Rika Usami

Rika Usami (宇佐美 里香) is a Japanese karateka. She won a Gold medal in individual kata at the 2012 World Karate Championships after previously winning Bronze at the 2010 Championships. She also won Gold in the same category at the 2010 Asian Games. , Usami is coaching the karate team at Kokushikan University.

Early life
Usami was born on February 20, 1986, in Tokyo, Japan. She had said in an interview that she started karate when she was 10 years old by joining a Goju-ryu-style dojo located near her family's house in Tokyo, after seeing a female fighter on television. Her older brother had been practicing karate and let Usami wear his karate gi on occasions, so that helped her a lot when she decided to eventually start practicing karate herself.

Usami's first karate tournament was when she was a green belt at 12 years old in elementary school. Usami did not participate in big tournaments until age 15 and won her first tournament at 17 years old at the All Japan High School Karatedo Championships.

Publications

 * Usami, Rika. "Interview 2011 ", 総合教育技術. vol.65 no.14 (March 2011): pp.3-6.,.
 * Japan best players-the medalist of the 21st WKF Paris. vol.2 "Kata." Tokyo : CHAMP. DVD video..
 * Rika Usami's best karate. Tokyo : CHAMP, DVD video..
 * Usami, Rika., Baseball Magazine Co., Ltd. ISBN 9784583106885,.
 * "", Coaching clinic, vol. 28 no.2 (February 2014) pp.28-31..
 * Usami, Rika; Waranabe, Yusuke (渡邊祐介). "", Matsushita Kōnosuke Juku, vol.21, January 2015, pp.26-29..
 * Usami, Rika ; 松久功 ; 千野ひとみ. 2016 zensho BS11 version, Final soshuhen.. Tokyo : CHAMP, Blu-ray disc..
 * Usami, Rika. Rika Usami's gold seminar vol.1, Tokyo : CHAMP, Blu-ray disc. 2018..
 * Usami, Rika. (2019) Rika Usami's gold seminar vol.2, Tokyo : CHAMP, Blu-ray disc..