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Hidy Ochiai is not just a master of Karate, Kendu and Kobudu but an exemplary writer and translator who has done extreme justice to any written work published under the martial art genre.
Having learnt most of his martial arts under the guidance of his father, Hidy Ochiai a Japanese Washin-Ryu Karate-do expert reached the point of no return when he began training apprentices in America in quick succession to his immigration here.
Of the five books published under the penmanship of Hidy Ochiai, A Way to Victory a translation and annotation of The Five Rings or known in Japanese as “Gorin No Sho”, is a best seller that is easy to comprehend for the lay person.
Miyamoto Musashi’s celebrated book on the martial arts of Japan, named Book of Five Rings has been translated by three others earlier with success but The Way to Victory by Hidy Ochiai sums up the subject beautifully. The book is written in a contemporary annotated style that provides an in depth analysis of its subject yet manages to make for easy reading.
Hidy Ochiai worked seven years to breathe life into this magnificent book theme by theme and chapter by chapter to retain the essence of the original. In most places the author has had to not only translate from Japanese to English but from 17th century Japanese to present day Japanese and finally English. However Hidy Ochiai has left some Japanese words as they are instead of using ill fitting English substitutes making it all the more original in text.
The book is well received despite having a translation style of its own and has gone on to set a new standard for translator’s the world over. Hidy Ochiai’s mastery over ‘kenjutsu’ or the Japanese art of sword fighting has clearly helped him explain intricate details of various martial art procedures in a clearer and better light.
Hidy Ochiai’s other titles include The Essence of Self Defense (1979), Hidy Ochiai’s Living Karate (1986), Hidy Ochiai’s Complete Book of Self Defense (1991) and Hidy Ochiai’s Self Defense for Kids : A Guide for Parents and Teachers (1998).
All of his other books are as suggested by their titles devoted to teaching martial arts to adults and children through detailed photographs and definitive text.
Hidy Ochiai’s Complete Book of Self Defense teaches not only beginner moves but also a range of traditional advanced postures of self defense through karate and similar martial arts. Effective uses of hands, feet and other body parts to combat the enemy as well as for self discipline and as a form of mental and physical exercise are highlighted by the Master in this volume.
Violence and crime rates have been on the rise and most often it is children who pay the price for this as they are rarely taught how to defend themselves. Through his book for children, Hidy Ochiai’s Self Defense for Kids: A Guide for Parents and Teachers, the Master describes the importance and need for the same in detail. The book teaches children how to defend themselves from bullies on the school playground to some potentially dangerous situations on the street.
At large the book also aspires to teach children the essence of using self defense techniques for protection and as a form of exercise and not as a means of showing their strength over weaker school mates. The book is co-authored by Hidy Ochiai and his eldest son Derek Ochiai, a well known orthopedic surgeon, two time and seven time winner of the National as well as the All America Karate Expert, in that order.
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