Kellen Goya started judo at five years old with the Shudokan Judo Club, where building blocks were reinforced under coaches Mike Hayashi and Gregg Yonemori.
“More important than judo, I learned to have perspective, be respectful whether I won or lost,” Goya said. “I was definitely taught a lot about life in general.”
After years of discipline and dedication, Goya is now a three-time BIIF champion at Waiakea, which has won the last five team titles.
Keaau is the girls defending BIIF champion. The Cougars return three champs in senior Mikele Pokakaa (122 pounds), junior Ivory Ayers (172), and senior Ebony Ayers (220).
Goya, a 5-foot-3 senior, is the only judoka who has a shot to finish his BIIF career 4-for-4. He’s the defending champ at 132 pounds.
The last BIIF judoka to go 4-for-4 was Konawaena’s Justin Raymond, who completed his perfection cycle in 2013.
“It could be a special moment for the team and my coaches, but I try to go one match at a time,” said Goya, keeping the framework of perspective in place. “I don’t think too far ahead. Anything can happen in judo.”
The nice thing about judo is that there are two shots at glory: team and individual.
At the BIIF team championships, Goya will likely enter the 161-pound class to fill a hole and let someone else produce points at his old spot.
Then a week later at the BIIF individual championships, Goya will return to the 132 division, where he might find a familiar face.
Waiakea junior Kyler Fujimoto, the defending champ at 121 pounds, may bump up to 132 if a growth spurt hits.
Still, it’s never ideal to beat a teammate for individual glory. Last year, Goya defeated teammate Joshua Ohara, who graduated, for the BIIF crown.
“Kyler and I practice together every day,” Goya said. “Both he and I got at it at practice. He’s pretty quick, and he can make a run at a title whether it’s at 121 or 132.”
In judo, technique is king — a major reason someone shorter can chop down a bigger and stronger tree at the same weight.
For every move, there’s a counter-attack, and the best weapon is often experience, a library resource to apply the most effective strategy.
“I feel my strength may be my instincts,” Goya said. “I’ve been doing judo so long, since I was 5 years old.”
It’s sort of like chess, from a strategic standpoint, except in judo a competitor doesn’t have the luxury of 30 seconds to think about a move.
Get up early
Goya is out of bed every day and training from 5 a.m. for an hour, running or doing strength workouts.
On school days, Waiakea’s practices run from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
His day is far from done.
It’s time for more practice every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. He’ll head down to the Waiakea Rec Center for Shudokan practice, which runs from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
On Tuesday and Thursday, Goya will hit the books to catch up on his studies. He’s sporting a 3.5 grade-point average.
He’s also in the school’s Interact club. When there are school events, Goya is one of the worker bees who helps with set-ups and clean-ups.
Goya’s parents — Wayne, who works at Hawaiian Airlines, and Wendy, who’s a Waiakea elementary counselor — set the foundation and gave him an early lesson that helps in both sports and life.
“They’ve always told me to look at the positives. It doesn’t matter if I lose but how I get myself back up,” he said. “For judo, you can’t win them all. You can’t be sad for a whole week. Instead, you have to pick yourself up and focus on the rest of the matches.”
Chase for carrots
At the HHSAA state championships, Goya was sixth, fifth and fourth as a freshman, sophomore, and junior, respectively.
He was at 121 pounds his first two years and at 132 last season. Most of his state competition graduated.
While a state gold would be a nice accomplishment, Goya already has earned something far more impressive: a national championship in 2014.
The national judo championships were held in 2014 on Oahu, where he won five matches in his 27-judoka field.
“When you win a big tournament, you’ve got to be happy because all the time, dedication, and hard work has all paid off,” Goya said.
A San Jose State coach was there and spotted Goya, who plans to compete in judo as a Spartan and major in kinesiology.
The Spartans are regarded as the most successful collegiate judo team in U.S. judo history and a constant competitor for national and international competitions.
“I’m a senior, and it’s my last year. I’ve won three BIIF titles and a national championship,” Goya said. “The only thing missing is a state title.”
Goya is a captain, along with Fujimoto and senior Maka Marote (fourth at 145 pounds at BIIFs), and two girls in sophomores Liann Yamamoto (first at 103) and Shamma Nakama (second at 129).
“It’s a team thing with the leadership. The captains set the pace at practice. We’ve done that since day one, and everybody else follows through,” Goya said.
He’s well aware of Waiakea’s track record. Under coach Jason Tanaka, the Warriors have built a reputation as champions of hard work.
“I know it’s five (BIIF titles) in a row. We’ve lost a lot of seniors. People think it’s a rebuilding year, but I see it as a reloading year,” Goya said. “At Waiakea, we’ve always been able to help the younger ones become successful.”
And Tanaka doesn’t need to think long to sum up Goya, his Warrior foundation piece.
“He’s a great competitor and leader,” Tanaka said.