The Family Tree for Getsu Yama Ryu

Sensei Vince Tamura

Vince Tamura was born in Fife, Washington, one of eleven children.  It was there in a Japanese-American community, that he first became interested in Judo.  At the age of five, Vince stepped on Judo mat for the first time.  After residing approximately twelve years in the Pacific Northwest, he moved to Chicago where he studied advanced Judo and self-defense under the tutelage of his brother, Masato Tamura.  With Mas’ encouragement, Vince began to enter major Judo tournaments.  He won the U.S. National Championships in 1954, 1956 and in 1959.  From 1951 to 1959 he never placed lower than third in any AAU competition.  Vince represented the United States at the World Judo Championships in Tokyo, Japan in 1956 and was a quarter finalists.  In 1964, again in Tokyo, he served as a referee and judge at the first officially recognized Judo competition of the Olympics.

 At the age of 15, Vince was already teaching judo.  Before he graduated from high school, Vince had attained the rank of Sandan or 3^rd Degree Black Belt, a feat almost unheard of in the Judo community. 

Following graduation from high school, Vince entered the army and served with the Combat Engineers of the First Cavalry Division during the Korean War, during which he taught self-defense and saw front-line duty as a rifleman.

When his division was relieved, he was transferred to Japan for six months before rotation back to the States.  During those six months he was able to visit and study at the Kodokan, the world’s most renowned Judo facility. 

After his discharge from the army, he returned to Chicago and attended Business College and worked with his brother Mas teaching Judo at the Jiu Jitsu Institute.  He moved to Dallas in 1960, and opened the Tamura Judo Institute.  Literally hundreds of Texans have studied Judo and self-defense at his school, and Tamura-trained Judoka have earned many championships and trophies in state, regional and national meets. 

With his brother Masato (8th Dan and one of America’s most revered Judo teachers), he helped devise many of the self-defense techniques now used by the United States Military and numerous law enforcement agencies.

Most recently in 2004, sensei Tamura was honored by the Judo community through his promotion to 9th degree Black Belt, through the USJA, making him the highest ranked Judoka in the United States.  The CSSD Tamura Judo Program is named after him, and his students Senseis Jim Webb and Kamil Kuroda run the day-to-day details of the program.  The video tapes and DVD's of his Heike Ryu Jiu-Jitsu system are available at our headquarters school, in Dallas. 

Dale Lehman (Odessa) and Ace Sukigara (Fort Worth) facing off for the 1966 Texas State Grand Championship. In those days, the winners of each weigh division would fight to determine who would be the grand champion of Texas. The referee is Vince Tamura. The chair judge is Rick Mertens of Louisiana, a past President of the US Judo Association. Photo by Robin Tidwell.	Vince Tamura throws his older brother Mas Tamura (June 1958)   Vince Tamura 8th Dan and Dr. Paul Armetta  5th Dan, Demonstrating  O Guruma	America's Vince Tamura (left) competes against Holland's Anton Geesink at the first World Judo Championships, in Tokyo 1956. - courtesy H. Sharp Click on the picture above to watch some of the match at the 1956 Judo World Championships	Vince Tamura of Texas (right), three-time US judo champion in the 180-lb. division, demonstrating the Nage-no-Kata (15 formal throws) at the Kansas City Academy. His partner is Albert Williams.	by Vince Tamura  Discussed: escaping, controlling, or taking severe actions using chokes, arm bars, joint locks, throws, kicks and blows. Your instructor, Vince Tamura, a 9th degree black belt with over 60 years teaching experience, is a member of the U.S. Judo Hall of Fame, a National A.A.U. Champion and U.S. Masters Champion, a referee and judge.  He has also developed many national champions.  His tapes are available from Chamberlain Studios of Self Defense in Dallas for $60/set of 3 tapes
Chicago Yudanshakai, Winner 5-man Event, 1956 National Tournament. Left to right; John Osako, 5th Dan, Team Captain; Vince Tamura, 4th Dan; Masato Tamura, 6th Dan President of the CJBBA and team coach; Hank Okamura 4th Dan; Joe Kajita, 3rd Dan; Frank Leszcyznski, 3rd Dan	Sensei throwing Tony Abbot on the cover of his Self Defense CD	The book version of Sensei's Heike Ryu system.  You can still find copies at used book stores, it's worth looking!
			Ace Sukigara and Vince Tamura at the promotion ceremony and workshop following Tamura's promotion to 9th Dan in Judo

U.S. Judo Hall of Fame Committee Meeting - April 5, 1994  
The following committee members were present at our meeting on April 5, 1994 at 5:00pm held in the Newport Beach Hotel:
Mr. Yoshi Uchida, Mr. Frank Fullerton, Dr. Eichi Koiwai, and Mr. Y. Yonezuka. Mr. Robert Brink was absent.

This committee received 17 names for nomination since the last recommendation was made to the USJF Board of Directors by the committee. This time we recommended 10 candidates to the Board of Directors meeting and accepted the following 10 candidates:  Mas Yamashita, Don Draeger, Kyu Ha Kim, Isamu Shishido, Vince Tamura, Eddie Yamaki, Jim Onchi, Toshiaki Inouye, George Wilson, Sam Hamai.

Journal of Asian Martial Arts

VOLUME 12 ~ NUMBER 2 ~ 2003

•  Ko, Y. "Martial arts marketing: Putting the customer first"
•  Wingard, G. "Sport, industrialism, and the Japanese "gentle way": Judo in late Victorian England"
•  DeMarco, M. "Taiwan, teachers, & training: An interview with Yang Jwingming ~ Part I"
•  Goedkoop, J. "1,000 swordmaking cuts: August events at the Kingfisher WoodWorks"
•  Cruicchi, B. "Larense Garrote: A Venezuelan stickfighting art"
•  Donohue, J. "Heiho: A tale of strategy"
•  Webb, J. "American judo pioneer Vince Tamura & Heiki-ryu jujutsu"
•  Dykhuizen, J. "Sugawara Tetsutaka discusses aikido, Ueshiba Morihei, & the kagura-kotodama staff"

First Technical Clinic Held
JBBF Official Judo Bulletin, Fall, 1964

On September 18-19-20, 1964, 15 of the nation's top ranking judo instructors assembled in Detroit for the first in a scheduled series of technical clinics designed to improve the technical level of Judo throughout the country. The members of this blue ribbon committee were selected for their individual specialties and flown to Detroit by the JBBF.

The purpose of the 3 day meeting was to establish a basic technical and ethical format for the instruction of beginners. Findings and recommendations of the committee are to be published and made available to all areas and organizations.

The meeting was made necessary by the rapid increase in the number of clubs and classes and the lack of sufficient number of qualified instructors to fill the need. The guidebook will deal with all phases of teaching beginners including the number and selection of throws, exercises, break falls, etiquette history, safety and ethical practices.

Future JBBF technical clinics and publications will deal with advanced instructors manual, refereeing, grading guidelines, planning and running of tournaments, building of dojos and other fundamental and necessary phases of judo.

Starting in back center of table, moving left.
RANK	NAME	AREA	TITLE
5th Dan	Hiro Fujimoto	Detroit	JBBF President
3rd Dan	Donald Pohl	Detroit	JBBF Secretary
4th Dan	James Takemori	Washington, DC	Shufu Secretory
5th Dan	Vince Tamura	Dallas, TX	Former National Champion
6th Dan	Shigeo Tashima	Los Angeles	Nanka President
7th Dan	Sadaki Nakabayashi	New York	Technical Advisor, JBBF
6th Dan	Hiroshi Kitayoma	Hawaii	Board of Examiners
5th Dan	George Wilson	Seattle	High School Chairman
4th Dan	Charles Brown	Tampa	Junior Division Chairman
6th Dan	Sachio Ashida	Ann Arbor, MI	University of Michigan
6th Dan	John Osako	Detroit	Former Pan Amer. Champ.
6th Dan	Tooru Takomatsu	Denver	Vice Chairman, Bd. Exam.
4th Dan	George Uchida	Berkeley, CA	University of California
8th Dan	Takahiko Ishikawa	Philadelphia	Technical Advisor, JBBF
6th Dan	Hik Nagao	Chicago	Chicago President
4th Dan	Frank Hubbard	Detroit	Recorder for meeting and translator

Emeritus Director Awards Committee
Mr. Albert Aoki, Chairman

To see our family tree of Black Belts Go here