The co-ed team from Florida International University of Miami was in town to teach a self-defense course and were taking a tour of Hollywood before heading to the airport on Sunday afternoon when they crossed paths with the carjacker at a gas station about six blocks from where he had carjacked a Nissan minutes earlier.

In that incident, police said, the carjacker punched the Nissan's driver and pulled him out of the car then drove away with the female passenger.

The carjacker pushed the woman out of the car after trying to steal her purse, police said.

The suspect apparently was trying to ditch the first vehicle and steal another when he approached one of the students, police said. He demanded money and got into a scuffle with judo student Nester Bustillo.

"We get into a little bit of a struggle and he eventually winds up jumping into, trying to take our car," Bustillo told a local TV station.

The other students piled on and subdued the suspect in a body hold until police arrived.

"They hit him a couple of times and brought him to ground," said LAPD Officer Jack Richter. "Our department does not condone or recommend that people do that in a carjacking because you never know if the carjacker is armed."