Jack Yonezuka
Jack Yonezuka
Jack Yonezuka of USA Judo falls into the latter camp.
19-year-old Yoshisada, following in the footsteps of both his father, 1980 Olympian Nick, and grandfather Yoshisada who won two Olympic coaching stints, has found great success as an Olympian coach himself and an Olympic coach himself. Now, he has made his own mark with martial arts world by winning a junior world championship bronze medal recently in Ecuador.
Early Life and Education
Jack Yonezuka hails from a long lineage of judo champions; both his parents – Nick Yonezuka was part of the 1980 U.S Olympic Team while grandfather Yoshisada Yonezuka (two-time U.S Olympic judo coach) founded Cranford Judo Karate Center where Jack now trains.
Jack began by participating in team sports like soccer and baseball, yet his focus remained judo. Before every match he would get extremely nervous; that was when he realized it was his calling in life.
He is an esteemed judoka who has already won several medals during his young career, most recently taking home a junior world championship bronze medal in 2022. Additionally, he holds two national championship titles at both senior and junior levels and continues his family legacy in making great strides within judo.
Professional Career
Jack Yonezuka has vast judo experience. Beginning his judo journey at an early age, he quickly immersed himself into the sport after watching both his older brother and Sensei father perform as world-class Judokas.
He serves as head sensei at Cranford Judo Karate Center (JKC) in Cranford and upholds his grandfather, Yoshisada Yonezuka – two-time Olympic medalist himself -‘s legacy of excellence.
He quickly earned fame in the judo world when he became the first American to win a medal at the Junior World Championships since 1986. His performance at this event was outstanding: He defeated top-ranked Gabriel Falcao for waza-ari throw and held Hungarian Daniel Szegedi scoreless for three rounds to take home bronze medal.
Achievement and Honors
Jack Yonezuka is an esteemed figure in the martial arts community. A 1980 Olympic judoka and founder of Cranford Judo Karate Center in New Jersey, he also holds numerous leadership positions within various judo organizations.
Nick, 20, and Jack, 13, have followed in his footsteps to achieve success in judo. Nick currently ranks 45th globally for his weight class while Jack made history by becoming the first American in over 30 years to win a bronze medal at the Junior World Championships held recently in Ecuador.
Yonezuka won the bronze medal in -73 kg event when he successfully executed a waza-ari throw against Ahmadzod Masudi of Tajikistan to score a waza-ari score for Tajikistan and also held Hungarian Daniel Szegedi scoreless during third-place matchup.
Personal Life
Jack Yonezuka hails from a Judo family with an extensive legacy; both his father and older brother were Olympic medallists and his grandfather was two-time Olympic coach. At an early age, Jack began practicing Judo with his grandfather – always with an eye towards becoming a world-class competitor.
Jack has already made an impressionful mark in judo by earning some impressive accomplishments in competition. At the 2022 Junior World Championship in Guayaquil he achieved one of his finest feats yet – earning the first bronze medal ever earned by an American Judoist!
Nineteen-year-old Joe Yoshisada is an exceptional judoman who follows in the footsteps of both his father (Nick) and older brother who both made Olympic teams; Nick made 1980’s Olympic team while Yoshisada founded Cranford Judo Karate Center which remains under Nick’s direction today.
Net Worth
19-year-old Jack Yonezuka has already made waves in the world of Judo. The sport is his passion, and nothing gives him greater pleasure than throwing people around on the mat, winning tournaments, and traveling around. Jack follows in the footsteps of both his father (on the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team) and older brother who both achieved two-time junior world championship status; their family runs Cranford Judo Karate Center in New Jersey where Jack competes at 73 kg division competition.