“I’m Krista Tsutsui Steele and I’m a member of USJF. My judo story starts back in the 90s at the Fowler Judo Club in Central California where my dad took my siblings and me to learn the sport he grew up doing and continues to love today. I attended both the Fowler and Fresno Judo Clubs with Sensei Honda and Sensei Imamura. I am currently part of the Budokan Judo Club with Sensei Terada.

One of my favorite parts of judo is traveling. I traveled to Fukuoka, Japan twice as an athlete and once as a coach on the USA team to the Sanix International Judo Team Championships. In 2012 and 2013, I went to the National Collegiate Judo Championships in San Jose, CA, and Ames, IA, and placed first. While training and tournaments were fun, the most memorable parts were afterward which always ended in food and good company and I’ve made lifelong friends from those experiences.

Nowadays, I focus on teaching judo. As an instructor at the Fresno Judo Club, we expanded our program to over 100 members. One of my favorite parts of the year is our annual camps when we welcome new judoka and spend entire days doing judo. I am also currently part of the Budokan Judo Dojo where I get to teach and practice judo. I love sharing our sport with others and helping kids build confidence, strength, and community. Judo has been a huge part of my life and I try to make it a positive part of others’ lives as well.”

~Krista is an elementary school teacher in Seattle, WA, a Sandan, and the secretary of the United States Judo Federation Executive Committee.

We hope this story encourages you to want to share your judo story. If you are a USJF member and would like to share your, or someone else’s, judo story, please send us an email along with a few pictures to: usjfsocialmedia@gmail.com #usjf #judo