In late May, a video of a bullying incident that occurred in Wahiawā made the rounds on social media. A young woman was mobbed by multiple teenagers, some of whom were students at nearby Leilehua High School.
The video in which the young woman was alone and outnumbered, including by the person filming the video, sparked intense reactions from the Islands and beyond. The New York Post even pursued a story on the incident.
In Hawai‘i, the video incited anger and concern. Others commented publicly that they couldn't finish watching the video due to the disturbing nature of it.
Some members of the Hawai‘i MMA community believed that the infamous incident in Wahiawā was just the tip of the iceberg in a pattern of increased violence across the Islands.
As worrisome as the video was, it served as the basis for an anti-bullying event and self-defense workshop held at Hawai‘i Elite MMA & Fitness in Waipahu on Sunday. The event, titled "Warriors Don't Bully," was the first of many events former Bellator champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane would like to hold in the future.
"It was super tough to watch. It was very heartbreaking," Macfarlane told Aloha State Daily of her initial reaction to watching the video. "A lot of us were mad about this. We've just seen Hawai‘i, just the levels of violence continuously rising every single year, you know? And that's not the Hawai‘i that we grew up in. I think that's why so many of us were so on board from the beginning, because we're just like, 'No, we don't want our kids to grow up in this kind of environment.'"
Although Macfarlane lives in California, she took the initiative to organize the event and gathered over a dozen prominent mixed martial artists and coaches for Sunday's event. One of them was UFC middleweight Brad Tavares, who is expecting to have his next fight booked in the summer.
Tavares, a Waiakea alumnus who lives in Nevada, flew in with his family to be there for the event. His daughters were among the keiki participating.
"It literally brought tears to my eyes. It was very hard to watch," Tavares said of the video. "My brother sent it to me. He was pissed off about it, outraged, as was I. And it was something just heartbreaking to see."
Sunday's Warriors Don't Bully event was free of charge for kids who participated. About 54 children, ranging from preschoolers to preteens, also received free T-shirts and a bento following the event.
"I volunteered my gym. I didn't hesitate because it's for such a good cause," Hawai‘i Elite owner and head coach Charles Kipili‘i said.
At the beginning of the event, every kid sat on Hawai‘i Elite MMA's main mat. Each fighter and instructor introduced themselves and how they got started in their respective martial arts journeys. Reasons ranged from self-defense after being bullied themselves, wanting to get in shape, or simply being interested in the craft.
Among the other fighters present was former University of Hawai‘i wide receiver Tristin Kamaka, who stressed the importance of being a team player. Another instructor present was Kamehameha Schools Director of Campus Athletics and Human Performance Rob Hesia, who also serves as the school's wrestling coach. At the end of the event, a Q&A session was held. When Hesia was asked by a parent about getting their child into wrestling, he stressed placing more value on the process rather than the result.
The event was as much about parents as it was the kids present. Former UFC mainstay Yancy Medeiros took a moment to address the parents in attendance.
"Your kids are your report card," Medeiros told the parents, stressing to them to hold them accountable and be present in their lives in order to prevent incidents like the one that occurred in Wahiawā from being repeated.
"As a parent, I wanted to see what's going on with the girls at home," Medeiros later told ASD. "The bully, I was like, wow, what's making her do that? And then you figure out you do more research instead of judging. I come to find out one of them had ... an unstable [family] foundation. She needed better attention. She needed to be in a better environment. She needed a better mentor. She needed better adults or guardians around her. So when I see that, that makes me go, 'What can I do at home to be better?' Keep my kids mindful of these kinds of things. But that's the last thing I need to do is judge kids.
"It's us adults that need to be accountable for their actions, and that's what I really wanted to bring with this bully situation, making the parents really see that you have to be involved and not judge, and make sure your kids are mindful about how to do things."
Stations for the participating children on Sunday included lessons on self-defense and how to diffuse situations.
"I think we had a great turnout," said former UFC fighter Martin Day, who opened a gym in his hometown of Kailua last September. "All the coaching was great. We kept it real simple, self-defense oriented and a lot about mindset."
Another one of the instructors present was former UFC fighter and former Navy SEAL Brandon Wolff. When it was his turn to speak to the keiki, he asked how many of them have friends that tease them and say mean things to them.
"Find different friends," Wolff said to the children that raised their hands.
Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
