Respect:CrazyMikeFowler&JTTorres
The guys and girls @Fokai welcome Back to Guam crazyMikeFowler and JT SpidermanTorres , who are here for the final preparation phase of TeamPurebred/LloydIrvins largest competitor contingency (32) to date for September 11th and 12ths Asian Open Jiujitsu Championships in TokyoJapan.
It’sAfamilyThing:670
August 30, 2010 by admin
Filed under FokaiSaipan, Special Forces
Rome Hafa Adai Brud !! I met this family Sat morning @ da Dededo Flea
Market . There from Saipan here for the weekend .. Talk about its a
Familia Thing
There the Bolis Familia – 670
OCaptainMyCaptain!TommyChong
August 30, 2010 by admin
Filed under 1008, CelebrityFokai, Special Forces
Special Thanks to Kelly Yamashita nd the Real Joe Cruz for passing it to the left hand side and sharing the good vibe. Voodoo like we do.
FokaiInvASIAn:VaughnAnderson
August 30, 2010 by admin
Filed under Fokai International, Fury
InvASIAN:MixedMartialArts
August 30, 2010 by admin
Filed under Fokai International, Special Forces
UFC president Dana White has made no bones about his obsession with taking over the sports world. Following Saturday night’s UFC 118 event, the ambitious promoter announced they have hired a highly regarded former NBA China executive to head their Dedicated Asian Operations division.
“We just hired a guy gentleman named Mark Fischer and he’s the executive vice president and managing director of the Ultimate Fighting Championship Asia. He’s gonna run things over there,” White stated at the post-fight press conference.
“We’re in 500 million homes. I don’t know how many people realize that. We’re in 500 million homes on some form of television throughout the world. With this move and the things we’re working on now, it’ll put us in over a billion homes worldwide. I keep saying that this is gonna be the biggest sport in the world and people think I’m a lunatic. I’m telling you right now, when we’re on over a billion homes and counting and growing, wait and see what happens in the next 4 to 5 years.”
It will be Fischer’s responsibility to build a roster of local talent and develop relationships with the sports federations in the Orient, including the China National Wushu Federation.
“I’m delighted and honored to work with Dana and the Fertitta brothers (co-owners Frank and Lorenzo) to build the Ultimate Fighting Championship and our other businesses in Asia,” Fischer said. “It’s a fantastic market. I think we’re just scratching the surface. A lot martial arts began their tradition there. We’re very respectful of that.”
The Octagon has hosted four events in Asia , all of which took place in Japan. Although the world’s premier MMA promotion hasn’t held a show there in the past decade, he believes his experience and savvy will help speed up the Eastern invasion process.
“I was with the NBA in Asia for 12 years,” Fischer added. “Five or six of those were building the NBA in China. I think as successful as the NBA was there, what we were able to do with that, I think we can just as much with the UFC and more.”
Clearly, China and their 1.3 billion citizens appear to be their primary target. Although, Fischer sees other segments of the continent as potential hot spots as well.
“I think we’re going to study the market,” he stated. “Definitely China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia. All of these countries have tremendous potential. There’s been tremendous interest, tremendous activity in MMA, and I think it’s a question of bringing the UFC brand there and the way we do things being the global leader in the sport.”
Seek&Find:RATSWayOfLife
August 28, 2010 by admin
Filed under FokaiJapan, ProductDevelopment
SpecialThanks to Mano for dropping off some very fine threads–courtesy of Japan’s ever-developing super quality of street fashion and product development. Thanks Man for the good vibes. sinceeversince
FokaiCombatUnit:BaretYoshida
August 28, 2010 by admin
Filed under BJJ Stuff, FokaiCombatUNit, SoCalProject
13N/144E:CarlsonGracieBJJGuamChapter
August 28, 2010 by admin
Filed under BJJ Stuff, Special Forces
They were in the final match of the blue belt absolute division for Brazilian jiu-jitsu at the Sixth Annual Best of the West Championships last Saturday in Anaheim, Calif., and Carbullido was freeing himself of doubt and reservation.
“I wanted to leave it all on the line,” he said via telephone from San Diego. And he did, winning the match to add to the gold medal he won in the 173-pound weight class of the blue belt division. Another Guam fighter, Miguel Ayuyu, also won a gold medal at the event.
Final match
When the referee signaled the start of the absolute-division match, Carbullido knew it was time to prove why he was one of the last two standing. After trading unsuccessful attempts at securing a takedown, Carbullido said neither competitor was able to gain an advantage.
Time expired with the score tied at zero, and the match went into overtime. In the extra period, the first person to score wins, so Carbullido knew he had to strike first. “There can only be one person on top,” he told himself as the battle waged on.
In spite of fatigue setting in from three previous matches, Carbullido forged through one overtime and then two and then three. Now in triple overtime with time ticking away, Carbullido said his opponent jumped guard and pulled him to the mat. That was when Carbullido said he saw a split-second opening and passed guard.
With that pass, Carbullido pulled out a one-point, triple-overtime victory. It could not have been written any better. “To win the absolute division was an incredible feeling,” he said.
Ayuyu tops class
Competing alongside Carbullido was his friend and training partner, Ayuyu, who took home a gold medal in the 154-pound weight class of the blue belt division.
Earlier this year Carbullido and Ayuyu, 2009 graduates of George Washington High School, packed their belongings and boarded a plane bound for the U.S. mainland with aspirations to further their careers in jiu-jitsu.
(2 of 2)
Five years ago, the two jiu-jitsu players walked into the Carlson Gracie Jr. Academy in Maite with no idea the sport would take them this far. Assistant head coach Byron Evaristo attributes their success to a positive attitude and a thirst for knowledge. “They never quit,” he said.
That attitude and thirst are what brought them to San Diego as the two now train under Rodrigo Medeiros and Clark Gracie. Despite the change in instructors, Carbullido and Ayuyu give all the credit to their former instructors, Gabe Baker and Evaristo, for providing a solid foundation. “That’s the reason I am where I am now,” Ayuyu said.
Staying true to their never-say-die attitude, Carbullido and Ayuyu are already preparing for another tournament in September. “I want to compete until the doctors say I can’t,” Ayuyu said.
Carbullido also said he wants to continue learning and competing as often as he can to reach his ultimate goal, earning a black belt. In the meantime, he said he is happy being a student. “I love walking into the gym and knowing I am going to learn something,” he said.
One goal
As for their future in jiu-jitsu, Ayuyu has one goal in mind. “I want to open up a gym on Guam with Mike,” he said.
Carbullido also has plans to teach someday. “I love teaching. I love giving back what I’ve learned,” he said.
The two are also very thankful for the support they have received. Ayuyu mentioned his family, Baker, Shoyoroll and Fokai.
Carbullido thanked his mother Pilar Carbullido, his sister, Brian and Lani Gogo, Rob and Andrea Rivera, Apparatus jiu-jitsu and Shoyoroll. He said he is thankful for his teammates and instructors at his new gym for welcoming him and treating him like family. Carbullido said he also appreciates the support from the Carlson Gracie Jr. Academy and from John Calvo and the Guahan Top Team.
ForLife:JeffMendiola
August 27, 2010 by admin
Filed under ForLife, Special Forces
Believe&Respect
August 26, 2010 by admin
Filed under Fight Links, Onra
A $200 million headlock on mixed martial arts
TapouT cofounders Dan “Punkass” Caldwell and Tim “Skyskrape” Katz , with company president Marc Kreiner. By Michal Lev-Ram, contributing writerAugust 18, 2010: 9:18 AM ET
(CNNMoney.com) — It’s not every day you meet a chief executive officer named “Punkass.” Especially one who runs a $200 million company.
The heavily tattooed, bandana-wearing CEO fits right in at TapouT, a 140-employee clothing company in Grand Terrace, Calif., that caters to athletes and fans of mixed martial arts, a combat sport known for its brutality.
Apart from the name, what makes Punkass and his co-founders unique is the commitment they made more than a decade ago to a sport that was then virtually unknown. They took a gamble on a market that barely existed.
The risk? If the market didn’t grow, TapouT would have nowhere to go. The reward? If the market exploded, they would be the first ones in.
Back in 1997, TapouT’s three co-founders — Dan “Punkass” Caldwell, Charles “Mask” Lewis and Tim “Skyskrape” Katz — had no college degrees and little money. But all three had trained in mixed martial arts and were ardent fans of the sport. They were confident that someday, the sport would be accepted — even embraced — by a mainstream audience.
So they took the kind of leap that would make little sense to anyone but their fellow true believers: They maxed out their credit cards to start a small operation selling t-shirts at underground mixed martial arts competitions.
Back then, mixed martial arts was still a fledgling movement, well under the radar of other apparel companies. Today, it’s almost as mainstream as boxing — and TapouT’s block-letter logo has become synonymous with the sport.
The company sponsors well-known fighters like Vladimir “The Janitor” Matyushenko and Thiago “Pitbull” Alves. (Along with tattoos and bulging biceps, nicknames are a must-have for practitioners of mixed martial arts). TapouT also sells clothing, mouth guards, nutritional supplements and other branded goods online and at retail chains including Macy’s and Champs Sports.
All those t-shirts and vitamins add up fast. Last year, TapouT raked in $200 million in annual revenue — more than 16 times its $12 million revenue in 2006.
So how does TapouT keep the mixed martial arts market in a headlock? Customers say it’s the early relationship the company developed with both fighters and fans.
“They’ve been right in the mix from the beginning,” says Andrew Lang, co-owner of Lightning MMA, a mixed martial arts gym in Laguna Hills, Calif. “Those three guys were at all the events — they have this presence, this rapport with the fighters.”
In the late ’90s, TapouT sponsored fledgling fighters for $300 a pop. Nowadays, sponsorships cost anywhere from $3,000 to $1 million.
“We have a full team dealing with our fighters and their managers 24/7,” says Punkass. “We’re worried about their personal lives, too. How’s their new baby? How do they feel after a fight?”
The goal is to get fighters to wear TapouT gear in and out of the ring. That, in turn, has given the company mass appeal among fans — which come mainly from the sought-after 18- to 34-year-old male demographic.
“I don’t know who’s more fanatic, mixed martial arts people or NASCAR people,” says Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at the NPD Group, a market research firm. “But in either case, when you’re that fanatical there is a tremendous allegiance to a brand, and it’s all about the lifestyle. It’s almost like a club.”
To make sure that club keeps growing, Punkass, Mask and Skyskrape brought a seasoned entrepreneur, Marc Kreiner, on board in 2006. Kreiner had a varied background — he launched disco bands in the ’70s and more recently started an infomercial company — but he helped bring TapouT products to over 20,000 stores worldwide. He also inked a handful of licensing agreements, including a line of TapouT-branded supplements with Champion Nutrition.
“We’re licensing a nutrition line, energy drinks and TapouT gyms,” says Kreiner, now the president and chairman of TapouT. “The motto is ‘Grow big or go home.’”
But TapouT’s evolution had its low ebbs. In 2009, co-founder Mask — known for his big personality and signature face paint — died in a car crash. Kreiner, Punkass and Skrape were leveled by the loss of their friend and colleague. Many TapouT employees got commemorative tattoos in Mask’s honor with the word “believe.”
Punkass says that Mask’s death has been the company’s biggest challenge to date. But TapouT has other, less tragic troubles. While mixed martial arts has toned down the violence a bit in recent years — the rules, for example, no longer permit biting and eye-gouging — some lingering controversy about the sport’s roughness could limit the growth of its fanbase, which is TapouT’s main audience.
A handful of smaller companies have also entered in the mixed martial arts apparel industry, including Dethrone Royalty Clothing and Hitman Fight Gear. But when it comes to the competition, TapouT’s main threat is much bigger players, like Nike and Adidas.
So could TapouT be the next sports apparel giant, akin to Under Armour?
It’s unlikely, suggests Cohen, the NPD Group analyst. But for the moment, at least, the company doesn’t have significant competitors vying for a share of the same market, he notes. And there’s plenty of room to grow: The overall sports apparel market rakes in $12 billion a year in the United States alone.
As TapouT lends its name to more and more products, the company runs the risk of diluting its brand and losing “street cred” with its loyal fan base. But Punkass isn’t worried about that.
“I don’t see ourselves making TapouT Ken and Barbie dolls anytime soon,” he says. “We won’t make a product unless it connects to our core audience. We stay true to the brand.” 
