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ABOUT KENPO KARATE

Kenpo Karate is an ancient martial art, and a modern martial science. Kenpo's main concern is realistic street self defense. Kenpo is designed for use by anyone regardless of size or gender. Although in the beginning self defense is Kenpo's main concern, it is also a beautiful graceful art. It is generally considered a chinese style of martial art, but has a wonderful history spanning the globe. The various accounts of Kenpo's history are often in slight disagreement, so what I will give to you is an abridged, quick, reference version.

Around 525 A.D. a Buddhist monk called Daruma traveled to china. His reasoning for going to China dealt with the state of Buddhism in China. The legends state that when Daruma was traveling, he studied the movements of five animals: the snake, leopard, crane, and the mythical dragon.

Upon his arival in China things were in a sorry state. After the fall of the Han Dynasty, the area was not very friendly and marauding bandits filled the country. The Monk found his refuge at the Shaolin Temple. While teaching the monks there, he found that they kept falling asleep during their meditation, and discovered that they were unhealthy and frail from lack of activity. So Daruma started to teach them movements. Some say they were the movements of the animals, some say they were movements from an art he had studied in India. What we do know for certain is that these movements evolved into a art which these monks used to defend themselves. Chuan fa or fist law is the chinese term encompassing many of the ancient chinese arts.

The Japanese monk Kosho, found his way to China to study the art of Chuan fa and brought it back to Japan. There he developed his system of Kenpo (the Japanese pronunciation of the characters Chuan fa), Kosho Ryu, old pine tree style. Kosho Ryu was more than a martial art: it encompassed art, literature, religion and the wartime art of Kenpo. Kosho's was passed down through the Mitose family. Early in this century, James Mitose, a Hawaiian Native was sent to his ancestrial home in Japan to study his families art. He brought it back to Hawaii. While teaching in Hawaii he passed the art to another young man named William K.S. Chow. Some say that Professor Chow had learned Hun Gar Kung Fu or some other Kung Fu style from his father, other dispute this. No one questions that Professor Chow was a street fighter and made innovations to the art to better suit it to the rough street of Hawaii Professor Chow passed on this tradition of innovation to many of his students, most famous and most important to us is Edmund K. Parker. It is Mr. Parker who brought the art of Kenpo to the mainland United States, and redefined Kenpo into his own system of American Kenpo.

Contributed by: 4th Dan Lawrence Valadez

More History of Kenpo & The Kaju Art's

There are over 300 styles of martial arts in China and they are referred to as Ch'uan Fa (Ken Fat in Cantonese), meaning "fist law". In Japanese, the Kanji for Ch'uan fa is pronounced Kem Po (spelled Kenpo). There are many styles or systems of Kenpo, as Kenpo is a generic Japanese term describing martial arts with Chinese influence. This history deals with the style of Kenpo brought to the west by James Masayoshi Mitose that would influence the direct development of systems such as American Kenpo, Tracy Kenpo, Kara Ho Kenpo, Kajukenbo, etc.

Kajukenbo History

Kajukenbo was founded in 1947 at Palamas Settlement on Oahu, Hawaii. It developed out a group calling themselves the "Black Belt Society", which consisted of black belts from various martial arts backgrounds who met to train and learn with each other. This was the beginning of an evolutionary, adaptive style designed to combine the most useful aspects of the arts.

There are five men credited as founders of Kajukenbo, and it is from their respective arts that Kajukenbo draws it's name.

KAJUKENBO: KA - JU - KEN - BO

Art:     Karate - Judo - Jujitsu - Kenpo - Chinese Boxing

Style: Tang Soo Kodokan    Se Keino   Kosho Ryu                Chu'an Fa Do Ryu Kung-Fu

Contributing:   Peter Frank, Adriano Clarence

Founder: Y.Y. Choo, Joe Holck Ordonez, Emperado Chang

Meaning:       "Long   Life "    "Happiness"   "Fist"    "Style"

Philosophical Meaning of Kajukenbo: "Through this fist style one gains long life and happiness."

Kenpo emerged as the core around which this new art was built. Although uncreditted by name, other influences included American Boxing (Choo was Hawaiian Welterweight Champion) and Escrima (Emperado also studied Kali and Arnis Escrima).

In the late 1940's, Palamas Settlement was a violent area and fist-fights or stabbings were commonplace. From this environment, the founders of Kajukenbo wanted to develop an art that would be readily usefull on the street. As they trained and fought in and around Palamas Settlement, the founders of Kajukenbo quickly gained reputations as formidable street-fighters. In 1950, Adriano Emperado, along with brother Joe Emperado, began teaching the new art in an open class. They called the school Kajukenbo Self Defense Institute (K.S.D.I.).

The emphasis during training was on realism - so much so that students routinely broke bones, fainted from exhaustion, or were knocked unconcious. Nevertheless, the reputation of this tough new art drew more students and Emperado opened a second school at the nearby Kaimuki YMCA. Soon Emperado had 12 Kajukenbo schools in Hawaii, making it the second largest string of schools at the time. John Leoning, who earned a black belt from Emperado, brought Kajukenbo to the mainland in 1958. Since that time, Kajukenbo has continued to flourish and grow.

From it's beginnings, Kajukenbo was an ecclectic and adaptive art. As time has passed, Kajukenbo has continued to change and evolve. Currently, there are four distinct, "recognized" branches of Kajukenbo: Kenpo ("Emperado Method" or "Traditional Hard Style"), Tum Pai, Chu'an Fa, and Wun Hop Kuen Do. In addition, there are numerous "unrecognized" branches, including CHA-3 and Gaylord Method. While this may be confusing for an outsider, it is the essence of the art. Students are not required to mimic the teacher, but are encouraged to develop their own "expression" of the art.

Recommended Reading

Kajukenbo: Truly American, by Curt Dye

What is Kajukenbo?, by Jeff Cirillo

Kajukenbo Kempo, by Mark Urbin

Contributed by: Kajukenbo Martial Arts Community

Like other systems of martial arts, the history of the Kenpo system brought by James M. Mitose is shrouded in mystery and confusion.

Origins

One story states that around 1235, at the Shaka-In Temple, Mount Kinkai, Kumamoto, Japan, Kenpo as we know it today was first developed. This art was a combination of Shaolin Kung-fu (Ch'uan-fa), brought by a monk fleeing China who sought refuge with the Yoshida family (clan), and the family's art, which was similar to Aiki-Jujutsu. They named their system Kosho-ryu (Old Pine Tree Style). Kosho-ryu consists of instruction in philosophy, human anatomy, kendo, kyudo, ikebana, suiei, tree-climbing, horsemanship, weapons, and hand to hand combat.

Another version states that James Masayoshi Mitose himself created the Kosho-ryu name/style, as there are no direct links to a previous family art of the same name. He came up with the style after he had studied for some time under Choki Motobu and studying Koga-ryu Ninjutsu and Sato-ryu kempo under Seiko Fujita. (The Motobu family style can be called Shuri Te, Shuri-ryu, Shorei-ryu, or Motobu-ryu). Motobu ended up becoming Mitose's uncle through marriage.

So which version is true?

Here are some problems with the history of Kosho-ryu:

One thing I have found out for fact is: Kosho-ryu can not date back to 1235 CE. The ryuha pattern of organizing training and training principles originated in the 1400s. There are no verified documents referring to bugei ryuha in the 13th century. The majority of the ryuha that claim pre-15th century origins, in fact, can be traced back only to the 18th, 19th, or 20th centuries.

The Bugei Ryuha Daijiten written by Watatani Kiyoshi and Yamada Tadashi that list all the ryu of Japan ( which usually errs on the side of over-inclusion ) lists a Kosho-ryu (written "old pine tree") and identifies it as a karate system, but doesn't say anything else about it. Which usually indicates that the editors either couldn't find any information other than the name or dismissed whatever information the school itself provided as completely fantastic.

James Mitose was supposed to be the 21st generation descendant of the founder. The Katori Shinto-ryu is the oldest proven ryu, founded in the 1400s, and they are only on the 20th headmaster (with Maniwa Nen-ryu possibly being older).

Although, it is possible they founded the style back in 1235 but didn't organize it into a ryu until later. This is true of other ryu. That would explain a lot of things, including the generation gap.

The only Chinese, Shaolin-type influence I have heard of ( aside from Okinawa ) is actually from the Edo period (fairly recent in Budo terms) and related to Kito-ryu or Yoshin-ryu jujutsu. Also the mixture of arts in Kosho-ryu seems kind of odd. It definitely deviates from the traditional "Bugei Juhappan" (18 arts of bugei): sword, iai, bo, jujutsu, etc., unless it was passed on in a REALLY important and rich family, and if that was the case, the ryu would be well documented.

There has been much speculation about the relationship between James Mitose and Choki Motobu, going so far as to question that there even was a relationship.

Did Mitose learn from Motobu?

1. They were both in Japan from 1921-1936.

2. Choki Motobu was James Mitose's uncle through marriage.

3. According to John LaTourette, in his book Secrets of Kenpo Karate, both Motobu and Mitose used the same family crest (which is pictured at the top of this page).

4. They both emphasized Makiwara use (an Okinawan method, neither Japanese nor Chinese).

5. Mitose gave Motobu a prominent picture and credit as a master of Karate-Kenpo in his first book, What is Self-Defense? Kenpo Jiu-jitsu.

So which story is true?

I leave it up to you to make your own decisions on the history of Kenpo, but it should not affect the way you feel about your art! Kenpo today is still one of the best forms of self-defense available, regardless of its origins.

Note: Kenpo is pronounced KeM-po in Japanese

Ch'uan fa in Mandarin

Ken fat in Cantonese

Ko      Old

Sho    Pine Tree

Ryu    Style or School

Kem   Fist or Ch'uan (Chinese)

Po      Law or Fa (Chinese)

It is also interesting to note that what we now refer to as Kenpo Karate (using the Kanji characters which are found on most Kenpo organizations' crests-see figure 1) does not mean "Law of the Fist and Empty Hand." It actually means "Law of the Fist and China Hand."

When we (meaning the Kenpo community) spell Karate, we use the original form of Kanji for writing "Kara." (see figure 2) Not the character which is now used by the Japanese/Okinawans (see figure 3). The Okinawans changed the Chinese character for "Kara" in 1923 to the new one which would mean "empty." They felt the art that they now practiced was more Japanese/Okinawan then what they had brought from China and mixed with their Bushi No Te (Warrior's Hands) or Okinawan-Te. It was no longer Chinese; it was now a new style.

If you would like to learn more about this and the history of Okinawan-Te, I highly recommend Patrick McCarthy's book "Ancient Okinawan Martial Arts: Koryu Uchinadai Vol.2" and his site, the International Ryukyu Karate Research Society.

Also note that there are those who practice martial arts in Okinawa who still refuse to use the new character; they still use the one which means China/Chinese.

To recap, the word Kara-te can have two different meanings, reflecting the word's history. When written in its original form, Kara means "China" (or T'ang--pronounced "tong"--referring to the T'ang Dynasty). In the second meaning, which is more commonly used now, Kara means "Empty." Thus, Karate became "Empty Hand." Note that Kara is pronounced the same regardless of which character is used.

Japanese

(Modern)       Kenpo Kara-te

Original

Japanese     Kenpo Kara-te or

Character     Kenpo Toudi

Chinese        Ch'uan-fa

Mandarin      T'ang-Shou

English          Fist Law China Hand or

                       Law of the Fist and China (Chinese) Hand

Contributor: Unknown/ Kenpo Martial Arts Community

Kajufenfu Budo Kai Kan Kenpo Karate

The history of Kajukenfu is sketchy at most and was the dream of the late Professor Harold Laranang Kajkenfu's founder. As a youth growing up in Hawaii Professor Laranang studied Kajukenbo from Grand Master Adriano Emerado and primarily from Professor Simeon Eli. Not much is known about Professor Eli. GM Emperado however, is one of the founders of Kajukenbo which was started by five martial arists from the Palmaro district of Oaho, Hawaii. The five founders formed a society known as the Black Belt Society and began their art. Once again history is hazy on who and where Professor Laranang received his first black belt.

When I met Professor Laranang he was a second degree black belt, teaching at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. I had just completed the 25th Infantry Division's Tae Kwon Do program when I met him. I joined his club and thought it to be unique. I had already been trained in Wing Chun Kung Fu, Judo, and Jujistu. I rounded it off with a Brown Belt (now red belt) in Tae Kwon Do Sensei Laranang thought I would have something to give to Kajukenfu so he started me out as a brown belt in his system. Sensei Laranang never really told me what he had studied so I never really knew. We began training and instructing at the Training Command Center on Schofield. We had little problems during that time period, for instance, what language would be used. We were using Chinese, Japanese, and of course English. At times we couldn't agree on some of the techniques, etc. I will always remember Sensei Laranang saying, "If it works let's use it." So he was open for new things.

The instruction was ad hoc and the system was under development. We tried new things all the time and wrote the techniques in a binder. Sensei Laranang was big on using a chalkboard. I received my black belt from him during my first year. He gave me a card that said Kajukenfu Budo Kai Khan Karate with the ranking of black belt. It was a total surprise to me, he informed me that as soon as he could he would make up a certificate with my belt ranking. I continued with him off and on for another year. We tested new techniques and wrote them down. He practiced a lot on me. Occasionally when he couldn't show up for class I would teach his class wich was made up of mostly military and their dependents. As time went on Sensei Laranang kept his promise and gave me two certificates. My first black belt ranking with a promotion certificate of 1st degree. Once again it caught me off guard. During the early 70's there were two others who were doing the same thing with Sensei Laranang Stanley Wilder (Brown belt Tae Kwon Do) and Ricky Cordova (can' t remember his ranking). We all eventually went separate ways. Military transfer's and such. I never heard what happened to Wilder, but heard that Cordova had obtained a black belt ranking and was teaching somewhere in California (this was in the 80's).

I had kept out of contact with Kajukenfu I went on to fight in semi-professional open-freestyle tournaments. I had to learn my capabilities. I found out early on that some of our techniques didn't work when applied in the arena. During the course of time I improvised the techniques and applied them in my everyday training continuing on with Laranang's philosophy of "If it works let's use it." I kept up with the training over the years mostly off and on, passing some of the techniques to others I have instructed.

In the late 90's I decided that I should pass on what I learned over a 30 year span, so I began my quest to find out what happened to the Kajukenfu community. I had lost my original certifications of black belt, and 1st degree so the quest was on.

Through internet relations with other martial artists I was able to get in contact with Sensei Laranang's daughter Ailina. The history of Kajukenfu got mysterious and confusing.

What does Kajukenfu mean?

Kajukenfu's primary style is that of Karate, Judo, Kenpo, and Kung Fu. Over the years influences from Aikido, Jujitsu, and Tae Kwon Do were introduced to the art.

The term Kajukenfu is broken down into the following:

KA = Long LifeJU = HappinessKEN = FistFU = Style

The other accepted term is:

KA = KarateJU = Judo or JujitsuKEN = KenpoFU = Kung Fu

Kenpo literally means: Fist Style. However an accepted term is the "law of the fist."

The Kajukenfu Creed

Although, many of the Kajukenfu sister schools have there own creeds the creed used at the main dojo is:

The fundamental principles of Kajukenfu Budo Kai Kan Kenpo Karate are:

1. The preservation of human rights vested in us by God and country.

2. The insurance of peace and order, and the promotion of mankind.

3. The innermost and true spirit of Kenpo lies in humility and self-                      restraint.

4. Learn the ways to preserve rather than check, check rather than hurt,

5. Hurt rather than maim, maim rather than kill.

6. For life is precious nor can be replaced.

Contributed by: The Kajukenfu Board of Regents

Keane - Do Kenpo Karate

Keane - Do Kenpo was officially certified a system in March 2000. The system was developed over a span of 30 years by: Shihan James M. Keane. Shihan Keane believed in developing Self Defense forms that could be applied at anytime during an attack. Shihani Keane further believed in teaching: The art, the function of the art, and the application of the art. Keane-Do Kenpo is a combination of various arts and techniques. It is a melding of Kenpo, KajuKenbo and KajuKenfu.   Shihan Keane is a: 4th Dan in Kenpo, Yodan and founder of Keane Do Kenpo, 1st Dan in Kajukenfu Budo Kai Kan Kenpo.

Keane Do Kenpo Creed

We of Keane Do Kenpo, will always work on our belief's and faith.

We will show respect to our elders, teacher's, art, and Dojo.

We will demonstrate compassion and pure intentions to others.

We will always Train Hard

Keane Do Kenpo