hamu - whats your gym in Tokyo if you don't mind me asking.
I go to Strapple in Otsuka. When I can make it, that is.
hamu86,
point taken re: knowledge level of most refs. there is someting to be said about a minimum of 2years in sub grappling to qualify imo--and still, that doesn't ensure ability to determine depth of a sub. i think we have all the factors to make this work in hawaii though. guys such as charuto, chris west, haru shimanishi, niko vitale, mike and chris onzuka, the penns, rich chou, etc, who have all worked as refs in some capacity would all be able to perform well w/ this rule. still though, the jury is out...
how big is your friend? is he just interested in bjj? there are some good options in town. starting from h.kai, towards town:
-hk gracie jj (ug's alphadog and shane agena instr)
-brazilian freestyle (romolo @ uh)
-e studio (egan inoue--manoa school, due to open in july)
-relson gracie main academy (ronn shiraki, kimo kries, relson gracie, instr)
-hmc (haru shimanishi, charuto, chris west, vince kraus, seth mckinney, instr--mma n bjj)
tell him he can check www.onzuka.com and click on schools for the most comprehensive listing in the state.
Don't forget my garage!
tjay, he was asking for a place WITHOUT barbarians.
;-)