Martial arts champ accused of threats

A 72-year-old martial arts champion is charged with allegedly threatening a 51-year-old friend with a kitchen knife and holding the man against his will at his Waikiki apartment.

Ronald “Ron” Van Clief is charged with first-degree terroristic threatening and kidnapping. He was in custody Tuesday with bail set at $25,000.

Barefoot and handcuffed, wearing a tan long-sleeved shirt and dark blue shorts, Van Clief appeared at District Court on Tuesday morning before Judge Lono Lee. Van Clief’s preliminary hearing is set for Thursday.

Police said that at about 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Van Clief used a knife to threaten a man described as his friend, not letting him leave Van Clief’s apartment on Ala Wai Boulevard.

According to a police affidavit, the victim said that during a conversation Van Clief got angry and told the victim he had insulted his jiujitsu skills. Van Clief allegedly then walked to the kitchen, grabbed a knife and walked toward the victim, yelling, “I’ll (expletive) kill you. You think you’re as good as me, you (expletive) punk. I’ve been doing this for 50 years before you could walk.”

Police said Van Clief lunged at the 51-year-old man with the knife, and the man was able to jump out of the way, screaming, “Please stop. You’re my friend.”

Van Clief continued yelling and again lunged with the knife, and the victim said he feared for his life and thought Van Clief was going to stab him, police said. Van Clief stood in front of the door with the knife in his hand, blocking the victim from leaving. Police said the friend tried to calm him down, speaking to him for about 15 minutes and asking Van Clief to allow him to leave.

The victim was able to escape when Van Clief walked to the kitchen. As the victim ran down the hallway, police said Van Clief stood outside his apartment and yelled, “The next time I see you, I will (expletive) kill you.”

The victim called police from a nearby hotel, and Van Clief was arrested at about 8:40 p.m.

According to his Twitter account, Van Clief, originally of Brooklyn, N.Y., is a five-time world karate and kung fu champion and 15-time All-American champion.

According to Van Clief’s biography on his website, ronvanclief.com, he holds a 10th-degree red belt and is founder of the Chinese Goju system. Van Clief also has established dozens of schools in more than 18 countries.

In a July 2009 story posted on the mixed martial arts website sherdog.com, Van Clief said the late martial arts legend Bruce Lee called him the “Black Dragon.”

He has appeared in numerous movies and TV shows and worked as a stuntman in Hollywood. Actor and martial artist Taimak Guarriello, who played the starring role of Leroy Green in the 1985 cult classic film “The Last Dragon,” was Van Clief’s longtime student.

In November, Van Clief won a silver medal in the Hawaii Triple Crown championship, a Brazilian jiujitsu competition.