Kenpō

"Kempo" redirects here. For Japanese era, see Kempo (era).
Kenpō

Japanese men and women practicing kenpo, circa 1955.

Japanese men and women practicing kenpo, circa 1955.
Also known as Kempo
Focus Striking
Country of origin China China/Japan Japan
Creator Unknown
Kenpō
Chinese name
Chinese 拳法
Japanese name
Kanji 拳法
Hiragana けんぽう

Kenpō (拳法) is the name of several Japanese martial arts.

Characteristics

Kenpo is firmly undogmatic, and as such its techniques vary depending upon the preference of the practitioner and the instructor. However, certain characteristics are common to nearly all forms of kenpo.

Japanese Kenpo

Main article: Shorinji Kempo

Okinawan Kenpo

Some Okinawan martial arts groups use the term kenpō as an alternate name for their karate systems or for a distinct but related art within their association. This can be illustrated by the official full name of Motobu-ryu style named as "Nihon Denryu Heiho Motobu Kenpo" ("Japan's traditional tactics Motobu Kenpo") and by the International Shorin-ryu Karate Kobudo Federation,[1] where Shōrin-ryū is the actual karate style practiced, whereas "hakutsuru kenpo", or "hakutsuru kenpo karate" is a related but distinctive style also taught by the association. Both the "n" and "m" romanizations are used by various groups.

Hawaiian Kenpo

Kenpo has also been appropriated as a modern term: a name for multiple martial arts that developed in Hawaii due to cross-cultural exchange between practitioners of Okinawan martial arts, Chinese martial arts, Filipino martial arts, Japanese martial arts and multiple additional influences.[2] In the United States, kenpo is often referred to as Kenpo Karate. The most widespread styles have their origin in the teachings of James Mitose and William Kwai Sun Chow. Mitose spent most of his early years training in Japan learning his family style, Kosho-Ryū (Old pine tree school). James Mitose would later bring that style to Hawaii where he would teach Chow, who would go on to instruct Ed Parker and Bobby Lowe. The system of kenpo taught by Mitose employed hard linear strikes and kicks, pressure point manipulation, circular movement patterns, and joint locking and breaking.

Parker is the most prominent name in the Mitose lineage. A student of Chow in Hawaii for nearly six months, Parker moved to the US mainland to attend Brigham Young University. In 1957, he began teaching the kenpo that he had learned from Chow, and throughout his life modified and refined the art until it became Ed Parker's American Kenpo.[3] It employs a blend of circular movements and hard linear movements. Parker created techniques with names such as Thundering Hammers, Five Swords, Prance Of The Tiger, and Flashing Mace to provide a memorisation tool to the student.

These arts have spread around the world through multiple lineages, not all of which agree on a common historical narrative.

See also

References

  1. "ISKKF". Worldbudokan.com. Retrieved 2014-02-17.
  2. Rathbone, Jim. "James Mitose and the Path of Kenpo" 2006 White Tiger Productions.
  3. "Kenpo Karate Setting History Right 1960-1962". Kenpokarate.com. Retrieved 2014-02-17.

External links

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