He was known for his slow, cerebral style of judo, nicknamed due to his usual strategy of invest the first three minutes in pressing on his opponent before trying to score. Due to this, Japanese specialized press often criticized him as lacking heart. When finding an opening, Ogawa would favor uchi mata, kosoto gari, kosoto gake, sasae tsurikomi ashi, tai otoshi and sukui nage, sometimes using a controversial standing ude gatame entry to set up sasae tsurikomi ashi and hiza guruma. He was not a newaza expert, preferring to attempt only osaekomi-waza from failed throws.