Masato Tamura was born in Fife, Washington, United States.[1] Tamura was born in 1913.[1] By 1965 he was a 7th Dan in Judo.[2] In 1969, Tamura was awarded the Black Belt Magazine Hall of Fame for Judo Instructor.[3] In 1972 he operated a dojo in California.[4]
Judo career
editTamura originally trained in Seattle Dojo.[4] Mas Tamura was promoted to 3rd degree black belt by Jigaro Kano.[5] Tamura trained his brother Vince Tamura into a national champion and international competitor in Judo.[4] Tamura was instrumental in developing the hand to hand techniques used by the US Armed Forces.[4] This was after defeating an opponent over 50lbs more than himself.[5] Tamura is a former president of the United States Judo Federation.[6]
Personal life
editTamura was married with three children.[1] Two of his daughters Rosemarie and Diane Tamura were competitors in Judo.[7] His son is Frank Tamura.[8] His wife Rose died in 2012, while Tamura died from cancer in 1982.[8]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Black Belt". Google.com. January 1965. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
- ^ "Black Belt". Google.com. December 1966. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
- ^ "Black Belt". Google.com. January 1995. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
- ^ a b c d "Black Belt". Google.com. November 1972. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
- ^ a b "American Judo Pioneer : Vince Tamura & Heiki-Ryu Jujutsu" (PDF). Judokai.net. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-07-09. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
- ^ "Official A.A.U.-U.S.J.F. Judo Handbook ..." Google.com. 1968. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
- ^ "Black Belt". Google.com. February 1968. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
- ^ a b "Rose Tamura". MercuryNews.com. Retrieved 2015-07-10.