Family grew closer through kempo karate

Ku‘ulei Nitta punches, kicks and grapples with her parents on a regular basis. She’ll tumble with her mother, Patricia, and trade punches with her father, Bruce.

But she’s not a violent person. She’s a devoted student of kempo karate and has trained with her family since she was a child. When she was 4, Nitta became mesmerized by the weekly classes that her older sister, Maile, and her father attended in Pearl City. She was so determined to be with them that she memorized the oath of the Universal Kempo Karate Schools and was allowed to join before her fifth birthday.

Kempo karate, a fierce blend of disciplines, combines aspects of karate, judo, jiujitsu, grappling and muay thai, as well as weapon use and boxing. But none of that has been as attractive to Nitta, now 26, as the camaraderie she found. Kempo karate became a family affair.

"My parents and I have an open and honest relationship," said Nitta, a graduate student studying mental health. "Kempo has brought us even closer together."

Ultimately, kempo karate brought all the Nittas together: Maile, now 27, became a second-degree black belt; brother Nicholas, 24, earned a student black belt; and younger sister Ilima, 22, received a junior black belt. Their mother, seeing that everyone was involved, joined too. And yes, the 57-year-old Honolulu Airport employee is a black belt, too.

Ku‘ulei Nitta, who went on to become a fourth-degree black belt, is the only Nitta child still involved.

"It’s my life," she said. "I’ve been coming here for so long, it’s like a big family. We all support each other, both in and out of training. It’s a time of family bonding, something that we can do together."

Her parents both agree that kempo karate was quality time for the family in a setting that allowed them to learn and train together.

"It’s more than martial arts, it’s not just kicking and punching," said the 57-year-old Bruce Nitta, who works for the state’s Ho‘opono Services for the Blind. "The values that we were teaching at home were reinforced in class."

And it’s a good time, too.

"It’s super fun training with my dad," Ku‘ulei Nitta said. "We hit each other a little harder. We know what each other can handle."

Nitta’s father, a kempo karate instructor, has watched each of her promotion tests.

"It puts pressure on me," Ku‘ulei Nitta said. "He will give me a face to let me know I’d done something wrong."

Ku‘ulei Nitta became a junior leader at 12, and now, as a fourth-degree assistant chief instructor, she helps teach the youth class and assists in the adult classes.

"One of the best lessons that I learned early on was that to be able to learn, you must be able to teach," she said. "Once you get a black belt, it’s like being a white belt all over again. It’s the difference between a simple high school English class and a college level one. There’s so much detail."

WHEN SHE started out, the classes were primarily composed of boys, and that was a bit of a problem.

"The boys didn’t want to spar with me," she said. "I don’t know if they didn’t want to hit a girl or if they were afraid of me. I’m a big tomboy. I don’t mind getting dirty and all that stuff."

Grand master Martin Buell, founder of Universal Kempo Karate Schools, said Nitta’s drive and dedication are unusual.

"She never quits," Buell said. "Many young people leave and come back later in life, but she’s been consistent with her training. She’s very dependable. Ku‘ulei works hard, tries her best and always has a smile on her face."

The values that were instilled during her kempo karate classes inspired Nitta’s career choice. She said she wants to be in a profession where she can help people and make a difference.

Nitta received a bachelor’s degree in secondary education and is working on her master’s degree in mental health at Chaminade University.

She loves food, watching movies and stage productions, and enjoys opera, so it’s not all about karate. But Nitta does say kempo karate has had the biggest impact on her life. The steady training sessions a few times a week provide her with a routine.

"It has definitely kept me out of trouble and away from doing bad things," she said. "It was something I could rely on. It made me want to do better and to keep working toward success even when dealing with challenges."

For more information on Universal Kempo Karate Schools, visit www.universal­kempo.com or call 487-2686.