Determination, skill, and sacrifice. Traits of many competitors and athletes, but why are there so few champions? Along with these attributes, some say that talent and luck are the missing ingredients that can make the difference between first and second place. Whatever it is, BJ Penn has it. He started as a youngster in Hilo without direction and clear goals. For a change of pace, he moved up to northern California and started taking Gracie (or Brazilian) Jiu-Jitsu classes from the founder's grandson, Ralph (pronounced Halph) Gracie. BJ quickly took to the techniques that emphasize technique and leverage over power and with his natural flexibility, became a force in the west coast Jiu-Jitsu tournaments. With every tournament BJ has won, more and more people in the Jiu-Jitsu circles started taking note of this youngster.

BJ comes from a family of four boys, all named Jay Dee, except for one. No not BJ, but his youngest brother Reagan. BJ is, in fact, an abbreviation of Jay Dee. BJ's father is named Jay Dee as is his three oldest sons. The three boys worked out their own system for distinguishing one another, the oldest son is called Jay, the middle, JD, and the youngest or baby of the family at the time is called Baby Jay or BJ for short. The youngest of the brothers, Reagan, arrived and broke the Jay Dee streak. All of the brothers' train in Jiu-Jitsu and all have had similar success adapting their bodies to the simplistic, but effective martial art which focuses on ground grappling techniques.

BJ's youngest brother, Reagan, turned out to be the family's first world champion. In 1998, after only about one year of training, BJ and Reagan, with only six months of training, traveled to Brazil to compete in the Mundial (pronounced moon jawl) or World Championships of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Both competed in the blue belt division, which is the belt following white belt. Reagan won the 160-pound weight class, while BJ lost a close final match to finish second in the 147-pound class. BJ now knew that he could not only compete with the best in the world, but also had a very good chance at winning. He returned to Brazil, focused and determined to train harder and win the world championships. One year of concentrated training paid off when he was promoted to the next belt up, purple belt. Under a new team and school, Nova Uniao (New Union), BJ returned only to be promoted to brown belt a week before the upcoming World Championships. BJ took this in stride and ended up finishing third, losing to the competitor that would become the champion. BJ's quest for the world championship that has once again eluded him had become even more clear and was almost within his grasp. He intensified his training and in 2000, along with being promoted to black belt once again a week before the competition, BJ satisfied his dream of becoming a world champion by being the first Non-Brazilian Black Belt World Champion. Hawaii has produced world champions at the blue, purple, and brown belt divisions, but never at the black belt division. BJ was now at the top of the grappling world and all this from a quiet man from a small town on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

With that goal completed, BJ looked to other ways to satisfy his competitive urges. Many Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practioners were moving in to the sport of Mixed Martial Arts, which was brought to American soil from Brazil in the form of the Ultimate Fighting Championship or UFC in 1993. A skinny Brazilian was thrust in a cage with fighters of all martial arts backgrounds to see who had the most effective technique and fighting ability. Time after time, this 6 foot 1 inch, 178 pound warrior made all of his opponents, some who outweighed him by over 80 pounds, submit with his graceful ground techniques and claimed the UFC title three times and one time beating four opponents in one night.

Many people see this new fighting art as barbaric, but if you break up the components of this sport, it is nothing more than a combination of sports that Americans love to watch and have been viewing for years. Mixed Martial Arts (formally called No-Holds-Barred) is a combination of boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, and Judo. Sometimes, the fights are held in cages to prevent the fighters from falling out or in normal boxing rings. The competitors utilize smaller gloves that allow them to still use their hands to grapple and perform submission holds. These smaller gloves often do more damage to the puncher's hands than the person being hit. In addition, unlike boxing and kickboxing, combatants can verbally submit and not lose face. This in itself makes the sport much more humane than boxing. If a boxer gave up, he would be black listed and never asked to fight again. There are now many Mixed Martial Arts events, which include the Superbrawl and Warrior's Quest, held here regularly in Hawaii. The Ultimate Fighting Championship was the first and still remains the most prestigious Mixed Martial Arts event in America hands down.

With new weight classes being implemented in the UFC to appease the boxing commissions that are beginning to sanction the UFC, BJ Penn was invited to make his fighting debut in this prestigious event mainly because of his success in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Penn made good on his opportunity and dominated Chicago based wrestler/fighter, Joey Gilbert. BJ has made such an impression on the newly changed UFC management that he has been welcomed back to fight top rated Din Thomas in the semi-main event in only his second fight. Thomas has recently defeated another top local fighter at a recent event here in Hawaii. The winner of this fight could be within one or two fights of the Bantamweight UFC Championship. While up in San Jose, I talked with BJ and he seems very calm and confident for someone who may own his second world title in a matter of months. He has stated that he is, "trained and am well prepared," for this fight. The pressure of this big fight in front of a national audience does not seem to affect him.

The UFC has been blacked out to Hawaii audiences because TimeWarner, who owns Oceanic Cable, has decided not to support these fighting events. Hawaii fans would have to wait for tapes of the events from the Mainland or until the production video was released, which could be months after the event has aired live. Satellite companies have come to the rescue. Companies like Primestar and Direct TV has been the saviors of this struggling sport. Due to the expensive rates for sports bars, once again, Hawaii fans were left high and dry. Once Hawaii's star, BJ Penn, was confirmed on the main card of the upcoming June 29th UFC, a mad scramble has been implemented to allow local fans to support one their own. BJ's father has converted the Hilo Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu School in to a viewing room, which includes the satellite equipment and seating in order to allow the Big Island to show their support for his son. The school is located at 21 Kalanianaole Highway, behind Verna's Restaurant. The show is expected to start at 3:00 PM and everyone is invited. Unfortunately, no venue on Oahu is airing the UFC. Fight fans are asked to contact Oceanic Cable and voice their desire to make these events available for Hawaii audiences to view. This lone venue is a light at the end of the dark tunnel, which will slowly help bring this new and exciting sport to the forefront of pay-per-view sporting events to Hawaii viewing audiences.