's how I got to know each other. So you like wrestling, too? Yes, I like wrestling. I see, that's why I'm young. Let's show the picture here. I've seen this before. This is Inoki-san. I'm a junior in Ooyama, and I'm a junior in Ooyama. I'm the head of Japanese women's wrestling. I see. I'm currently the president of the Japanese wrestling association. He's a pro-wrestler. Inoki-san is a good guy. That's right. Let's go back to the previous story. When I was 8 years old, I raised food for kids. I collected them. I told them I wanted to do it. I told them I wanted to do it. I had a good feeling about it. I told them that. How many people did you collect? There were about 20 people. Do you know of any wrestlers? No, no. I signed a contract with Colombia. You were able to cut your own belly fat. Colombia is very cheap. I see. You were the first in Japan. Yes, I was. I grew up with them. I see. How old were you in the Olympics? I was one of them. Albeiro Garcia won the world championship at the World Championship in Cádiz. In the Swedish Stockholm tournament. From Colombia to Sweden? Yes. At that time, there was a boxer in Colombia. He was the world champion in the hit pampere. He lost the title and became the world champion in the sports tournament. He disappeared. At that time, my child became the world champion. Mr. Odessi was on the stage without flowers. It was a child's tournament, but it was a world championship. It would be great if he became a baseball champion in Hawaii. He would come to Colombia. At that time, I was in England. I was in the country without a visa to go to the airport. I couldn't go there. The foreign minister came to Colombia to visit me at the airport. I see. At that time, you became a national hero. A firefighter. When a firefighter came to Colombia at an event, a firefighter came to the airport. Yes. That's how I was happy. How many years did you train until you went to Seoul? I trained for 12 or 13 years. 12 or 13 years. I trained for 10 years. I trained in Jibara. When the world championship came out, the country in Colombia was all over the country. I see. From the ticket, money, to the soccer field. Mr. Odessi, you couldn't speak Spanish when you first went there. No. How did you communicate with him? He was a wrestler and a friend. He was a girl friend. He was a girl friend. He was a good friend. He taught me. I see. He taught me how to communicate. When I went to Seoul, I was so excited to go there. Do you still remember how you felt at that time? To go to the Seoul Olympics, I went to the Pan-American zone. I went from Hanada to Argentina. I had to go to San Diego. You had a plan, didn't you? Yes. I couldn't go to San Diego. I had to go to America and Cuba. Cuba was strong. Yes, it was strong. Canada was strong, too. Mexico was strong, too. But since I was little, I went to the World Championship. They were... They were calm. They were calm. They were calm. That's amazing. Even if you meet Japanese kids, they are not calm. That's the spirit of Okada-san, who came to Japan. He was able to train and train himself. Is that the reason? Yes, it is. Did you remember how you felt when you went to Seoul? Yes. I was able to join the Olympic Games. Of course, you went to the Olympics with the coach. Did you go to Colombia? No, I went to Uzbekistan. There are other competitions, so I went there. It's been a long time. But you were very excited. There were many famous athletes. For example, there was a big girl in the Sabachini, about 180cm tall. There were many athletes. I thought, there was a lot of money. You went to the stage of the spring, and what was the result? You were able to participate. I won three times. But the Olympics was the most important thing. How many children did you have? Four. One of them passed away. He passed away? Yes. Were there other athletes? Not the Olympics, but the world champion, Albert Garcia, passed away. The two of them became champions. Are there other athletes? They are still coaching. I see. They are coaching after me. They are coaching after you. They are coaching Victor, and they are raising women. They are training twice, and they are doing the Olympic Games. The Olympics are going on. They are coaching after you. They are coaching after you. I see. Okada was the first coach. Yes. He was the coach. How long have you been there? 15 years. 15 years. I am very happy to see that you have been raising women. I am very happy. After that, you came back to Japan. How is it that you are in Hawaii now? In Hawaii, I am with Renna. She is my wife. She is in the studio now. She is married to Renna. She is married to Renna. She is in the train station in Hawaii. She is married to Renna. She has been in Colombia for 6 years. Renna has been in Colombia for 6 years. How long have you been in Hawaii? I was born in Tokyo. You were born in Tokyo? Yes. Why did you come to Hawaii? I came with my father and mother when I was little. I came to Hawaii with my father and mother. How about you, Renna? My wife came to Hawaii when I was little. She came to Hawaii with her father and mother. I was 68 years old. You are making fun of me. I am your wife. How many years have you been in Hawaii? I have been here for a few years. After the solar olympics, I had a new high school in Tenri. I was told that I should become a coach. I was told that I should become a coach. In Tenri, I was taught that I should be a coach. I was taught that I should become a coach. I've been in Japan for 21 years. So you've been in Japan for 21 years? Yes. How did you come to Hawaii? I've always wanted to live in Hawaii. Really? Since you were in Hawaii? Since I was in college. Since you were in college? So you had a dream of becoming an Olympic champion. You had a dream of living in Hawaii since you were in college. That's what I thought. So you had a dream of becoming an Olympic champion? That's what I thought. You had a dream of living in Hawaii since you were in college. I went to Hawaii when I was in San Diego. In 1971. At that time, the students of Keio High School came to Hawaii during their junior high school trip. I thought that the high school students would come to Hawaii. That was at that time. If you don't live here in the future, the Japanese language will continue. I see. So you're working at Tenri now? Yes. What you're doing in Honolulu is I think many of you have heard about Tenri. Could you tell us a little bit about Tenri? Yes. It's Nuanua Avenue. It's 2236. It's a residential area. There's a library and a judo club. There's a judo club. I've never seen a judo club before. I'm a student at the library. I'm a teacher at the library. I'm a student at the library. I'm a big fan of Tenri. I've been using it for about $20 a year. It's about $20 a year. There's a large number of books in Japan. I'll be using it. If you don't know about it, I'm going to introduce more books in Japanese. Thank you for watching. I'm Yukari Kunise. See you next time.