Dr. Kuniko Takeuchi Sensei began judo as a teenager in Japan and entered the Kodokan in 1955 at age 16.

She went on to become an instructor in the Kodokan Women’s Section before moving to the United States, where she has spent decades teaching and promoting judo.

Takeuchi Sensei is particularly renowned for her expertise in kata and has served in numerous national and international leadership roles, including as a member of the International Judo Federation Kata Commission and as a national and international kata judge.

Throughout her career, Takeuchi Sensei has coached and managed U.S. teams at World Championships and other international competitions and has dedicated much of her life to developing judo instructors and preserving high standards of judo technique and teaching.

She was inducted into the United States Judo Federation Hall of Fame in 2019 and was also awarded Japan’s prestigious Order of the Rising Sun, Silver Rays, in recognition of her contributions.

The founder and program advisor of the East Bay Judo Institute (EBJI) is Dr. David Matsumoto. Matsumoto Sensei served as head instructor of EBJI from 1983–2015.

He currently holds an 8th degree black belt (Hachidan), an International Judo Federation “A” Level Referee License, and “A” Level Teacher and Coach Certificates from the United States Judo Federation. He is also a licensed instructor in all seven katas of judo.

In addition to his work at EBJI, he has served as Chairman of the National Technical Research Subcommittee of the USJF, as an Official Researcher for the International Judo Federation (IJF), and as Director of Development for USA Judo.

Matsumoto Sensei has received numerous coaching awards, including the 2003 United States Olympic Committee’s Coach of the Year for Judo and the 1999 US Olympic Committee’s Developmental Coach of the Year in Judo. He was also inducted into the 2021 USJF Hall of Fame.

Professionally, Dr. Matsumoto is a Professor of Psychology and Director of Humintell, LLC. He earned his BA from the University of Michigan and his MA and PhD from the University of California at Berkeley and is a world-renowned expert in emotion, human interaction, and culture.

Over 30 years ago, Dan Sensei was drawn to EBJI by its reputation for good, hard training. He began his tenure at EBJI as a visitor, making hour-long commutes from the Petaluma area before becoming a permanent and essential fixture in the dojo community.

Since then, he has become a well-rounded judoka. He has enjoyed competitive success on the national level while also being certified as a national coach and teacher.

Dan Sensei also has basic mastery of all seven katas and is very well-versed in the history and evolution of judo.

He is the former President of Daiheigen Judo Yudanshakai and holds an IJF “A” Referee License, the highest certification for referees.

In addition to his work as a full-time computer programmer and teaching judo, Dan Sensei represents EBJI nationally and internationally as a referee and has served as the head instructor of EBJI since 2015.

Ken Sensei is one of the longest-standing members of the East Bay Judo Institute and is universally respected as a role model to the younger instructors.

Ken Sensei enjoyed a successful competitive career as a two-time medalist at the Senior National Championships and qualifier for the Pan American and World Championship team trials.

As a full-time visual effects supervisor for Netflix, he has worked on a number of major motion pictures, commercials, and television projects.

After earning his graduate degree in film studies at the University of California, Los Angeles in 2006, he continued to work in the film industry and on his own personal projects.

Ken Sensei currently assists Sayaka Sensei with the competitor’s class.

Sayaka Sensei began studying judo at the age of 5 under the instruction of her father, David Matsumoto, and grew to become a talented judo player in her own right.

She is a 7-time Senior National Champion, competed at three World Championships (2001, 2003, 2005), and was a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team in Beijing.

She graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a B.A. in Mass Communications and a minor in Japanese.

Since retiring from competitive judo, Sayaka Sensei teaches both the beginning children’s class and competitor’s classes at EBJI.

In addition to working full-time as a business operations manager for Humintell, she also is a part-time pilates instructor.

Nate Sensei began judo at the age of 4 in Massachusetts, where he was born and raised. After winning various junior national competitions around the country, Nate Sensei relocated to upstate New York and won his first Senior National Championship title in 2001, when he was only 18.

After medaling in many other Senior National Championships, Nate relocated to California in 2006 and joined EBJI shortly thereafter.

While a member of EBJI and under the guidance of Matsumoto Sensei, Nate won his second Senior National title in 2008 and placed third at the U.S. Olympic Trials that same year.

He currently holds a license in massage therapy and works as a massage therapist, owning his own private practice. Nate also holds a personal training certification through NASM.

Coming from a judo family, Satoshi began judo at the young age of 5 alongside his father, sister and brothers.

In 2016 at the age of 17, he received his black belt alongside his twin brother, Masashi.

A multiple national medalist, including gold at USA Judo’s President’s Cup, Satoshi teaches the beginning kids class three times a week.

A graduate of UC Davis, Sato is currently a first-grade teacher in Pittsburgh and serves as part of his school’s leadership team.

After studying MMA and Chinese Martial Arts in the mid-to-late 1990s, Keith Berry started judo in 1998 at age 20.

Initially drawn to judo by its systematic approach to grappling, Keith also found judo to have strong cultural and moral dimensions that were lacking in other martial arts.

After completing his undergraduate education at UC Berkeley in 2003, Keith was drawn to East Bay Judo by its reputation for producing good fighters, as well as its motto of “Building good people through Judo.”

Keith has enjoyed multiple stints as a student at EBJI in 2004–2005 and from 2012 to the present. Keith is the proud father of EBJI students Tewodros “Teddy,” Daniel, and Salome.

Keith is the Responsible Managing Officer of Apt Maintenance Inc. in Oakland and received his MA in Theology from the Graduate Theological Union.

Ben started at East Bay Judo Institute in 2011. Prior to starting judo, he studied Shodokan Aikido for 11 years.

He graduated from Cal State East Bay with a degree in Administration of Criminal Justice. In addition to practicing judo, Ben also studies Brazilian Jiujitsu.

He is currently a defensive tactics instructor at Berkeley Police Department, where he has been an officer for 17 years.

Ben assists with the Monday night kids’ class, where his son is a student, and also attends the adult class on Tuesday evenings.

Jason Buchholz first stepped onto the mats in seventh grade as an 84-pound wrestler for Lawrence Cook Jr. High School in Santa Rosa, CA.

In high school he switched his studies to a dojo that taught tang soo do, kickboxing, and arnis, and later, as a student at UC Berkeley, trained in taekwondo, eventually earning a black belt.

He was away from martial arts for many years until a fellow parent recommended EBJI as an activity for his preschool-aged son. After watching a few classes, Jason turned in his own paperwork, tied on a white belt, and entered the adult class as a forty-year-old beginner.

A few months after his 49th birthday, he earned his shodan. Jason trains in the Tuesday adult class and teaches in the Monday and Wednesday kids’ class.

Professionally, Jason is a co-founder and co-owner of Collaborist, a company that provides coaching, editing, and writing services for aspiring authors. He is the author of the novel A Paper Son.

He has also had a long career in early childhood education, where he developed skills and experience he brings to the kids’ class.

Other EBJI Black Belts

• Masashi Matsumoto, Sandan, 3rd Degree Black Belt
• Thomas Henry, Sandan, 3rd Degree Black Belt
• Robert Davis, Sandan, 3rd Degree Black Belt
• Yoshiki Castillo, Nidan, 2nd Degree Black Belt
• Takashi Matsumoto, Nidan, 2nd Degree Black Belt
• Henry Warmerdam, Nidan, 2nd Degree Black Belt
• Tim Le, Shodan, 1st Degree Black Belt