Hawaii Judo Academy

Our first fall brawl! it's so awesome to meet our new judo family. the seneis here are awesome teachers and help my son grow as a young individual. We attend twice a week and my son loves the energy and enthusiasm here. I def recommend this institution. you would love it here too!

My kids came to visit during our stay in Honolulu, and was really impressed by HJA. Lots of kids for our girls to practice with who were focused and well skilled. Sensei Brandon was teaching and he was great with the kids. Encouraging and correcting as they go. All the senseis were welcoming and inviting to our family. Mahalo, HJA for a wonderful experience!

My family and I are vacationing in Hawaii for a week so I researched places to train judo on the island. Once I saw that Taylor Takata had a club I knew that’s the place for me! Joel was quick to respond to my email and recommended which night I should come by. When my wife and I arrived he was super welcoming and introduced me to the club members. The lesson was everything you’d expect from an Olympian- we started with grip work and how to properly engage your opponent and finished with a throw that was unique to his style of competition. I would imagine all that detail only comes from someone who has trained at a high level all over the world. Thanks to Sensei Takata, Joel, and everyone else at Hawaii Judo Academy for welcoming me and teaching me such great techniques! We will definitely come back on our next trip to the island.

A great place for Judo in Hawaii! The facility was clean and well equipped. The community was amazing, everyone made me feel welcomed and included; and the coaching was top notch, all cues given helped me succeed in the drill we worked that night. If you’re interested in judo, check this place out!

We have had our boys going here for almost 2 years now from ages 3 to almost 7 and it’s by far our favorite kids’ activity—the quality of instruction is amazing and they worked patiently with my older son who is diagnosed with ADHD and struggled with instructions and listening. He’s made huge improvements in all aspects, HJA instructors were very careful about when he could move beyond the beginner drills which I am grateful for. They also keep classes interesting for the kids and will change things up with games that still reinforce skills. It’s really helped my son build up mental and physical resilience. The toddler class was very fun for my younger son and they recognized when he needed more challenges and could move up more quickly even though he’s physically smaller. The instructors all got to know our family well and have been so welcoming to us. The same instructors have stayed throughout our time here and there seems to be little turnover—it is a tight knit community of instructors that truly love judo. I formerly did judo as an adult and can tell this is one of the very rare places that somehow is able to prioritize BOTH the kids’ classes (and occasional events/potlucks/fun things!) and competitive judo quality. Highly recommend to anyone looking at martial arts for kids that goes at a good pace to set them up for future success!