B.j. Penn

Penn was born in Hawaii to Jay Dee Penn, who is of Irish American descent, and Lorraine Shin, who is of Korean and Hawaiian descent. At the age of 17, Penn began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu after being introduced to it by his neighbor, Tom Callos. Callos had put up fliers in local gyms looking for people to train with, and B.J.'s father Jay Dee Penn had called Callos and said his boys were interested. Callos then taught B.J. and his brother what he knew. Shortly thereafter, B.J. moved to San Jose, California, to begin training at the Ralph Gracie BJJ academy with Dave Camarillo, with whom he lived and became close friends. It was here during his time in San Jose that he decided to pursue a martial arts career.