<p>According to the <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=BdoDAAAAMBAJ&amp;pg=PA14" rel="noreferrer">Oct. 1965</a> issue of <em>Black Belt</em> magazine:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Beginning of (the Second Sino-Japanese War) in 1940, about 30% of Japanese colleges and universities had campus karate clubs allied with one or another of four principal schools of karate, referred to as "ryu." In addition to the club on campus, each of these universities had what is referred to as an "O.B." karate club. "O.B." here stood for "Old Boys" and was made up by the particular school's alumni. </p>
</blockquote>

<p>These OB clubs typically served as advisors for the student clubs. So "OB" here most likely refers to alumni, a graduate or elder disciple and liaison of sorts of that particular school, some of whom might later become instructors.</p>

<p>It would make sense, judging by the notches on Tachiyama's belt that he's a senior amongst the Judo club.</p>

<p>Here are the original pages for reference:</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/00kaj.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/00kajm.jpg" alt="chapter 3, page 81"></a> 
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/0ZUB5.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/0ZUB5m.jpg" alt="chapter 3, page 82"></a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-04-04T20:04:36.800Z
2016-04-04T21:20:43.140Z
2016-04-04T21:20:43.140Z
кяαzєя
<p>I have started reading <em>Karate Shoukoushi Kohinata Minoru</em> manga, and there is this title &quot;OB&quot; for some kind of teacher or guardian, like I supposed to understand what it means.</p>
<p>Google Translate doesn't know it, googling &quot;<em>karate ob</em>&quot; goes to &quot;<em>obi</em>&quot;, and I can't find any translator's note.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/eajoil.jpg" alt="page where the term occurs" /></p>
<blockquote>
<p>Well... being an OB, I really didn't want to get involved in such trouble, but...</p>
<p><sup>(bottom-left panel)</sup></p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-04-03T01:53:50.653Z
It might be a Martial-Arts related expression. I have also found an Urban Dictionary post for Old Boy, but at chapter 30 page 4.
There is a sentence: 
"Akida-Sensei the examiner, is the OB of the Reinan Second Karate Club"
Like, there can be only one OB for a club ... so unless graduation is a battle royale like elimination, i don't think it means alumini, and there was a old lady ob if i'm not mistaken.
Ba. Ka.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-04-03T02:57:34.870Z
@Ba.Ka. No, it's definitely "old boy". The use of "the OB" is presumably an error on the translator's part. Japanese does not have articles (a/an/the), so the translator seems to have picked one at random ("the"), but chose wrong. Despite the term coming from English "old boy", it can be used for women as well (though a rarer parallel term "OG" [from "old girl"] also exists). Keeping "OB" in translation is a poor choice, since it doesn't mean anything in English, despite having an English veneer to it. (Apparently the Brits say "old boy" for "alumnus", but they'd never abbreviate it to "OB".)
senshin
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-04-03T03:02:18.167Z
@senshin Why not post that as an answer?
giraffesyo
<japanese-language><karate-shoukoushi>
What's "an OB" in the Karate Shoukoushi Kohinata Minoru manga?
# What's "an OB" in the Karate Shoukoushi Kohinata Minoru manga?
Posted by: username_0 on 2016-04-03
I have started reading *Karate Shoukoushi Kohinata Minoru* manga, and there is this title "OB" for some kind of teacher or guardian, like I supposed to understand what it means.

Google Translate doesn't know it, googling "*karate ob*" goes to "*obi*", and I can't find any translator's note.

![page where the term occurs](https://i.sstatic.net/eajoil.jpg)

> Well... being an OB, I really didn't want to get involved in such trouble, but...
>
> (bottom-left panel)
**Tags:** japanese-language karate-shoukoushi
> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: It might be a Martial-Arts related expression. I have also found an Urban Dictionary post for Old Boy, but at chapter 30 page 4.
There is a sentence: 
"Akida-Sensei the examiner, is the OB of the Reinan Second Karate Club"
Like, there can be only one OB for a club ... so unless graduation is a battle royale like elimination, i don't think it means alumini, and there was a old lady ob if i'm not mistaken.  
> **username_1**: @Ba.Ka. No, it's definitely "old boy". The use of "the OB" is presumably an error on the translator's part. Japanese does not have articles (a/an/the), so the translator seems to have picked one at random ("the"), but chose wrong. Despite the term coming from English "old boy", it can be used for women as well (though a rarer parallel term "OG" [from "old girl"] also exists). Keeping "OB" in translation is a poor choice, since it doesn't mean anything in English, despite having an English veneer to it. (Apparently the Brits say "old boy" for "alumnus", but they'd never abbreviate it to "OB".)  
> **username_2**: @senshin Why not post that as an answer?  
---
## 1 answers
### Answer by username_3 on 2016-04-04. Score: 6 | Accepted answer
According to the [Oct. 1965](https://books.google.com/books?id=BdoDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA14) issue of *Black Belt* magazine:

> Beginning of (the Second Sino-Japanese War) in 1940, about 30% of Japanese colleges and universities had campus karate clubs allied with one or another of four principal schools of karate, referred to as "ryu." In addition to the club on campus, each of these universities had what is referred to as an "O.B." karate club. "O.B." here stood for "Old Boys" and was made up by the particular school's alumni.

These OB clubs typically served as advisors for the student clubs. So "OB" here most likely refers to alumni, a graduate or elder disciple and liaison of sorts of that particular school, some of whom might later become instructors.

It would make sense, judging by the notches on Tachiyama's belt that he's a senior amongst the Judo club.

Here are the original pages for reference:

[![chapter 3, page 81](https://i.sstatic.net/00kajm.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/00kaj.jpg)
[![chapter 3, page 82](https://i.sstatic.net/0ZUB5m.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/0ZUB5.jpg)
---
