Judo Talent Comes From All Sports

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Surfrider Rayner Yokoi steps up to
bat. Photo by Nathalie Walker,
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As Kahuku judo coach Ray Imada prepares his boys and girls teams for this Saturday’s 2007 Black Belt Association Hawaii State Judo Championships, he knows his kids can be counted on to get themselves to the right mind-set.

He credits the Kahuku community itself for that.

“Aside from school, (athletics) is a focal point here,” said Imada. “There’s an attitude among the kids of wanting to make the community proud. They’re well-rounded kids. A lot of them are multiple-sport athletes. The administration, coaches and parents in the community do a great job of keeping their kids involved in activities.”

Kahuku’s charm as a judo program has always been its ability to compete at a high level with so few team members involved within the sport year-round, although their OIA success in recent years under former head coach Reggie Torres has helped to alter that perception, in Imada’s view. Kahuku’s girls team won league titles in 2002 and 2003, while the boys program won its first championship in 2005.

“We’re getting to a point where they look more like they’ve been involved year-round,” said Imada, who was one of the original seven head judo coaches (then at Castle) when it became a sanctioned sport by the OIA in 1974. “We’ve received a lot of nice comments on the kids’ technique from other coaches and referees.”

Both the boys and girls teams will be well-represented this Saturday. Imada was expecting no less than 10 boys and 10 girls to qualify last weekend at the OIA’s Individual Championships.

The Kahuku girls are coming off another banner regular season in which they finished 8-1, the lone loss coming from East champion McKinley in a dual meet last month.

Senior Kanoe Tani leads the way for Kahuku. A two-time defending state champion in the 220-pound weight class, she figures to be a clear cut favorite again on Saturday.

Junior Cianah Hee (129) entered last weekend still undefeated and should also be among the favorites in her weight class. She finished second at last year’s state tournament.

Other hopefuls include Danica Auna (third-place finish last year in the 122 weight class), Amanda Keliihoomahi (139), Ioni Kamakaala (139), Amanda Soliai (154), Andrina Ramos (103), Kalae Johnson (109), Naomi Blanchard (115) and Alana Seke (115).

In the boys division, seniors Reggie Torres (161) and Damon Carr (198) figure to be in the mix in their respective weight classes. Both captured individual state wrestling titles in February.

“They both know what’s required,” Imada said. “I think they’ll hold their own. Reggie lost a match recently, but he took it as something positive. He’s been working really hard on his technique. Damon has done very well. He suffered a mild concussion two weeks ago, but he’s already been cleared.”

In the 121-pound class, Imada also likes sophomores Dillon Cadina’s chances. “He’s come along strong the last few weeks,” he said. “He may have a good chance to place (top 5), which was his goal. Hopefully, we can get about 10 boys in.”

With so few year-round players, Kahuku has always figuratively been a program trying to make up for lost practice time, but Imada praised his team’s rate of improvement since pre-season.

“We’re a very different team now,” said Imada, who is assisted by coaches Rodney Branco and former head coach Reggie Torres, who had passed the program on to Imada during the off-season to devote more time to his job as Kahuku football coach. “We’ve come a long way in nine weeks. We have high hopes for them this week. Hopefully, we can place a lot of kids.”

Imada stressed “winning early” as one of the keys to performing well this weekend. The state championships use a double-elimination format, making conditioning a priority for most competitors.

“If you lose early, it’s a tough road. There are always upsets in all divisions. I’ve seen kids go six or seven rounds (to place and have an opportunity to win an individual title in the winners’ bracket). A lot of it comes down to luck and hard work. We know they’re ready physically. State tournament experience and conditioning are keys. You have to be able to hang in there.”