After a successful debut event last summer, Warriors Don't Bully is bringing a pair of anti-bullying and self-defense seminars to the Hi Fit Expo this weekend.
The Hi Fit Expo, which takes place from June 27-28, will be held at the Neal S. Blaisdell Exhibition Hall. Warriors Don't Bully will hold sessions at noon on both days. Saturday's session will be focused on keiki and their families, where one of the points of emphasis will be anti-bullying education. Sunday's session, spearheaded by former Bellator champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane, will be focused on women, specifically focusing on self-defense, confidence and personal safety skills.
"There's different things that we need to look out for and protect ourselves from as women, and so that's why I decided to do a women-focused session on Sunday," Macfarlane told Aloha State Daily.
Both sessions will feature prominent mixed martial artists from the Islands. In addition to Macfarlane, former UFC fighters Yancy Medeiros and Martin Day will be among the featured instructors, who all share the common goal of spreading positivity while being prepared for danger if it comes one's way.
A viral video in which a young woman was mobbed near Leilehua High School was one of the incidents that prompted the Hawai‘i MMA community to come together for Warriors Don't Bully in the summer of 2025.
"We were blown away by the turnout, and we just knew that this is something that's really needed," Macfarlane said.
While arranging another run of Warriors Don't Bully events, Macfarlane says she was given a stark reminder of the purpose of the event earlier in the summer, when a 15-year-old North Shore boy and 23-year-old Kekoa Tamale were mobbed by a large group and left severely injured. (ICYMI: ASD columnists Rick Hamada and Sterling Higa both opined on the beatdown.)
"I don't know what's up with these kids. I feel like summertime is when things get bad or kids just have too much time on their hands," Macfarlane said. "It just goes to show that there is still a huge need for anti-bullying training in Hawaiʻi, and after last year's event, we want to continue this program and make a positive change with our youth, and we want to do it more than once a year."
Additionally, Macfarlane, along with Medeiros, Day and Kamehameha administrator and wrestling coach Rob Hesia, have visited with multiple O‘ahu schools in an effort to implement parts of the Warriors Don't Bully into their curriculums.
Reception from the first Warriors Don't Bully event was unanimously positive. Macfarlane says the goal for the organization is to keep adding instructors from the Hawai‘i combats sports world, believing that each person will have a plethora of wisdom and experience to offer.
"Every fighter has such a wealth of knowledge that we can do this program and have every single workshop be different," Macfarlane said. "That's kind of my goal for future workshops.
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Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
