is a Japanese

karateka (; ; Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) under the influence of Chinese martial arts. While moder ...

. She won a Gold medal in individual kata at the

2012 World Karate Championships The 2012 World Karate Championships are the 21st edition of the World Karate Championships, and were held in Paris, France from November 21 to November 25, 2012. Medalists Men Women Medal table Participating nations 990 athletes from 1 ...

after previously winning Bronze at the 2010 Championships. She also won Gold in the same category at the 2010

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

. , Usami is coaching the karate team at

Kokushikan University is a private university in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan. The basic origins of Kokushikan University lie in the Kokushikan private academy which was founded in Tokyo's Azabu District in 1917, during the Taisho period. Kokushikan's 146,000 graduates a ...

Early life

Usami was born on February 20, 1986, in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. She had said in an interview that she started karate when she was 10 years old by joining a Goju-ryu-style dojo located near her family's house in Tokyo, after seeing a female fighter on television. Her older brother had been practicing karate and let Usami wear his

karate gi ''Karate gi'' (空手着 or 空手衣), also called keikogi or dogi, is the formal Japanese name for the traditional uniform used for Karate practice and competition. Description A karategi is somewhat similar to a judogi (柔道着 or 柔道� ...

on occasions, so that helped her a lot when she decided to eventually start practicing karate herself. Usami's first karate tournament was when she was a green belt at 12 years old in elementary school. Usami did not participate in big tournaments until age 15 and won her first tournament at 17 years old at the All Japan High School Karatedo Championships.

Achievements

Publications

* Usami, Rika. "Interview 2011 ", . vol.65 no.14 (March 2011): pp. 3–6. , . * ''Japan best players-the medalist of the 21st WKF Paris''. vol.2 "Kata." Tokyo : CHAMP. DVD video. . * . Tokyo : CHAMP, DVD video. . * Usami, Rika. , Baseball Magazine Co., Ltd. , . * "", ''Coaching clinic'', vol. 28 no.2 (February 2014) pp. 28–31. . * Usami, Rika; Waranabe, Yusuke (渡邊祐介). "", ''Matsushita Kōnosuke Juku'', vol.21, January 2015, pp. 26–29. . * Usami, Rika; . . Tokyo : CHAMP, Blu-ray disc. . * Usami, Rika. , Tokyo : CHAMP, Blu-ray disc. 2018. . * Usami, Rika. (2019) , Tokyo : CHAMP, Blu-ray disc. .

References

External links

Interview with Rika Usami

2012 final championships video
*
Rika Usami

In the spotlight: Rika Usami - The Queen of Kata
1986 births Living people Japanese female karateka Japanese karate coaches Shitō-ryū practitioners Martial artists from Tokyo Kokushikan University alumni Asian Games gold medalists in karate Karateka at the 2010 Asian Games Asian Games gold medalists for Japan Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games 21st-century Japanese sportswomen {{japan-karate-bio-stub