Kempo and Goju Ryu
b...@waikato.ac.nz
I've been studying Goju Ryu for a little over a year now, but one historical
point still eludes me: What exactly _IS_ Kempo? Traditional Karate-do is a
blend of Okinawan Te and Chinese Kempo. My understanding of Chinese martial
arts is limited to Kung Fu, so where does Kempo fit in? Morio Higaonna Sensei
seems to be of the opinion that Goju Ryu and Wu Shu (Kung Fu?) have
similariteis, so does that mean Kempo and Wu Shu are similar? I've also heard
of Okinawan Kempo - where does _this_ fit in? Any help appreciated, especially
if you can qualify it (experience, book references).
Cheers
--
Bruce
b...@waikato.ac.nz
Caroline Brossi
Here is what I know:
Kempo or kenpo or Gunpo mean "way of the fist". It is one of the
few MA which migrated directly from China to Japan (and DIDN'T go
through Korea). James Mitosi is considered the father of Kempo.
He studied "Koshu ryu Gunpo" at his families dojo in Japan,
this style has extremely strong roots in Jiu Jitsu. His family moved
to Hawaii, where he trained and succeeded 5 black belt students.
At one point, one of his students killed a man (over money), and
Mitosi, being the type of person he was, took the blame and ended
up in jail (you have to remember that in the 60's the word "master"
had more of a cult/Charles Manson association attached to it).
Where he spent years. A student, Bruce Juchnick had heard about
Mitosi and sought him out. Bruce studied with Mitosi for the remainder
of his life in prison.
I have studied for a decade in the Villari system, learning
Shaolin Kempo - which is primarily northern chinese boxing.
As well, I have studied about 6 years in Shorinji-ryu, Aikido
and Aiki Jiu Jitsu. So I have a nontrivial amount of years
invested. I have been to a number of Hanshi Juchnik's seminars,
and if you really want to learn about Kempo, he is a wonderfully
humble and learned man.
On the chinese end of kempo - the name "kempo" is similar to "karate"
in that it implies a type of fighting art. It distinguishes the
external arts from the internal arts. The styles that claim to
be kempo oriented tend to work with concepts such as
"skeletal freezing", close in fighting, joint manipulation,
low kicks and reaps, narrow stances, open hand strikes, fluid
effortless movement. It's actually one of the most vicious
fighting techniques I have seen.
I have seen that Hanshi has a video tape in which he discusses the
history of Kempo. You might want to check this out if you are
really serious. I have seen this advertised in some of the more
popular MA mags.
Caroline
==== Caroline Brossi ======================== c...@mathworks.com ===
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24 Prime Park Way, Natick, MA 01760
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"Never argue with a fool, for he may be doing the same thing."
- Bruce Juchnick
Mark Urbin
Kempo translates as `Fist Law'. In one of the early books of `Japanese
Karate', the art was called Kempo. The following paragraph is from the
Kempo FAQ posted on this news group.
In 1934, before Mitose's return to the United States, the term
Kempo-Karate was first used. In an issue of Yoen Jiho Sha newspaper an
advertising for the visit of Chogun Miyagi, afamous karateka and founder
of Goju ryu karate do, to the island of Hawaii. The use of the two terms
is under speculation. Some suspect it was simply an advertising scheme
while others believe that Chogun Miyagi's Goju ryu was actually a pure
form of Kempo, and that the term karate was simply more well known.
Most Kempo you see here in the states is decended from Kosho-Ryu Kempo as
taught by GGM James Mitose in Hawaii in the 1940's and 1950's. James
Mitose learned his Kempo from his uncle in Japan. Mitose's Kempo was
"blended" with Chinese Gung-Fu by William Chow. Mr. Chow was a senior
student of Mitose and the teacher of Edmund Parker. Mr. Parker brought
Kenpo to the contigous 48 states.
Two good reference books are `What is Self-Defense: Kempo Ju-Jitsu' by
Great-Grand Master James Mitose, and `Infinate Insights in to Kenpo:
Volume 1' by Grandmaster Edmund Parker.
--
Mark Urbin -- ecl...@world.std.com -- These opinions are mine.
"We can't be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary
Americans.." -- President William Jefferson Clinton,USA TODAY 11 Mar 93
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John Richard Thomas
>Karate', the art was called Kempo. The following paragraph is from the
>Kempo FAQ posted on this news group.
Could someone please post the Kempo FAQ. I would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks in advanced.
-John R. Thomas
joth...@brahms.udel.edu
Steve Gombosi
>I've been studying Goju Ryu for a little over a year now, but one historical
>point still eludes me: What exactly _IS_ Kempo?
"Kempo" or "kenpo" is the Japanese reading of the Chinese characters for
Ch'uan Fa. A literal translation would be:
Ken == fist (this is the same "ken" as in "uraken")
Ho (which changes to "po" because of a phonetic shift) = "law", "rule",
or "method".
Kempo is a generic term used to describe fighting systems which rely on
hitting. Thus, in the early days, Karate was often referred to as
"Okinawa Kempo" or "Ryukyu Kempo" (indeed, Gichin Funakoshi's first book
on the subject was entitled _Ryukyu_Kempo:_Karate_). Used by itself,
"Kempo" often implies "Chinese Kempo", since the percussive fighting arts
of China are justly famous.
The old use of the terms "Okinawa Kempo" and "Ryukyu Kempo" should not
be confused with the modern Karate styles by those names, the former
founded by Shigeru Nakamura (1892-1969), the latter by Nakamura's student,
Seiyu Oyata.
In the United States, the terms "kenpo" and "kempo" often indicate
fighting systems descended from the Kosho-ryu Kempo taught by the late
Rev. James Mitose. The term kenpo was, I believe, trademarked in the
U.S. by the late Ed Parker, who traces his lineage back to Mitose.
There *is* a kempo/kenpo FAQ posted to this group every so often. If
you're really curious, you should watch for it.
Steve
Howard High
> >
> Kempo or kenpo or Gunpo mean "way of the fist". It is one of the
> few MA which migrated directly from China to Japan (and DIDN'T go
Kempo is a generic japanese word for "fist way" or "law of fist". The
Chinese equivalent is Chuan Fa. There are not only the Kempo mentioned
above, but also there are Kempo from Okinawa. Mitose may be considered
the father of Kempo to some people, but definitely not the father of ALL
Kempo.
> On the chinese end of kempo - the name "kempo" is similar to "karate"
Karate is not similar to kempo, but rather IS kempo. Shotokan and Goju
are Kempo. Gichin Funakoshi, considered the founder of the Shotokan style
of karate, wrote a book in the 1920s that was titled, _Ryukyu Kempo:
Karate_. Also, in the book, _An Outline of Karate-Do_, Chojun Miyagi
(founder of Goju Ryu), described his system as Goju Ryu Karate Kempo.
> in that it implies a type of fighting art. It distinguishes the
> external arts from the internal arts. The styles that claim to
> be kempo oriented tend to work with concepts such as
> "skeletal freezing", close in fighting, joint manipulation,
> low kicks and reaps, narrow stances, open hand strikes, fluid
> effortless movement. It's actually one of the most vicious
> fighting techniques I have seen.
These concepts are found in many, if not most or all, of the martial arts.
> I have seen that Hanshi has a video tape in which he discusses the
> history of Kempo. You might want to check this out if you are
> really serious. I have seen this advertised in some of the more
> popular MA mags.
If you're REALLY serious, stay away from the popular MA rags. Those
magazines emphasize too much sensationalism and do not place importance on
fact. I recommend that you go to the source documents. There is also a
very good scholarly publication about the martial arts: Journal of Asian
Martial Arts.
Howard High