Usami was born on February 20, 1986, in Tokyo, Japan. She had said in an interview that she started karate when she was 10 years old by joining a Goju-ryu-style dojo located near her family's house in Tokyo, after seeing a female fighter on television. Her older brother had been practicing karate and let Usami wear his karate gi on occasions, so that helped her a lot when she decided to eventually start practicing karate herself.
Usami's first karate tournament was when she was a green belt at 12 years old in elementary school. Usami did not participate in big tournaments until age 15 and won her first tournament at 17 years old at the All Japan High School Karatedo Championships.[3]
Achievements
Year
Competition
Venue
Rank
Event
2003
30th Japan National High School Karatedo Championships
^"大会結果・第30回全国高等学校空手道選手権大会" [Results : the 30th All Japan High School Karatedo Championships]. www.jkf-hs.com 公益財団法人 全国高等学校体育連盟空手道専門部 [The Section of Karatedo, All Japan High School Athletics Federation] (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-04-27.
^[全日本空手道選手権大会 栄光の記録(入賞者一覧)] [Results]. Japan Karatedo Federation (JKF) 公益財団法人 全日本空手道連盟 (in Japanese). 2012-01-11. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
^第51回全日本学生空手道選手権大会並びに東西対抗戦(DVD) [The 51st All Japan University Karatedo Championship with Kanto vs. Kansai Karatedo Game (DVD)]. Champ-Shop. Retrieved 2021-04-27.