Hawaii Martial Arts Expo

is the first museum in America devoted to the history of martial arts. Its goal is to inform visitors about martial arts' influence on Asian art, history, culture and tradition. It is located in Burbank, California.

History[edit]

The Martial Arts History Museum opened in 1999. However, the concept of the museum first began in the late 1980s. Pitched to Douglas Wong and Carrie Ogawa-Wong, it was an idea that they both supported.

The museum was started by Michael Matsuda, a 20-year contributing editor for Inside Kung fu and Black Belt magazine and one-time founder of Martial Art Magazine. He is a master of Monkey Kung Fu, and has been practicing various martial arts forms since 1968.

The Martial Arts History Museum first began as an internet site, but later began hosting Hall of Fame ceremonies. Becoming a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, the museum took to the road as a traveling exhibit and traveled from as far South as San Diego to as far North as New Jersey. After six years of attending expos, anime festivals, martial arts tournaments, Asian shows, etc., the museum opened its doors at a brick and mortar location in the city of Santa Clarita in 2006. In 2010, the museum relocated to the city of Burbank, CA and reopened its doors to the public on June 25, 2011.

Exhibits[edit]

The Martial Arts History Museum has displays covering a wide variety of martial arts and the countries from which each evolved. There are displays relating to kung fu, samurai, ninja, karate, judo, Hawaiian Lua, Filipino kali and Thailand’s Muay Thai including the weaponry used in each discipline.

The museum, however, does not just limit itself to various forms of weaponry, it provides a unique display on Korean fans, Thailand drums, Chinese lion heads, martial arts movie props and more. A self-guided tour, each section contains a fun video highlighting the impact of Asian culture and American history.