Fans of the TV show "Hawaii Five-0" fly thousands of miles to get a glimpse of its star, Alex O’Loughlin, at the annual Sunset on the Beach red carpet season premiere. But last week when the actor arrived at his favorite gym, no one blinked, least of all a small group of women who had just finished a workout.

O’Loughlin, sporting an unshaven look, black T-shirt and a ball cap emblazoned with the logo for the skateboard magazine Thrasher, walked into Egan’s Training Center all but ignored. Students at the Moiliili facility are accustomed to seeing the actor, who slipped into the office of gym owner Egan Inoue.

But the actor will put his star power front-and-center next month when he joins Inoue, a former mixed martial arts champion, to give a pair of self-defense seminars for women. Students will get up-close, hands-on demonstrations designed to help them fend off attackers, and 100 percent of the proceeds from the

May 3 classes will go to the Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children. The 90-minute seminars will be at Inoue’s training center.

O’Loughlin helped teach a class in 2013 that raised $10,000 — no, he didn’t have to fend off any screaming ladies — and he said there is a real need for them.

"There’s lots of cases here where women are getting into trouble," O’Loughlin said as he sat with Inoue and described the classes. "It’s a very real thing."

It’s not surprising that women often request self-defense classes, he said. In Hawaii it can be hard to get away from a violent situation.

"It’s a small island, there’s a lot of people," O’Loughlin said. "There’s a lot of crime, and there’s nowhere for it to go. On the mainland you can get on a Greyhound bus and go to Toledo, but here you can’t go anywhere. So it’s not going to stop. It’s so important to give women the confidence to try to fight back."

O’Loughlin said he’s glad to help and the classes are fun.

"We took some photos at the end, of course. … We had a good time," he said. "They understand that it’s a fundraiser, and if my presence here attracts people and motivates them to write a check, that’s good. It’s such a great cause."

If you’re lucky you might even get pinned by the actor, but after he demonstrated a big bear hug on instructor Heather Wong, it’s apparent that he won’t be getting too physical.

The seminars will focus on "nonstriking self-defense" that is based on Inoue’s martial arts training. Participants will learn quick, simple and effective techniques for the most common confrontational situations and practice their new skills with Inoue and O’Loughlin.

O’Loughlin has trained with Inoue in one-on-one jiujitsu sessions regularly for almost three years. When he’s not on the "Five-0" set, O’Loughlin comes fives times a week.

He sought out Inoue at the urging of "Five-0" co-star Scott Caan, who had been training with the mixed martial arts guru for a year and told his friend to try it.

"He was looking for something more than acting in his life," Inoue said of O’Loughlin. "He’s been phenomenal about his training."

Inoue said he’s looking forward to another successful fundraiser during which fans can meet O’Loughlin and learn important skills at the same time.

"It’s all about physics and angles and not about being faster and stronger than your opponent," Inoue said. "You can be smaller, but if you know leverage points, that’s the key."

But there will be fitness — just in case you were thinking the seminars were only about escape techniques.

"We will be doing exercises in between the self-defense moves," Inoue said. "The better shape you’re in, the longer you’re able to struggle. The longer you can struggle, the better your chances for survival."

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