Mike Swain

Last updated
Mike Swain
Swainphoto.jpg
Personal information
Birth nameMichael Lee Swain
Born (1960-12-21) December 21, 1960 (age 63)
Elizabeth, New Jersey, U.S.
Home town Campbell, California, U.S.
Alma mater San Jose State University
Occupation Judoka
Height5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Sport
Country United States
Sport Judo
Weight class ‍–‍71 kg
Rank      6th dan black belt
Achievements and titles
Olympic Games Bronze medal.svg (1988)
World Champ. Gold medal world centered-2.svg (1987)
Pan American Champ. Gold medal america.svg (1986)
Medal record
Men's judo
Representing Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Olympic Games
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1988 Seoul 71 kg
World Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1987 Essen 71 kg
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1985 Seoul 71 kg
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1989 Belgrade 71 kg
Pan American Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1987 Indianapolis 71 kg
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1983 Caracas 71 kg
Pan American Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1986 Salinas 71 kg
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1978 Buenos Aires 65 kg
Summer Universiade
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1985 Kobe 71 kg
Profile at external databases
IJF 2966
JudoInside.com 6018
Updated on 6 June 2023

Michael Lee Swain (born December 21, 1960, in Elizabeth, New Jersey) is one of the most successful American judoka. He competed in countless international competitions. He is now the VP of Martial Arts at Dollamur, Sports LP where he develops and sells Martial Arts equipment and continues to be a spokesperson and board member for USA Judo.

Contents

Judo success

Swain competed in major international tournaments including four Olympics and five World Championships. He is most known for his historic win in 1987, becoming the first male judoka from the United States to win a World Championship since its inception in 1956. He also won silver at both the 1985 and 1989 World Championships, as well as a gold at the 1987 Pan American Games. He is a four-time Olympian [lower-alpha 1] , [2] a five-time World team member and was the 1996 US Olympic Judo coach for the Atlanta Games.

Training and coaching

Throughout his professional judo career, he spent much of his time training in Japan at Nihon University and the Tokyo Police Academy. He also trained internationally in Wimbledon, UK at the Crystal Palace Training Center with Neil Adams, in Kendal, England at the National Judo Training Center, in Seoul, Korea at Yongin University, in Paris, France at INSEP and, in Koln, Germany at the Koln National Judo Training Center. Despite all his travels, Swain continually returned San Jose where he trained under Yoshihiro Uchida, a pioneer for American judo. [3] [4] Swain graduated from San Jose State University in 1985 with a degree in business marketing and continues to this day to coach and bring more students to the program with the Swain Scholarship.

Honors

Swain has been honored for many of his accomplishments as an American judoka. He was named Black Belt Magazine's "competitor of the year" in 1985, as well as Instructor of the year in 1994. In 2003 the USOC honored several athletes who were pioneers in their sports. Swain was honored as a pioneer for USA Judo alongside other athletes such as Evander Holyfield for boxing and Dan Gable for wrestling.

Business

In 1987 he founded Swain Sports. He grew the company to become a successful multimillion-dollar, international business at the heart of the martial arts equipment industry. In 2008 he sold his company to Dollamur and became the VP of the Global Martial Arts Division, where he and the company worked together to develop the next generation Flexi-Roll mat. He is the author of two books Ashiwaza II and Championship Judo, as well as the Co-producer of several martial arts shows like Pro Judo, Pro Tae Kwon Do, and Pro Sumo which all have premiered on ESPN. He is the producer of the DVD series Complete Judo, Basic Judo and Basic Grappling.

Personal

Swain's wife Tania Chie Ishii represented Brazil in the 1992 Summer Olympic Games, and his father-in-law Chiaki Ishii won the bronze medal for Brazil in the 1972 Summer Olympic Games. They live in San Jose with their daughter, Sophia, and a son, Masato, who have grown up doing judo and other sports.

Notes

  1. The US boycotted the 1980 Olympic Games held in Moscow, USSR. Swain was one of 461 athletes to receive a Congressional Gold Medal years later. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hidehiko Yoshida</span> Japanese judoka and mixed martial arts fighter

Hidehiko Yoshida is a Japanese gold-medalist judoka and retired mixed martial artist. He is a longtime veteran of Japan's PRIDE Fighting Championships, competing in the Middleweight (93kg) and Heavyweight divisions. He won gold at the 1992 Summer Olympic Games at ‍–‍78 kg. Yoshida also had two famous fights with MMA pioneer Royce Gracie that resulted in a no-contest and a time-limit draw.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kōsei Inoue</span> Japanese judoka (born 1978)

Kosei Inoue is a Japanese judoka. He won the gold medal in the under 100 kg class at the 2000 Summer Olympics. He is well known for his specialty throws, Uchi Mata and Ōuchi gari.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armen Bagdasarov</span> Uzbek-Armenian judoka (born 1972)

Armen Yuryevich Bagdasarov is an Uzbek-Armenian judoka. He is the first Olympic medalist for independent Uzbekistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Judo Federation</span> International governing body for Judo

The International Judo Federation (IJF) is the international governing body for judo, founded in July 1951. Today the IJF has 200 National Federations on all continents. There are over 20 million people around the globe who practice judo, according to the IJF.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USA Judo</span>

USA Judo is a non-profit organization which represents all areas of U.S. judo practitioners, including athletes, coaches, referees and others. The organization is managed by a staff of seven at the USA Judo National Office which is located at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Yosh Uchida became the newly elected President of US Judo Inc in 1996. Keith Bryant was the CEO/Executive Director of USA Judo as of August 2016. Mark C. Hill replaced Lance Nading as Board President in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Bregman</span> American Olympic judoka

James Steven Bregman was a member of the first American team to compete in judo at the Summer Olympics. A founding member and President of the United States Judo Federation, in his competitive career he was a bronze Olympic medalist (1964), a World Championships bronze medalist (1965), a Pan American Championships gold medalist, and a Maccabiah Games gold medalist (1965).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Powell (discus thrower)</span> American athlete (1947–2022)

John Gates Powell was an American track and field athlete who specialized in the discus throw. He set a world record at 69.08 meters in 1975, and his personal best of 71.26 meters ties him for ninth place in the all-time performers list.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yosh Uchida</span> American judo coach and businessman (1920–2024)

Yoshihiro Uchida was an American judo coach, businessman, and educator who was best known for his contributions to judo. Uchida had been the head judo coach at San Jose State University for over 70 years, and had played a leading part in the development of the university's judo program. His brother George Uchida was the 1972 US Olympic judo coach. He turned 100 in April 2020, and died on June 27, 2024, at the age of 104.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Jose State Spartans</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of San Jose State University

The San Jose State Spartans are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent San José State University. SJSU sports teams compete in the Mountain West Conference at the NCAA Division I level, with football competing in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Maruyama</span> American judoka (born 1941)

Lecturer Paul Kuniaki Maruyama was a member of the first American team to compete in judo in the Summer Olympics. Judo was first included in the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Equatorial Guinea at the 2008 Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Equatorial Guinea competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, which was held from 8 to 24 August 2008. The country's participation at Beijing marked its seventh appearance in the Summer Olympics since its début at the 1984 Summer Olympics. The delegation included the sprinter Reginaldo Ndong, middle-distance runner Emilia Mikue Ondo and half-middleweight judoka José Mba Nchama. Ndong and Mikue Ondo qualified for the Games through wildcard places and Mba Nchama entered through his ranking at the 2007 African Judo Championships. Mikue Ondo was chosen as the flag bearer for both the opening and closing ceremonies. Ndong and Mikue Ondo progressed no farther than the first round of their respective events and Mba Nchama was eliminated from contention in the second round of the contest.

George Kerr, CBE is a Scottish judoka. He is referred to as Mr Judo.

Chiaki Ishii is a Japanese Brazilian judoka, who won Brazil's first Olympic medal in judo at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Felipe Kitadai</span> Brazilian judoka (born 1989)

Felipe Kitadai is a judoka from Brazil. He won a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics and a gold at the 2011 Pan American Games. He also won gold medals six consecutive times in the Pan American Games Judo Championships: at 2011 Guadalaraja, 2012 Montreal, 2013 San José, 2014 Guayaquil, 2015 Edmonton and 2016 Havana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judo in Canada</span>

The Japanese martial art and combat sport judo has been practised in Canada for over a century. The first long-term judo dojo in Canada, Tai Iku Dojo, was established by a Japanese immigrant named Shigetaka "Steve" Sasaki in Vancouver in 1924. Sasaki and his students opened several branch schools in British Columbia and even trained RCMP officers until 1942, when Japanese Canadians were expelled from the Pacific coast and either interned or forced to move elsewhere in Canada due to fears that they were a threat to the country after Japan entered the Second World War. When the war was over, the government gave interned Japanese Canadians two options: resettle in Canada outside of the 'Japanese exclusion zone' or emigrate to Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sagi Muki</span> Israeli judoka (born 1992)

Sagi Aharon Muki is an Israeli Olympic and former world champion half-middleweight judoka. Muki is the 2019 World Champion. He also won the 2015 and 2018 European championships. In the mixed team event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Muki was a member of the Israeli team that won the bronze medal.

Steven Jay "Steve" Cohen is an American former Olympic judoka and Olympic coach. He won the US National Judo Championships in 1974, 1975, 1977, 1985, and 1987. He won a gold medal at the 1973 Maccabiah Games, a bronze medal at the 1975 Pan American Games, and a silver medal at the 1986 Goodwill Games.

George Uchida was a judoka, wrestler, author, and coach. Uchida was the brother of San Jose Judo Coach Yosh Uchida. Uchida and other family members were sent to the Poston internment camp during World War II, following the signing of Executive Order 9066. He later served in the US Army in the field of military intelligence. He got key intelligence about Russian involvement in the Korean War. Upon his return he enrolled in San Jose State University majoring in physical education.

References

  1. Caroccioli, Tom; Caroccioli, Jerry (2008). Boycott: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. Highland Park, IL: New Chapter Press. pp. 243–253. ISBN   978-0942257403.
  2. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Mike Swain". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2016-12-04.
  3. staff • •, NBC Bay Area (June 28, 2024). "Legendary San Jose State judo coach Yoshihiro 'Yosh' Uchida dies at 104". NBC Bay Area. Archived from the original on June 30, 2024. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  4. Almond, Elliott (June 28, 2024). "Legendary San Jose State judo coach Yosh Uchida dies at age 104". The Mercury News. Archived from the original on July 17, 2024. Retrieved October 4, 2024.