Kajukenbo |
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Kajukenbo is a fighting system that uses strikes, takedowns, and joint breaks to subdue opponents. It was started in 1947 in the Palama Settlement of Honolulu, Hawaii by Adriano Emperado, Peter Choo, Joseph Holck, Frank Ordonez, and Clarance Chang. They called themselves the Black Belt Society, and worked for two years to create the system, which has elements of Kempo, Tang Soo Do, Judo, Ju-Jitsu, and Chuan Fa Gung Fu. Several styles of Kajukenbo exist today as a result of the directions taken by the founding members and their students. Our style is known as the Emperado Method, a hard style that has been taught by Professor Emperado since its inception. This style has a strong Kempo component, full contact training, and tough body conditioning, as well as a blend of the internals. History: Early in the history of Chinese civilization the Emperor Huang Ti (2700 B.C.) documented in his book on internal medicine, the Nei Ching, a belief in the relationship between the two principles of nature, Yin and Yang, and their effect on the life force Qi. Later, around 500 B.C., a court librarian named Lao Tse expounded on the philosophy of Taoism and the chemistries of nature, namely the ideas of Yin-Yang and the "Five Agents" of the universe: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. These early philosophies were a constant theme in the development of Chinese fighting systems and are present today in martial arts of Asian origin. The early history of Chinese fighting arts probably dates to around 220 A.D., when a physician named Hua T'o devised a set of exercises based on the tiger, deer, monkey, bear, and bird. It was called Five Animals Play. Three centuries later, during the Li'ang dynasty, Bodhidharma, an Indian Buddhist monk travelling in China to preach Buddhism, formulated 18 calisthenic movements which he taught to the monks of the Shao Lin monastery in Hunan. The movements were called the Lohan 18 Hand Movements, Lohan meaning wise religious man. It was also called the 18 Palms of Buddha and was later documented in the Yi Gin Ching (classic muscle change) as a muscle tension exercise. These 18 movements were later expanded to 72 by Shao Lin monk Ch'uan Yuan, and then later into 170 with the involvement of Li Sou and Pai Yu-Feng. A classification into five distinct attributes were also made. These attributes were Tiger, Leopard, Crane, Dragon, and Snake. They formed the basis for the Shao Lin Ch'uan Fa, or Five Forms Fist method of fighting, also known as the Law of the Fist. Ch'uan Fa was popular and flourished as a fighting system. It was practiced throughout most of China and spread to neighboring territories, particularly Japan and Okinawa, where it had significant influence. Okinawa-te, an Okinawan empty-hand battle style, incorporated Ch'uan Fa's fluid techniques, including the animal forms. The Kara-te that was practiced in Japan was ideographed to mean the Art of Chinese Hands, a tribute to its underpinnings. Similar homage was paid in Korea where Tang Soo Do can be translated to mean The Way of Chinese Hands. Kajukenbo has its roots in Ch'uan Fa. Adriano Emperado was a student of William Chow, who in turn was a student of James Mitose. Mitose taught a form of Jujitsu he called Kempo Jujitsu. Mitose's primary training was in Kosho Ryu Kempo, which traces to the Kosho-Shorei temple which incorporated Kosho-Ryu Kempo as its battle system. Kosho-Ryu Kempo was later called Kosho-Shorei Kempo and is popularly known as the Old Pine Tree system of Kempo Karate. Kosho Ryu Kempo was started by a Japanese priest named Kosho who met a Shao Lin monk who had fled China during the Gengis Khan campaign. Kosho incorporated what he learned from the monk into his own system, rectangularizing the footwork and linearizing the circular movements. William Chow studied Ch'uan Fa as a boy and Kempo as an adult under Mitose. After he started his own school, he began to blend back in the circular movements of the Shao Lin Ch'uan Fa that were missing in Mitose's Kempo. He believed that the combination of the Chinese circle with the Japanese straight line made for a more potent system. He called his system Kenpo Karate. He was a believer in hard contact training and it is possible that Emperado saw the merits of this form of practice early on while he was a student of Chow's. Emperado's training under Chow and Mitose put him in the unique position to compare the relative virtues of two important systems. Mitose and Chow were considered to be of the hard style. Emperado's method of Kajukenbo is considered a hard style. In 1965 Ch'uan Fa was officially recognized by Emperado, adding a soft style to the Kajukenbo circle. Wun Hop Kuen Do (Al Dacascas) was recognized in 1969, Kajukenbo--Emerging Center (Joseph Clarke) in 1975, Northern Kajukenbo Tum Pai (Jon Loren) in 1977, and Northern Tum Pai (Jon Loren) in 1979. |
