08/22/2026
📖 Story time
About 25 years ago, a kid from Hawaii and a kid from LA met while stationed as marines in Mt. Fuji, Japan. They hit it off, spent a year adventuring, eating their way through Japan, and getting into just enough trouble to make some good stories.
Both were young and just starting to figure life out. Martial arts wasn’t even the thing connecting their stories yet. Eventually, they went their separate ways, and like life does, they lost touch and decades passed.
Then, a few years ago, social media did its thing and brought them back together. And thankfully, after all those years, the connection was still there and stronger than ever…
Thousands of miles apart, they had unknowingly been chasing the same dream. Both became coaches and business owners, eventually building their own gyms — Prof. Songer through MMA and Prof. Arman through Jiu Jitsu and fitness.
Different paths. Different gyms. Same heart. And somehow built the same kind of community.
Places where there’s no room for ego, where being a good person matters just as much as being a good athlete. Communities built by people who are committed to becoming better—not just individually, but together. Places where people feel welcomed, supported, challenged, and proud to be part of something bigger than themselves; a community rooted in learning, growth, and giving back.
What are the odds that two kids who met in Japan 25 years ago would end up building something so remarkably similar on opposite sides of the country?
And they’re both still at it — still building, still learning, still helping their people grow, still pushing themselves to get better and still getting into a little trouble.… but now they’re done it side by side.
Sometimes life really does have a funny way of bringing the right people back around. ❤️
🥋 Huge congrats to James Trochowski and Songer Combat Sports for earning their well deserved black belts 🚀
Thanks to 📸 Rose Fuji Photography for the best photos!
