Ryan Fukumoto was born in Tokyo, Japan to a Japanese father and American mother. Ryan received his rank in Japan through the prestigious Kodokan. He would join the Judo club at Fukiai High School following in his older brother’s footsteps. In order to receive further guidance from somebody with extensive knowledge of the art, he would attend weekly joint-practices at nearby Rokko Island High School held under Professor Takahiro Fujiki, 8th Dan red-white belt. Ryan would discover a style best suited for his build through these practices and focused on deepening his understanding on counter-moves best utilized when the opponent initiates an attack while failing to maintain their own stability and balance.

After graduating high school, Ryan moved to Central Oregon to receive education in order to pursue his career in aviation. While he played other sports such as baseball in college, there was always something that made him feel he did not learn enough about Judo. He finds the beauty in the Japanese adage “???????” which can be translated to “the weak can overcome the strong,” perfectly representing what Judo is about. Judo is not about strength, but rather how to use the combined strengths of the self and opponent in your favor.

Through instructing, Ryan not only seeks to share his knowledge with the students to implement the skills with their Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, but to also gain further knowledge himself, perusing a more profound understanding of Judo founder Jigoro Kanos teachings.