In West Long Branch, a world-class judo family is making history
WEST LONG BRANCH – The license plate on the Subaru Impreza in the driveway reads “JUDOMAN.”
Inside the house, the basement is a sparring room with a low ceiling, requiring shoulder throws to be executed with precision or somebody’s banging their noggin on a beam. Near the floor mat sits a neat pile of uniforms, including two tunics with “USA” in big blue letters across the back.
Above the letters, a name: “Yonezuka.”
This is home to New Jersey’s first family of judo.
Nick Yonezuka, 58, made the 1980 U.S. Olympic team and now runs Cranford Judo Karate Center (JKC). Founded by his father Yoshisada Yonezuka, a two-time U.S. Olympic judo coach, the center’s alumni include Olympic bronze medalist Allen Coage and two-time Olympian Colton Brown of Piscataway. Elder son Nick Yonezuka, 20, is ranked 45th in the world in the 81-kilogram weight class (178 pounds) and will represent the U.S. at October’s World Championships in Uzbekistan. Younger son Jack, 19, last month became the first American in 30 years to medal at the Junior World Championships when he captured the bronze medal at 73 kilos (160 pounds) in Ecuador.
So yes, "JUDOMAN" is fitting. "JUDOMEN" would fit even better.
“Because of the name, there’s always a little bit of expectation from everybody else that you should be the best,” the younger Nick said. “Our grandfather was a pioneer in judo in the U.S., so yeah the last name is kind of a big name in the judo world."
A big name with a little bit of unfinished business.
A telling photo on the wall
Yoshisada Yonezuka came to the U.S. in 1959, having earned his judo bona fides growing up in Japan, and opened Cranford JKC in 1962. In 1980, his son Nick made the U.S. Olympic team as a 16-year-old student at Watchung Hills High School in Somerset County. Alas, the American delegation boycotted the Moscow Games because of the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.
“I was young, so I figured I would have plenty more chances,” Nick said.
In 1984 he won the Olympic Trials in his weight class, but selection for the team had changed to a points system based on cumulative results, and he got edged into the alternate's spot. He also was an alternate for the 1988 and 1992 Olympics, when his father served as the U.S. judo coach.
The elder Nick fell agonizingly short of representing the U.S. on the biggest stage in sports. None of that was understood by his sons when they started learning judo at an early age.
“I remember one time when we were sparring together we both started crying because we both didn’t like it at first,” the younger Nick said.
“They didn’t get too serious until they were maybe 12 or 13,” the elder Nick said. “I didn’t want to push them too much in the beginning because I didn’t want to burn them out.”
Coaches at Shore Regional High School tried to get the brothers out for sports, especially wrestling, but their focus was locked into judo. At one point, in the boys’ early high school years, the father realized he was overmatched as a sparring partner.
“I could see it was really hard for me,” the elder Nick said. “I would get injured a bunch of times, with Jack especially. Jack was a nut. Nick would take it easy on you. Jack, no way. If we’re out of bounds, he would push me in the back. I was like, ‘Alright man, I think I’m done with you.’”
When COVID shut the world down, the three of them holed up in the basement. Day by day, stripped of distractions, the Yonezuka brothers sharpened each other.
In that room, on one of the walls, hangs a photo of President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter greeting the elder Nick in the summer of 1980, when U.S. Olympic team members were presented with Congressional gold medals as a consolation for the boycott.
“I would like to carry on the legacy of being an Olympian, on an Olympic team,” Jack Yonezuka said. “If it doesn’t happen in 2024 it’s fine, I know I’m young, and I know I need more experience. But in 2028 I want to be a medal contender and step on the podium in my home country.”
He took a step in that direction last month in Ecuador.
History made; more to come?
Jack didn’t initially make the U.S. team for junior worlds. But there was a late scratch -- the family was due for a break, right? -- and Jack took full advantage as a fill-in. Hearing his father’s voice in his head -- “stay calm and pick the shots when they’re right” -- he defeated top-ranked Gabriel Falcao of Brazil in the opening round and rode the momentum into the bronze-medal match, where held Hungarian Daniel Szegedi scoreless to make the podium.
In doing so, Jack became the first U.S. medalist at junior worlds since Marcus Dawson captured bronze in 1992. Dawson, who became a U.S. Olympic alternate in 1996, was a Cranford JKC product.
“It seems like a pretty big deal that I got this medal,” Jack said. “I don’t see it like that. I just feel like I went out there and fought and did my thing.”
His brother Nick, who also competed at junior worlds, watched the bronze-medal match unfold in the arena.
“It’s almost more nerve-wracking than your own fights,” Nick said of being an observer.
Their father watched the live stream at Cranford JKC with a group of his students, exchanging fist bumps and exclaiming, “Hey, not too bad, bronze medal in the worlds.”
What’s next? The march toward the 2024 Paris Olympics. You have to be ranked in the top 24 in the world in your weight class to qualify. Right now Nick is 45th and Jack is 73rd. They look to continue accumulating points by competing around the globe. It can get pricey -- the New York Athletic Club helps cover some expenses, and the Yonezukas funds the rest.
It can be a lonely road, but in this family there’s always someone willing to throw you over a shoulder.
“It’s great to have each other,” Jack said.
Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Judo: Brothers Jack Yonezuka and Nick Yonezuka have Olympic dreams
