Local MMA fighter rapes 9 year old. Not if, but when will tragedy strike.

IT’S NOT IF, BUT WHEN.

Yesterday and a very well known fighter, mixed martial artist, grappler, was arrested for kidnap & rape of a nine year old girl.?Forcibly and violently, hurting her, choking her unconscious with a submission technique.?And I have told students for years that it’s not a matter of if something like this happens, it’s only a matter of when?

For well over 25 years I have watched the illegal drug & homeless population grow by leaps and bounds in my community.?I've watched guys flaunting getting rich by dealing meth. I’ve seen the constant erratic and often violent behavior manifest in the middle of Kamehameha highway, Kahuhipa st.?And even in the store parking lot.?I’ve had more than a handful of physical altercations with a few of them. ?And I’ve watched as parents and adults become desensitized to it.?Pretend that it’s not really there.?The population has become so adapted that they simply look in the opposite direction and hope as they walk by cautiously, that nothing will happen.?And I have preached often at the top of my lungs, that it is not a matter of if something terrible happens, but only a matter of when, one of the violent homeless, the large number of volatile meth addicts that populate the district Parks and accumulate behind every grocery stores, grab and one of our children and drag them off to rape them or kill them.?Well, it almost happened in kahalu'u.

My biggest fear as a parent has always been to not be able to get to them when my child needed me.?It’s been my biggest motivating factor on trying to educate children and train my own.?It’s a message that I’ve tried to share with every parent & student in my gym.?I’ve tried to tell everyone, all of my Black Belts, those who have quit, those who didn’t heed my warnings.?Even to those who hold grudges.?To those who teach their kids that quitting is okay. And now all I can say is, what if it was your child??Wouldn’t you want someone to have the skills to be able to come and help your child??Because no one did.?Several 911 calls came in, and each of them could say they could hear the little nine-year-old girl screaming.?But my question is, why didn’t any of them come to her aid??Why didn’t any of those, not even one, go to her aid, when her abductor violently dragged her into the public restroom, ripped her shorts & panties off and began raping her.?Not one person, even though everyone in the area, by their own estimate, within a 500 yard radius could hear her screaming for help.?Take a moment to imagine the hopelessness and despair that this little girl must’ve been feeling, knowing that no one was going to come and help her.

Here’s the part that a lot of martial artists are not going to like. Even many of my students have ignored every instruction when it comes to throwing a proper technique, being able to handle yourself in a real fight.?And let me tell you something, this guy can fight!?I’m not praising him, it’s just a fact.?He’s made his way to every MMA club in Hawaii and has had many fights.?So, for the guys who like to throw that wild kick and think it’s going to be a fight stopper every time, even though they miss the majority of the time.?This guy would take you to the ground and beat you like nobody’s business.?For those of you who refuse to spar correctly, you know, the ones who literally pushed me out of sparring in my own gym because you refuse to throw punch or kick without pulling it, and fool yourself into believing that you’re actually sparring, you’re not! And other people won't speak up. This guy would hurt you. ?Two reasons, his skill set, he has trained correctly and he has spent years of hard sparring. And his mindset.?He doesn’t care be hurt someone.?A couple of years ago he left a man permanently injured and he had no reservations about doing so.?So I will say this once again, for each and every one of you.?When you spar, you need to fight.?Stop making excuses, stop throwing every punch and holding out there every time you throw one, to the point that people don’t even want to spar anymore.?Because, when this guy slips your punch and takes you to the ground, to break your arm or your ankle or worse yet, choke you unconscious and possibly permanently injure you, then what are you going to say?

So, what can you do to prepare for a worst case scenario like this??First and most importantly, everyone in the community needs to STOP acting like it doesn’t happen.?But walking by these people and pretending not to notice them.?It empowers them.?And even worse, if they see you regularly, it gives them a sense of "open source intelligence" about you and your activities.?Look them in the eye, let them know that you see them.?And go out of your way to avoid them.

Secondly, you better have a physical game plan which includes getting your family to safety as quickly as possible.?And an active means of self defense that goes beyond a whistle and a lipstick sized pepper spray.?If you’re in a martial arts program, you need to be sparring, and making contact.?You don’t have to try to blast each other, but you need to understand what it feels like to get hit.?To get the occasional black eye.

And lastly, you needed constantly e-mail your local representatives and demanding that they do something to lock these people up and keep them locked up.?They should not be your problem.?And your children shouldn’t be taught to pretend that they don’t exist.

#missionbravo #smithtaekwondo #hawaiifirearmstraining #defensivehandgun #sexoffender #registeredsexoffender #muaythaifighter #MMA #BJJ #childpredator #sexassault