Vince Tamura

Yoshito Vince Tamura (25 July 1929 – 20 April 2010) was a former international competitor in judo.[1]

Judo career

Tamura represented the United States in the first Judo World Championships in 1956 and served as a referee in the 1964 Olympics for judo.[2] Tamura won the 1954, 1956, and 1959 US National Judo Championships placing second and third in 1957 and 1958, respectively.[3] He continued to compete into the 1970s.[4]

Tamura's brother Mas Tamura was promoted by Jigaro Kano to Yondan inspiring Tamura into judo.[1] By the time he died in 2010, Vince Tamura was ranked 9th Dan.[1]

Personal life

Tamura was a descendant of the Taira Clan,[2] and served in the US Army Combat Engineers of the First Cavalry Division during the Korean War[1], earning a bronze star. He co-authored a book Common Sense Self Defense[5] and was also an instructor of Heike-Ryu Jiu Jitsu.[6]

Tamura had a wife, Yuri, and two sons, Bob and David Tamura.[7] Tamura was the youngest of 7 sons and 4 daughters.[8]

References
  1. "Passing of Yoshito Vince Tamura - USJF.COM". usjf.com.
  2. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-07-09. Retrieved 2015-07-10.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "Vincent Tamura, Judoka, JudoInside". judoinside.com.
  4. "Black Belt August 1973". google.com.
  5. "Black Belt January 1979". google.com.
  6. http://judoinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/pdf/USJA/2006-1-AJ.pdf
  7. "Vince Tamura Passes Away in Dallas- Texas". Team USA.
  8. "Black Belt November 1972". google.com.
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