New fight game earning respect

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

While many of his friends are out playing soccer or baseball, Triston Pebria is busy learning how to apply armbars and throw left-jab, right-hook combinations.

Eight-year-old Tristin Kamaka, left, trains with Triston Pebria, 9, at the 808 Fight Factory gym in Waipahu. "It's not about beating up the other person," Triston said. "It's about having pride in what you do." Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

He is 9 years old — a third-grader at 'Ewa Elementary School — and a member of the 808 Fight Factory.

"We have probably around 150 members right now, from kids up to the pro fighters," said Kai Kamaka Jr., manager of 808 Fight Factory. "It's something that's really grown over the last few years."

Mixed martial arts blends boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, jiu-jitsu and several other martial arts into one. It is perhaps more identifiable by brand names like Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) or Super Brawl.

In its formative years — which were only around 10 years ago — mixed martial arts received resistance from lawmakers because of a perceived excessively violent nature.

"We as promoters did such a rotten job promoting this sport early on, hyping it as a blood sport, that it turned a lot of people off," said T. Jay Thompson, founder and promoter of the Super Brawl organization. "We're still trying to turn that image around. But at the same time, the sport of mixed martial arts has generally been accepted as legitimate not only here in Hawai'i, but around the country, and around other parts of the world."

There are now dozens of mixed martial arts schools across the state, and professional cards like Super Brawl draw thousands of fans to the Blaisdell Arena.

More than 8,000 watched Japan's Masanori Suda beat Hawai'i's Egan Inoue in May 2003. A similar-sized crowd is expected at the Blaisdell Arena on Saturday when Suda takes on Waipahu's Falaniko Vitale.

"You can compare the popularity to — dare I say — the (University of Hawai'i) women's volleyball team here," Thompson said.

KEEPING IT IN THE RING

The 808 Fight Factory in Waipahu is proof enough.

Girlie Kamaka, Kai's wife, goes to the gym every day to watch her two sons, Kai III and Tristin, train. Kai III is 10; Tristin is 8, and became the youngest participant ever in a sanctioned mixed martial arts event last month.

"I have friends, and even people on my side of the family, who ask me how can I allow my kids to do this," Girlie Kamaka said. "But it's something they enjoy, and they understand what they're training for. They know this is not something for them to show off in school or to use outside of the gym. They keep it in the ring.

"At first, I was reserved about it, but now I'm one of the moms that does a lot of yelling and cheering when they get in the ring."

The trainers and the fighters insist that the sport is not nearly as dangerous as it might look to the untrained eye.

"I wouldn't put my kids in danger if I thought it was that bad," Kai Kamaka Jr. said. "You have to be educated in the sport to understand it. To me, it's safer than boxing."

Triston Pebria, even at 9, seems to understand the philosophies of the sport.

"It's not about beating up the other person," he said. "It's about having pride in what you do."

It's that kind of attitude that has made Triston's parents supporters of the sport.

Shane Pebria, his father, said: "Every time he goes into the ring, it's a concern. Sometimes, he's the one telling us not to worry. But this is what he loves to do, and if it could turn into a career for him, then why not support it?"

His mother, Nicole, added: "To me, it's been a wonderful thing. It's not like he's running around kickboxing all the other kids in school. He knows if he tries that stuff outside of the gym, we're taking him out of it. He's learned a lot of discipline since he started this and it even shows in his school work."

The sport also is drawing interest from female competitors.

Shani Alvarado, a 2002 state high school wrestling champion at Moanalua, joined the 808 Fight Factory about a year ago, and has aspirations of becoming a pro fighter.

"My friends all tell me I'm nuts; that's the normal reaction," Alvarado said. "The people who don't know about this sport, they all say 'Oh, that's so brutal, it's just violence and chaos.' But we train hard for this. There's so much work and discipline that goes into it. I think once people realize that, then they'll understand why I'm doing it."

SAFETY CONCERNS

Even on the professional level, the sport has maintained a safe history.

"And we're talking almost 10 years, over 500 matches," he said. "The record absolutely speaks for itself."

During the mid 1990s, events like Super Brawl were closely monitored by state officials. Since then, rules have been put in place so that the sport is not as "extreme" as it once was.

"Essentially, the big hurdles have been jumped over," Thompson said.

Still, Thompson said all of his events must be approved by the State Department of Commerce & Consumer Affairs before it can run. Thompson added that he would welcome a state commission — like the Hawai'i State Boxing Commission — to sanction mixed martial arts events.

"We're not opposed to regulation in any way — it would be another step in the right direction," he said. "We just want to make sure it's done from an educated viewpoint."

That is not to say the sport is entirely safe. Among the banned moves in Super Brawl events are head butts, eye-gouging, and strikes to the spine and groin. Just about everything else goes.

In the professional bouts, it is not uncommon to see swift knockouts or a fighter choked to near-unconsciousness.

"It's a sport for warriors," Thompson acknowledged. "And there's a culture of warriors here in Hawai'i."

But David Padilla, manager of the Jesus Is Lord gym in Waipahu, said mixed martial arts is still safer than boxing and football.

"There's so much head trauma in boxing," he said. "In (mixed martial arts), there's not that constant beating. And I used to play (college) football, and I had way more injuries in football than I did in this."

NOT ABOUT VIOLENCE

At the Jesus Is Lord gym, participants receive a rare mix of Christianity and mixed martial arts. Every training session is preceded by a prayer. The youth members often attend Bible study before training.

Kai Kamaka III, 10, trains with his father, Kai, who is manager of the 808 Fight Factory. The school has about 150 members. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

Bob Ostovich is a member of the Jesus Is Lord gym along with his 12-year-old son, Robby.

"What the spectators see in the ring is different from what the fighters see in the ring," Ostovich said. "It's a very technical sport. So as far as putting the kids into it, I don't look at it as training them to fight. I look at it as training them in a martial art, just like any other kid you might see in another martial art."

Many of the mixed martial arts fighters site the basic martial arts background as a primary reason for the popularity of the sport in Hawai'i.

"Hawai'i has always had a strong tradition with the Asian martial arts," Thompson said. "What you're seeing now is an extension of it. What I think mixed martial arts proved was you can have more than one pure style and be effective."

Thompson and others in the sport long for the day when mixed martial arts is treated with the same respect as some of the traditional martial arts.

"People should realize that the kids who are now in (mixed martial arts) are learning the respect and discipline that kids have been learning in other martial arts for years," Thompson said.

In any case, the sport's popularity is spreading. According to Thompson, national sales of Super Brawl DVDs grossed over $2 million over the past six months.

Making it all more impressive, many of the mainstream media outlets in Hawai'i have shunned events like Super Brawl until recently because of its perceived violence.

"There was a time when I felt like all I had to do was defend myself and this sport," Thompson said. "Fortunately, this became a business that sort of ran and promoted itself. The people of Hawai'i embraced it and I think more and more people are finally realizing that it is legit and it is here to stay."

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8101.