Originally from Southern California, Dr. Yu went to UC Berkeley for undergraduate school while majoring in electrical engineering and computer science. After having a sports injury and being impressed by his orthopaedic surgeon, he decided to pursue a medical career and received a medical degree at University of Southern California (USC) School of Medicine. His orthopaedic residency was done at Los Angeles County Hospital (also affiliated with USC) where he had to work 80 to 110 hours per week. In order to supplement his training, he did two years of fellowships.

The first was at UC San Diego where he focused on minimally invasive joint replacements and cartilage restoration. He worked closely with one of the cartilage gurus of the world, Dr. William Bugbee. This was followed by specialized Sports Medicine certification at Duke University where he had the unique opportunity to provide medical care for the Duke Basketball Team.