Yosh Uchida blows out a candle after the San Jose State judo team sings him Happy Birthday during the NCJA Collegiate and High School National Championships at Yosh Uchida Hall at San Jose State in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, April 1, 2023. Uchida was celebrating his 103rd birthday. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Yosh Uchida, who has been the head judo coach at San Jose State University for more than 70 years, celebrated his 103rd birthday on Saturday at the National Collegiate Judo Association (NCJA) Collegiate and High School National Championships. Uchida was born on April 1, 1920 in Calexico, California.
To help celebrate the day and support the competitors, many San Jose State judo alumni attended the competition — including Mike Swain, who was the first male judoka from the United States to win a World Championship, Sandy Bacher Fakaosi, who competed in the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games, and Dave Long, who was on the 1992 Olympic Judo team.
The 2023 Championships determined the 2023 World University Games (WUG) team members for the following divisions:
Women: 48kg, 52kg, 57kg, 78kg, +78kg
Men: 66kg, 81kg, 100kg
Uchida helped organize the sport’s inaugural collegiate national championship, which the Spartans won, in 1962. San Jose State has gone on to win more than 40 men’s titles and more than 20 women’s crowns at the event.
Uchida had been a student-coach of the judo program in 1940, before he was drafted into military service for World War II. He restarted the program upon his return. He persuaded the Amateur Athletic Union to sanction judo in 1953, and San Jose State went on to win more than 40 national championships under his leadership.
Yosh Uchida, who turned 103 on Saturday, looks at the winners of the novice competition during the NCJA Collegiate and High School National Championships at Yosh Uchida Hall at San Jose State in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, April 1, 2023. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) Conor Uyekawa, of San Jose State, blue, faces Tegan Yuasa, of the University of Washington, in a match during the NCJA Collegiate and High School National Championships at Yosh Uchida Hall at San Jose State in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, April 1, 2023. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) Kaycie Tanimoto, of San Jose State Judo, hugs her dad, Mike Tamimoto, who also went to San Jose State and was on the Judo team, during the NCJA Collegiate and High School National Championships at Yosh Uchida Hall at San Jose State in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, April 1, 2023. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) Nina Seoane, of San State Jose Judo, speaks to Yosh Uchida after winning second place during the NCJA Collegiate and High School National Championships at Yosh Uchida Hall at San Jose State in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, April 1, 2023. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) Nina Seoane, of San State Jose Judo, speaks to Yosh Uchida after winning second place during the NCJA Collegiate and High School National Championships at Yosh Uchida Hall at San Jose State in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, April 1, 2023. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) Nina Seoane, of San State Jose Judo, competes during the NCJA Collegiate and High School National Championships at Yosh Uchida Hall at San Jose State in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, April 1, 2023. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) Anikan Mendoza, of San Jose State, white, competes against Kallen Hashizaki, of UCSC Judo, during the NCJA Collegiate and High School National Championships at Yosh Uchida Hall at San Jose State in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, April 1, 2023. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) Kaycie Tanimoto, of San Jose State, white, competes against Ashley Marie Mercurio, of San Jose State, during the NCJA Collegiate and High School National Championships at Yosh Uchida Hall at San Jose State in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, April 1, 2023. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) Nina Seoane, of San State Jose Judo, competes during the NCJA Collegiate and High School National Championships at Yosh Uchida Hall at San Jose State in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, April 1, 2023. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) Conor Uyekawa, of San Jose State, blue, faces Tegan Yuasa, of University of Washington, in a match during the NCJA Collegiate and High School National Championships at Yosh Uchida Hall at San Jose State in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, April 1, 2023. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) Originally published at Shae Hammond
