Mushindo Kempo is a form of Karate which concentrates also upon the spiritual and health giving aspects of the Chinese and Okinawan martial arts.
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Mushindo Kempo evolved from a form of the Shaolin Buddhist training originated by Bodhidharma and was associated with several Chinese Buddhist temples. It was taken to the Ryūkyū Islands by various Buddhist missionaries including the Monks Se-Ke-Ko and Chu-te-Cho and was taught as an esoteric study from sometime around the 15th century onward. It was taken to France during the 1950s by Otomo Ryoshu and from there came to Great Britain where it was practiced at first in private clubs mainly by agents of the CIA.[1] Other American servicemen also studied and took it to the United States at this time.
Early temples in this practice were named after their principal concentration, such as '5 Elements Hand' (Wushsingshou), 'Arahant Hand' (Lohanshou) and 'Hand of Intent' (I Shou). These temples generally were exclusive to members of the nobility and the royal court; only people of privilege or great talent were accepted. Any novice accepted to study at the temple was expected to learn under the same master for a period of 7 years after which time they could choose to leave and continue their lives, or stay and serve the temple.
This tradition continued when the practice spread to Europe, except that after the 7 year period, the apprentice would be accepted into the guild and allowed to practice independently or take apprentices of their own; this was most likely influenced by the guild system that permeated Europe at the time.
Unlike many other modern Karate styles, Mushindo Kempo teachers have preferred to keep a low profile and do not associate themselves with commercial teachings. It is considered by many, along with the Okinawan Akito-ryu and Jonaburu-ryu, to be one of the three forms of unchanged styles of practice which preserve the most ancient forms of Chinese meditational Kata. The teaching lineages of these 3 schools form an alternative line of the transmission of Karate teachings in Okinawa to those of teachers like Sokon Matsumura and Kanga Sakukawa. Otomo's father Gunto was a teacher of Itosu Anko.
The Mushindo school interprets the Japanese term 'Kempo' in its Buddhist sense of 'Ken,' meaning 'closed hand,' and 'Po,' meaning the 'teachings of the Buddha,' for this is what the original Chinese characters indicated in the temples.
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