Yoshito Vince Tamura (July 25, 1929 – April 20, 2010) was a former international competitor in

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

Judo career

Tamura represented the

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in the first Judo World Championships in 1956 and served as a referee in the 1964 Olympics for judo. Tamura won the 1954, 1956, and 1959 US National Judo Championships placing second and third in 1957 and 1958, respectively. He continued to compete into the 1970s. Tamura's brother Mas Tamura was promoted by Jigaro Kano to Yondan inspiring Tamura into judo. By the time he died in 2010, Vince Tamura was ranked 9th Dan.

Personal life

Tamura was a descendant of the Taira Clan, and served in the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

Combat Engineers of the First Cavalry Division during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, earning a

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

. He co-authored a book ''Common Sense Self Defense'' and was also an instructor of Heike-Ryu Jiu Jitsu. Tamura had a wife, Yuri, and two sons, Bob and David Tamura. Tamura was the youngest of 7 sons and 4 daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tamura, Vince 1929 births 2010 deaths Judoka trainers American male judoka United States Army personnel of the Korean War 20th-century American sportsmen