Thirty years ago, when fans argued about the best pound-for-pound fighter, they
touted boxers like Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe Louis, or Muhammad Ali. Nowadays, they
compare the fighting styles of mixed-martial arts (MMA) practitioners like Anderson
Silva and Georges St-Pierre.
“People just want to see who is the best fighter in the world,” says
Mike Onzuka, a veteran of MMA, a combination of boxing, kickboxing, karate, jiu-jitsu,
judo, tae kwan do, and wrestling that has gained widespread mainstream appeal.
Onzuka and his brother Chris are co-owners of O2 Martial Arts Academy, a mixed-martial
arts school in ‘Aiea that offers classes in kickboxing, Brazilian jiu-jitsu,
wrestling, and escrima (Filipino stickfighting) for adults and children ages 6 and
up. The brothers are veterans of the local MMA fight scene and started studying
jiu-jitsu with renowned teacher Relson Gracie 17 years ago.
“Our goal was always to make our kids’ classes fun, so parents could
use the classes as a reward for kids doing well in their academics and for good
behavior at home,” says Mike.
While the majority of the school’s students are male, a small but hardy group
of women are also regulars. “I appreciate how the instructors pay an equal
amount of attention to anyone who comes in here,” says Jen Combs, a Kapolei
High School teacher who’s taken up kickboxing. “I can work out and have
fun doing it,” she says. “I feel like I have the same amount of attention,
even though I’m not going to fight in the ring. So, I love that.”
Well aware of MMA’s sometimes-negative public image, the Onzukas don’t
call their academy a fight school. The brothers train only a handful of professional
fighters, most of whom serve as teachers. “We want the students to feel as
if we’re their friends as well as their instructors,” says Mike.
“We kinda treat [the school] like a family,” explains Mike. “Everybody
comes here and enjoys themselves, because they’re learning lethal and dangerous
techniques, so you have to have confidence in your opponents or your partners in
order to practice techniques safely so you don’t get hurt.”
Since many youngsters and young adults now idolize fighters, the school’s
teachers impart lessons not just on technique but on life as well. Take Kaleo Kwan,
a pro fighter who is as friendly outside of the ring as he is ferocious in it. A
father of six, the genial Kaleo has an easy rapport with veterans and newcomers
alike, but he doesn’t soft-pedal his message.
“This is the real deal, just like life,” he explains. “You get
in the ring, it’s cold, it’s cruel, it’s hard unless you train
and prepare yourself for it. In life, there’s no room for alcohol, no room
for drugs, no room for being lazy, no room for doing all these negative things,
because if you [do], you fail at life.”
“It’s the same thing as martial arts or cage fighting,” according
to Kaleo. “There ain’t no room for drinking, there ain’t no room
for drugs. You can’t stay up late every night and party. You can do it, just
like life, but you’re gonna fail, sooner or later. And the real truth is,
if you don’t train, you lose hard. You lose hard in life, you lose hard in
the ring.”