As of March 2021[update], Usami is coaching the karate team at Kokushikan University.
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.
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.
This biographical article related to karate in Japan is a stub.