Frequently Asked Questions

Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a grappling style that grew out of Judo. It emphasizes fighting on the ground — specifically how to reach a controlling position, then finishing with a choke, joint lock, or any other type of submission. There is no striking or kicking. Sparring and training is a major part of jiu-jitsu and the art is ranked based on belt.

Competition, self-defense, physical fitness, and discipline are all central parts of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Some schools focus only on competition, only on self-defense, or community — at Kuleana, we embrace all of it.

The Gi is the uniform that we wear — very similar to the traditional Japanese kimono. We wear it along with our belt and utilize the Gi during sparring to assist in control, guard passing, and submissions.

Nogi is commonly referred to as submission grappling. It has almost all the same submissions you can do in Gi, but with more focus on wrestling and leg entanglements.

No, you do not need experience to start Brazilian jiu-jitsu. We have classes that suit beginner, intermediate, and advanced students.

This is one of the common misnomers about starting jiu-jitsu. We have students who started in their 30s, 40s, and 50s — and they are thriving.

80% of our students have never stepped foot on a competition mat. Although competing is great to help you improve, it is not a requirement.

There is a common thought that jiu-jitsu is very dangerous. But as with every other sport, the harder you go and the more frequently you go, the greater the chance of getting injured. You can warm up, drill, and spar with zero to little risk — being aware of your body and your partner's body is key to staying safe.

The most common injuries come from uncontrolled falling body weight. If you or your partner are unaware of what you are doing, that is where injuries happen. They are completely avoidable.

Jiu-Jitsu is a fantastic sport for children. It helps with confidence, discipline, self-defense, physical fitness, and a host of other things. During the growth and development of children in the sport, we have seen kids go from quiet and unconfident to outgoing and confident individuals.

Kuleana is the Hawaiian word meaning responsibility. Kuleana encourages us to be accountable for all that we do — it is the ability to respond to whatever is happening.

Those who live the value of Kuleana know that their happiness is dependent on what happens inside of them, not outside. They choose how to react to circumstances, not let the circumstances determine how they feel.

When we live with Kuleana, we do our part to take care of ourselves, our communities, and the environment. Kuleana means we all have a responsibility.

Each class is structured similarly with a different focus:

• Warm-up — Any combination of conditioning, drilling, partner drills, or stand-up.
• Stand-up — We have a stand-up focus of the week.
• Technique — The instructor goes over the daily technique for everyone to drill with partners.
• Positional — Positional drills focused on our goals for the week.
• Sparring — Open sparring.