11 year old Honolulu Jiu-jitsu student thwarts carjacking

Jay Yano didn't have the day after Thanksgiving off, so he planned to take his two young children to work with him. As his kids loaded into his truck, parked right outside their McCully home, Yano left the vehicle running as he quickly walked to the truck's rear.

“That’s when I noticed the guy walking from across the street, coming over,” said Jay Yano.

Yano said within a split second, his truck began to pull forward, with his 9-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son inside. He ran to the driver's side door.

“(When) I opened the car (door), I saw my son holding the guy down with his left hand,” said Yano.

“I just grabbed his shoulder and started punching his face, telling him to get out of the truck,” said Jonah Yano.

Jonah Yano said he wasn't scared -- his younger sister was in trouble and he needed to help her. Despite being much smaller than the 35-year-old man, Jonah gave his father enough time to pull the suspect out of the truck.

“If my son didn't jump in, he would have just taken off with her down the street,” said Jonah Yano.

Jay Yano said that after ensuring the children were safe with a neighbor, he ran after the man who had fled. He caught up with him a couple blocks away, and he held him down until police arrived

Brooklyn Yano said that she knows she'll always have a big brother looking out for her. Jonah joked little sis owes him.

“I thanked him and I hugged him,” said Brooklyn.

Jonah Yano's parents said their son's years of jiu-jitsu practice came in handy but beyond that, it was a brotherly love, which can't be taught.

“I’m proud of him,” said Jay Yano.

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Minowa Vs. Kendall Grove to fight in Hawaii in January

A middleweight bout pitting Japanese fan-favorite Ikuhisa Minowa against UFC veteran Kendall Grove is in the works for ProElite 3 on Jan. 21, Sherdog.com confirmed with a source close to the fight on Tuesday.

No bouts have been officially announced for the event, though the show is expected to emanate from the Neil S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. MMAFighting.com first reported the Minowa-Grove matchup on Tuesday afternoon.

Minowa, 35, is a veteran of Pancrase, Pride, Deep and Dream competition. The submission specialist from Gifu, Japan, made his MMA debut in 1996 and has since racked up more than 90 professional contests. “Minowaman” rides a four-fight winning streak into his showdown with Grove, most recently submitting Young Woo Yu via kimura on Oct. 30.

The middleweight winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 3, Grove fought 13 times for the world’s largest promotion before receiving his walking papers on the heels of back-to-back losses. The Hawaiian made his ProElite debut on Aug. 27, submitting fellow UFC vet Joe Riggs with a guillotine choke in just 59 seconds.

The former parent company of the now-defunct EliteXC organization, ProElite reappeared on the MMA landscape earlier this year and streamed its first event on Sherdog.com in August. Owned by Stratus Media Group, the company aired its sophomore November show live on HDNet.

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KJ Noons to fight Billy Evangelista

Strikeforce is close to putting the finishing touches on its upcoming Showtime-televised fight card from the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, Calif., on Sat., Dec. 17, 2011.

"Melendez vs. Masvidal" will feature lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez putting his 155-pound belt on the line against a very dangerous, and hungry, Jorge Masvidal in the main event of the evening.

In addition, former Strikeforce light heavyweight and 2008 DREAM middleweight grand prix champion, Gegard Mousasi, will look to get back in the promotion's win column in more than one year when he takes on former University of Tennessess defensive standout Ovince St. Preux.

That's not all.

Check out the current Strikeforce: "Melendez vs. Masvidal" fight card and line up:



Main Event:

155 lbs.: Gilbert Melendez vs. Jorge Masvidal

Main Card (Showtime):

145 lbs.: Cristiane Santos vs. Hiroko Yamanaka
205 lbs.: Gegard Mousasi vs. Ovince St. Preux
155 lbs.: Billy Evangelista vs. K.J. Noons

Preliminary Card (May not be televised):

155 lbs.: Caros Fodor vs. Justin Wilcox
265 lbs.: Devin Cole vs. Gabriel Salinas-Jones
205 lbs.: Keith Jardine vs. TBA

MMAmania.com will provide LIVE blow-by-blow, round-by-round coverage of Strikeforce: "Melendez vs. Masvidal," beginning with the Showtime telecast at 10 p.m. ET on Dec. 17. In addition, we will deliver up-to-the-minute quick results of all the under card action much earlier on fight night.

We're still a few weeks away from fight night; therefore, feel free to share your thoughts and predictions for "Melendez vs. Masvidal" in the comments section below. And remember that MMAmania.com will be the spot for the latest news and event-related highlights before, during and after the event.

To get up to speed on all the Strikeforce news and notes check out our extensive event archive right here.

BJ Penn Back in Hawaii Living Life Without MMA

“I’ve got a daughter, another daughter on the way, I don’t want to go home looking like this. I’m done.”

Those were the words of former two-division UFC champion BJ Penn following his loss to Nick Diaz in the main event of UFC 137 in October.

He softened his stance, somewhat, a few days later, telling HDNet’s Inside MMA, “I kinda think this is something that I should have did after the first Frankie Edgar fight… step away from the sport, take some time off.”

Now, a month later, Penn has started a weekly blog with MMAWeekly.com content partner Bleacher Report to give readers some insight into the real life of a mixed martial artist. He hasn’t tipped his hand any further at whether or not he intends to retract his statement about being “done” with fighting.

Penn has taken some time since the Diaz fight to be with family and friends, but has done little by way of athletic endeavors.

“I haven’t been doing much as far as athletics go,” he wrote. “This is partly because I think I sprained my finger or something, so because of that I have just been kind of laying low and enjoying life.”

Whether he has mentally or not, Penn’s body appears to be going through withdrawals. The Hawaiian says his “body started to get achy” from the inactivity, so he started running again.

“I still haven’t gotten into the gym and done any type of martial arts training yet, but the runs are definitely fun and, like I said, they make my body feel better.”

Is this the precursor to Penn eventually deciding that he needs MMA in his life? Could be, but it’s still too soon to tell. Yes, it has been a month, but by the same token, it’s only been a month. Whether or not to fight again is a life decision for Penn and one month is a drop in the bucket of deciding.

For now, he’s reconnecting with his family after all the time spent training and traveling for fights. He’s spending time working on his charitable foundation, the “Penn Hawaii Youth Foundation,” which helps at-risk youth through martial arts. He’s also making a guest appearance on the hit TV series Hawaii Five-O and challenging the owner of his longtime sponsor, RVCA, to a surfing contest.

In short, BJ Penn is enjoying life, whether or not that life’s future includes a return to the Octagon.

MMAWEEKLY

Martial arts legend Adriano Emperado dead at 82

Long before the UFC craze came along, Adriano Emperado was teaching mixed martial arts in Kalihi.
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Emperado, one of the founders of the martial art called Kajukenbo, died of natural causes last month on Maui. He was 82.

"You see how popular this MMA stuff is today? Kajukenbo was doing that in the 1940s," said Emperado's son, Clarence Luna. "All these MMA guys today are training in jiu-jitsu, judo, all kind different stuff ... my father had that idea a long time ago."

Emperado is regarded as an important and legendary figure in the martial arts world. From humble beginnings in the Kalihi-Palama area, he helped spread Kajukenbo around the world.

His son estimated "hundreds, maybe thousands" of similar schools in at least 33 countries around the world can be traced to Emperado's teachings in Kajukenbo.

There are at least a dozen schools that come under the official banner of Kajukenbo Self Defense Institute, including locations in Arizona, Nevada, California and Canada, as well as throughout Hawai'i.

"And then you get these others that maybe took some ideas from my dad's teachings and incorporated into something else," said Luna, who is now a grand master of Kajukenbo. "That's why I say there's so many that can be traced to Kajukenbo, even though they might not be called Kajukenbo."

Emperado is actually one of five founders of Kajukenbo. The others were Peter Choo, Joe Holck, Frank Ordonez and Clarence Chang.

They each brought black belt expertise in various disciplines to create the new martial art in 1947. They named it Kajukenbo because it combined "ka" for karate, "ju" for judo and jiu-jitsu, "ken" for kenpo, and "bo" for Chinese boxing (kung fu).

By 1950, Emperado started teaching the martial art to students at Palama Gym.

Jan Harada, executive director of Palama Settlement, said Emperado holds a significant place in the history of the area.

"This is the birthplace of something that has a connection to the rest of the world," Harada said. "In researching this, we found that Kajukenbo kept a lot of kids from the area out of trouble, and that alone is significant."

Harada said two Kajukenbo instructors from Texas came to Palama Gym last year because they heard it was Emperado's first school.

"They were taking pictures and asking about (Emperado) and the school," Harada said. "That was neat to see how it touched people so far away."

Sonnie Rodrigues, Emperado's youngest daughter, said she had no idea of her father's international influence.

"He was humble, so he never really talked about himself like that," she said. "I'm finding out now how many people knew him. It's amazing."

Emperado has also influenced thousands in Hawai'i.

John Pascua started taking Kajukenbo classes in 1957, and is now an instructor at one of the schools.

"It teaches so much discipline," said Pascua, 67. "Not just for Kajukenbo, but in your way of life."

Pascua said Emperado was a "very strict" instructor who emphasized mental preparation as much as physical.

"When (Emperado) was teaching the class, it was real rough — we didn't have the kind of mats we have today, so we used to train on the concrete," Pascua said. "But the thing I remember most is he always used to tell us, 'Think! That's why you have that head on your shoulders. Think about your next move, your attacker's next move. Always think.' "

Luna said Kajukenbo was — and still is — a defensive martial art. Because of that, he said the students rarely enter tournaments.

"We teach you how to defend somebody, not attack somebody," Luna said.

Still, Kajukenbo became recognized internationally as an effective martial art.

During the heyday of martial arts in the 1970s, Luna said Emperado was treated like royalty.

"People would line up to kiss his hand," Luna said. "And when they found out I was his son, they would kiss my hand, too."

Emperado stopped teaching classes about 20 years ago, but was still able to travel around the world because of his Kajukenbo connections.

"He would leave here with one plastic bag and come back with seven suitcases," Luna said. "Gifts from all his students and other instructors."

In the end, Luna said, Emperado was more than just a Kajukenbo founder and instructor.

"He used to say that being a teacher of Kajukenbo made him learn different jobs," Luna said. "Some days he had to be like a doctor, some days a lawyer, a banker, a bus driver ... everything you can think of. So, yeah, he helped a lot of people in a lot of different ways."

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BJ Penn and Miguel Torres impressed with Frank Edgar’s win over Sean Sherk at UFC 98 (Video)

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AINA COMMENTS ON CONTROVERSIAL STOPPAGE

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MMAWeekly.com caught up with Mike Aina on Thursday afternoon to get his thoughts on the controversial stoppage of his fight with Billy Evangelista at Strikeforce Challenger Series last Friday. Aina spoke from Hawaii, where he’s back at his job on the summit of Mauna Kea as a welder/fabricator for the W.M. Keck Observatory.

Aina says he went to the emergency room following the bout and was released at 2 a.m. the next day, after which he and his wife drove to San Francisco to fly back to Hawaii.

MMAWeekly: Can you explain your side of the story in terms of what happened with the fight and its aftermath?

Aina: I really don’t remember much of what happened. I kind of blacked out for a little bit. When I got up—I remember I was lying on the mat—I had a shooting pain going up into my ear through my jaw. It was really painful. I was lost in the moment, so I’m not really sure what went down. I didn’t even see the video on it yet. I just feel bad for him and for me. It’s not the way we wanted it to end. It’s just disappointing.

MMAWeekly: Has a doctor checked your jaw since the fight and if so what’s the prognosis?

Aina: I just went to the ER after the fight. The doctor said (my jaw) probably popped out. I did an MRI, so nothing’s cracked, nothing’s fractured, which is good news. But it’s just dealing with pain right now, taking painkillers and trying to get through. I should be okay though.

MMAWeekly: The picture of the fight’s end shows the knee going under your armpit. Do you remember anything about the fight’s ending?

Aina: I was getting up. I knew I was going to have to take some shots in order to get back to my feet, which I didn’t mind. And as soon as I get my hips out, then he backed off, and I was like, the smart thing to do right now is to leave my knee on the mat and my hand on the mat and wait till he punches again. As soon he punches, eat that shot, get back on the feet, and then we can get the game back to stand-up. I remember he was clinching my head and started to load up on the knee and obviously, in the pictures, I tried to duck my head. But I really got rocked; I really don’t remember much of what happened after that. The next thing I remember was I was lying on the mat, that weird shooting pain going up into my ear.

MMAWeekly: Have you talked to Strikeforce about the incident?

Aina: No one’s actually contacted me. It would be nice, but I’m not sure they have any issue or concern with how I’m doing. Obviously, we both want a rematch. It was a good fight going into that second round. I’d like to do it again. I’m sure he feels unfulfilled as well, and so do I, but I’m not sure where we stand right now.

MMAWeekly: Do you feel referee Herb Dean made the right call?

Aina: I’ve gotta watch the video. I haven’t even gotten a chance to watch the video. But there’s nothing we can do about it now. I’m just really, really disappointed about the whole thing.

MMAWeekly: When do you anticipate going back to the gym?

Aina: I want to go back soon. I can’t really do too much right now, but obviously I want to stay in shape, get some cardio in, and once I feel better, I’m hoping they’ll set up a rematch.

MMAweekly

BJ Penn video details new training regimen with Marv Marinovich

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Mike Aina vs Billy Evangelista to headline Strikeforce

Former Elite XC lightweight and Hawaii native Mike Aina (11-6-1) will take on undefeated five-fight Strikeforce veteran Billy Evangelista at SHO MMA: “Strikeforce Challenger Series I” from the Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif., on May 15, according to the Star-Bulletin.

Strikeforce will debut its brand new “Challenger Series” on the premium cable network Showtime, which are designed to give up-and-coming, less heralded Strikeforce fighters an opportunity to do their thing in front of a large television audience. It’s essentially similar to what Elite XC used to do with its SHO XC Challenger Series.

Here’s a snip from company founder and CEO, Scott Coker, on SHO MMA:

“This is where the men — and women — will be separated from the boys, so to speak. The growth and future of our sport just got a turbo injection. For regional fighters and up-and-coming men and women looking to test themselves against other top prospects and get on the fast track to stardom, SHO MMA: Strikeforce Challengers is the place to do it. I can’t wait for this first event.”

Aina is probably best known for having taken Nick Diaz the distance and dropping a razor close split decision in his Elite XC debut at “Uprising” in September of 2007. He competed only one more time for the promotion since then before it went under last year, defeating Kaleo Kwan by unanimous decision at “Return of the King” in June.

The Hilo resident is an 11-fight veteran of the Hawaiian-based Rumble on the Rock promotion where he made a name for himself amongst the “Aloha State” faithful. The BJ Penn-trainee has fought some pretty tough guys to this point in his career, including Roger Huerta (loss), Ryan Schultz (loss), Albert Rios (win), Diaz (loss) and others.

His last fight was a first round submission win over Ismael Gonzalves at Rumble on the Rock: “Beatdown 8″ last August.

Evangelista is one of Strikeforce’s top young prospects in the lightweight division. He brings a solid wrestling and jiu-jitsu base to the cage with him, but the Team Buhawe product can also strike with his opponents.

In fact, he’s defeated four of his nine victims by (technical) knockout. His hit list includes “The Ultimate Fighter” alum Marlon Sims (knockout), UFC veteran Luke Caudillo (decision), Nam Phan (decision), Ryan Healey (technical knockout) and others.

His most recent action came in January at Palace Fighting Championships 12, where he out pointed Harris Sarmiento on the judge’s scorecards for a unanimous decision win.

Kim “Sugar Free” Couture, wife of former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Randy Couture, has also been rumored for this card. Tickets go on sale starting next Monday (April 13).

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