Las Vegas, NV – Nineteen Kajukenbo Grand Masters came together and formed the Kajukenbo Ohana Association (KOA) during the first annual KOA Grand Masters Championships July 18, 2008 at The Plaza Hotel and Casino.

The Kajukenbo Ohana Association (KOA) was formed by the Council of Grand Masters at the inaugural KOA Grand Masters Championships on July 18, 2008.  The Grand Masters came together in the spirit of being independent, yet united in order to continue to perpetuate, develop and share the original mixed martial art of Kajukenbo.  

Being that the origin of Kajukenbo was formed in Hawaii in 1947 by Hawaiian-born Founders, the acronym KOA is used for the Kajukenbo Ohana Association.   KOA has many meanings in the Hawaiian culture.  In the Hawaiian Dictionary, KOA means (nvs) brave, bold, fearless, fearless, valiant; bravery, courage, soldier, warrior, fighter, military hero or marital.  KOA is also a warrior who fights for rights (pono).  It is also the name of the most dense and hardest wood in Hawaii, favored by locals for making sturdy weapons, canoes, utensils, furniture and jewelry. 

Ohana means family, and in that spirit the Grand Masters came together in honor of our founding father Sijo Emperado to engage many of the greatest marital artists in the world.   The goal is to continue to honor our traditions, enable on-going development and creativity of the art, and to encourage sharing within the entire family of Kajukenbo practitioners across the globe.