during this time, ninomiya had continued to train and compete in judo, as well as in karate. however, with graduation from high school, he stopped training in judo and trained full-time in karate, when not working in various jobs, including as a nightclub security guard. ninomiya was now a 1st degree black belt in kyokushin. at the 1973 all-japan tournament, he lost again in the third round, this time to eventual tournament champion hatsuo royama.