Kawika Yoneda trained karate, taekwondo, Muay Thai, boxing and kickboxing before starting Jiu Jitsu in 2010. After competing at the 2012 Pan American Championships as a blue belt, he and his wife Jamie moved from Hilo to California in 2014 so he could train full time at the Art of Jiu Jitsu Academy in Costa Mesa under Guilherme and Rafael Mendes. They came home and opened Roma in April 2016, and he received his black belt from the Mendes brothers in July 2017. He leads the Fundamentals, Adult Advanced, No-Gi and Kids Advanced classes. Lineage: Carlos Gracie, Carlson Gracie, André Pederneiras, Ramon Lemos, the Mendes brothers.