Robert Yamashita
Robert Yamashita - Elite-MMA Instructor
Birth place: Riverside, California
Profession: Martial arts Instructor
What classes do you teach: Kids karate, Kids/Teens BJJ, adult BJJ, MMA
What martial art(s) have trained in:
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu – 2005-present
Okinawan Goju Ryu – 1996-present
American freestyle karate – 1993-1996
Kickboxing – 2000-present
What classes do you teach: BJJ Adults: men’s and women’s, Kids BJJ, No-Gi BJJ, Thai Boxing for MMA, Adult MMA, Teen MMA, Personal Fitness, Conditioning, and Personal Self-Defense
Number of years of training martial arts: I started karate when I was nine at my step father’s dojo and I have been training ever since. He found out about BJJ in 2004 from some friends and when he started to roll I started to roll.
When did you start teaching at Elite MMA? Elite bought tks martial arts in Baytown in 2008. I had been teaching solely at the facility and am now a part of Elite MMA.
What is a memorable moment for you at Elite MMA? Every time I get to help promote our bjj kids is pretty memorable. They are very enthused when they move up a rank and I know that I had a part in that.
In your own words why do you enjoy Elite MMA? Elite is where I want to be all the time. Whether it’s cleaning the place up or running errands or teaching a class. I just love to be up there with all my friends. They are pretty much my second family.
Do you have any martial arts accomplishments that you are proud of and why? Every time I compete and win I feel like I am proud to train with everybody at Elite. They help get me to a level that I couldn’t reach by myself. And I am very thankful of everyone there.
Any sports/activities that you participated in that you are proud of? I played football and basketball when I was in junior high but by high school I focused solely on karate.
What hobbies do you enjoy and why? I love spending time with my wife, Marisol and our family. I also like to hang out with the guys from the gym whenever I can. See a movie or heading out to the malls.
Any memorable family moments that you would like to share? I met my wife at Elite. We got married august 2010 in Las Vegas. I competed at the Las Vegas open and got married the next day. I thought it would be super stressful trying to fit everything in but it turned into the best time of my life so far. Lots of memories with family and close friends.
Academic accomplishments: Associates degree in health science-radiologic technology
If you could walk us through a day or week in your life what would it consist of? Just a day in my life would probably consist of waking up around 5-6am go to the hospital and work in surgical cases until about 3..get off and go home to change and pick up my gi say hi to my wife and be at Elite MMA by about 430 and instruct until 9..go home, eat, shower and sleep.
