Daniel Chow ’08’s composure, awareness and discipline came together on the mat to make him one of the most decorated boys grapplers at Punahou. A master of technique and leverage while wearing either the judogi or the singlet, Chow’s high instinctive IQ gave him the ability to puzzle out winning strategies during matches and create a championship career.
For Chow, the sport of judo was always a family affair; his parents met as elite competitors on the continental U.S. and ran the Hawai‘i Tenri dojo in Honolulu while raising all three of their children (Daniel, plus sisters Chrissy ’11 and Mindy ’12) to become accomplished judoka.
Daniel began training at Hawai‘i Tenri at the age of five, and the techniques he learned in judo helped inform his start as a wrestler. He joined the Punahou Pumas wrestling club in fourth grade, which provided an athletic activity he could immerse himself in at school while judo filled his life away from campus. By Chow’s freshman year, he had built a strong foundation of success and experience in both sports.
In varsity judo, with his father Greg as Punahou’s head coach, Chow was a four-time ILH and three-time state champion and part of team state titles in 2006 and 2008. After he triumphed in the 178-pound final to close out his senior campaign, he became just the third boys judoka in Hawai‘i history to win three individual state championships.
In wrestling, as a freshman he was the ILH runner-up and placed third in states. He would then reign as ILH and state champion during his sophomore, junior and senior seasons, helping lead the team to state titles in 2007 and 2008.
Chow was inducted into the HHSAA Hall of Honor in 2008. After Punahou, he competed in the U.S. Olympic Judo Team Trials and attended Boston University and the University of Hawai‘i. Today, he is a marriage and family therapist based in Honolulu.