THIS PAGE IS UNDER CONSTANT CONSTRUCTION AND IS CONSTANTLY BEING UPDATED AS MORE INFO BECOMES AVAILABLE!

THIS HISTORY IS BASED ON MY DIVERSE MARTIAL ARTS LIBRARY OF MARTIAL ARTS BOOKS/MAGAZINE ARTICLES/VIDEO INTERVIEWS AS WELL AS CONVERSATIONS WITH VARIOUS KEMPO/KENPO LUMINARIES.

The term "CHUAN FA" in the Mandarin Chinese pronunciation of "THE LAW OF THE FIST"[FIST+LAW]{the Cantonese pronunciation is"Kune Fat" or "ken Fat"}, the Okinawan pronunciation of the phrase is "KENPO"[KEN-FIST+PO-LAW] NOTE:There are those who will say that the Okinawans speak Japanese. That is incorrect. The Okinawan people speak a dialect of Japanese as well their own toungue. A good analogy would be to compare it to classical Spanish to Puerto Rican dialect.EXAMPLE: "YO ME LLAMO"[YAMO] IS PRONOUNCED"JO ME JAMO" in the Puerto Rican toungue. The Japanese pronounce the phrase "KEMPO"[KEN-FIST+PO-LAW](HOWEVER because of Japanese syntax the "n" in "Ken" is changed into a "M"]{NOTE:From Hanshi Bruce Juchnik; "Kempo is also a term that refers to the legal constitution of Japan"}

CHINA(CHUNG KUO)

There are other websites that address the history of Chinese Martial Arts. So, I will adress the Chinese Martial Arts as they relate to CHUAN FA. CHUAN FA is the Chinese term that refers to "Fist Fighting". There are far more decorative terms that could be used. Such as WU SHU[MARTIAL ARTS],CHUAN SHU[FIST ARTS]or KUO SHU[NATIONAL ARTS]{A term popular in Taiwan}, so why CHUAN FA? Simply because it's an accurate term for a simple sfreet fight! The term is used for basic self defense oriented confrontations. As a matter of fact, the term "KEN FAT" is used in Canton & Hong Kong to describe WESTERN BOXING!

The First chinese figure that is refered to in the history of Chuan Fa is Ta Mo [Bodhiharma], the founder of the Chan(Chin.)[Zen(Jap.)]sect of buddhism, who was originally an Hindu indian warrior-prince who converted to Buddhism and relinquished his royal lineage and his violent path. He travelled through Asia, ending in China, where he had religeous discussions with Emperor Wu. Emperor Wu had built several Buddhist temples in China and asked Ta Mo

According to legend; when to Mongols overran China, KUBLAI KHAN made an edict to put all Han soldiers of the Ming Dynasty be put to death. However, he also gave an edict that would create a looppole to save many of the Chinese soldiers. The edict stated that all religions could florish within the confines of China and that all holymen were sacred and could not be executed! So the many Ming Patriots joined religious orders to avoid execution and to foster the seeds of revolution. One major focal point in the history of Chuan Fa was the SHAOLIN TEMPLE[SHAO-SMALL,LITTLE LIN-FOREST].

The Shaolin monastery,located on Mt.Ssu in the province of Honan, was a Buddhist temple of the Chan[Zen(J.)]sect. However, many times in it's illustrious history, the martial monks of Shaolin had aided the emperor in times of need. So the temple gladly accepted the Ming Patriots as "Unshaved Monks". That meant that the soldiers did not have to engage in the traditional shaving of their heads or the burning of the incense marks upon their foreheads[see our "Shaolin History" webpage coming soon!]. Most of these soldiers had more than basic skills in the martial arts,because martial arts skills were a requirement of advancement in the military. However, they did not have the 20 or more years that went into becoming a fully indoctrinated shaolin priest. So the monks taught the soldiers the rudiments of the various disciplines of the Shaolin System. They taught them "Chuan Fa".

With the spread of Chuan Fa by the Ming Patiots to the masses for the reason of revolution, the art eventually made it's way to the second inportant point in kenpo's martial journey; The Ryukyu Islands, also known as Okinawa!

OKINAWA[RYUKYU ISLANDS]

The Ryukyu Islands also known as Okinawa is a strategic location in relation to the rest of the orient. Placed between China, Japan and Korea, Okinawa is the perfect stepping stone for mercantile aims,religeous conversions or invasion! Over the Centuries, it's been used for many purposes.

The Ryukyu Islands had been influenced by the Chinese Martial Arts due to Buddhist, Taoist, and Shintoist monks,priests and nuns who came to perpectuate their given philosophies. Soldjiers from the various nations also brought their military skills to the island chain as well. There were many masters who learned the Chinese Skills of Chuan Fa, and others who learned the Japanese Martial Arts from the japanese invaders that would take over the islands of Okinawa. There was a ban on the practice of all martial arts and on the possession and use of weaponry. So the martial arts were practiced in secret, and the Okinawans refered to their arts as "TE" or "TODE"

Many Okinawan Masters have refered to their art as Kenpo or Kempo, and the basic understanding of the "Law of the fist" is a Chinese influenced art,[NOTE: originally,"KARATE" was a reference to the "china hand" {Korean: Tang Soo, Chinese(mandarin):Tang shou} that was incorporated into the Okinawan native arts and the Japanese influence as well. Unfortunately, with the Japanese takeover of the ryukyu islands, All Okinawans were forced to learn the Japanese language and all okinawan arts were outlawed. Only Japanese Martial arts were allowed. However in the early part of the twentieth century, the okinawan martial arts were allowed to be taught once again.

JAPAN

Many Okinawan masters brought their arts of "Kenpo" to the island of the rising sun. The Japanese, seeing the okinawan calligraphy of the chinese charaters, pronounced the art "KEMPO"! "...There grew organized methods of what was later became known as ATEMI{striking [J.]},the methods for assaulting the weak points (Kyusho) of the enemy's body. They were one of the bases for the original "empty-hand" combat systems that came to be classified as Ju Jutsu [note: this may explain why James Mitose refered to his art as Kempo JuJutsu ] Atemi had been an inportant part of Sumai and combat Sumo, later equally important in Jujutsu. The systematic study of Atemi was relatively late in Japan, not being carried out until the beginning of the Edo period (1600). there are several reasons that Japanese Atemi Tactics lagged behind the more advanced systems of China and the Chinese influenced fighting systems of Korea and Okinawa [note: notice how the authors consider the Okinawan influence more advanced to the Japanese at that time.] Atemi as part of the Chuan Fa [KEMPO {J.}] (Fist Method) systems of China, was pioneered and developed early by military men. It's development predates Japanese social structure. Chuan Fa, however, in it's final development was largely the products of exertions of non-military men seeking a means by which they could stand up to the authority of an oppresive government or that imposed by foriegn powers. Chuan Fa[KEMPO] became a symbol of a search for self expression, a sign of internal unrest. Chinese warriors,low in the national social strata, armed with various weapons and expert in their use, had no need for empty hand chuan fa. In the face of foriegn military methods, Chuan Fa was not functional; however, it continued to be developed by monks and commoners. In Japan, on the contrary, society was led by the aristocratic warrior class, a group with the exclusive right to posess weapons. Atemi was restricted to the warrior class. originally the warrior had a great need for it, but in time, as weapons reduced it's effect, Atemi became less important. With less need, Atemi had no one cause to push it's development as had been the case in China. Thus the technical magnitude and development of atemi was considerably less than what had been in China. The Techniques of atemi include the use of any portion of the anatomy against vital points of the body of the enemy. The hands,knuckles,fingers,elbows, arms,knees,legs,feet and even the head may be employed against the target. Atemi, as a pre-jujutsu art, was influenced from Nara to Azuchi-Momoyama times to an unproven degree by chinese boxing, and finally received a strong foreign influence in the form of Chinese-flavored Okinawan "empty-hand" methods during Taisho (1912-26). While it was natural for atemi to be considered an important method of empty hand fighting in Japan, weaponry (including armor) being minimal, it lost it's it's favored position as warriors became better equipped. Atemi came to be replaced by the delivery of blows with the butt end of sword handles,staffs,sticks,spears,halberds,and even bows. This broadened interpatation placed upon Atemi was to receive great study. With time,various methods of combat came into contact with each other, influenced each other, and came, eventually, to form Jujutsu. some of these methods were: KOSHI-NO-MAWARI,HOBAKU,TAIJUTSU,WAJUTSU,TORITE,KENPO,HAKUDA,SHUBAKU,and YAWARA. these forms and still a host of others had been developing over a long period prior to the middle of the seventeenth century. Although all japanese words,some describe a combat form of Atemi that is essentially Chinese in nature." [Taken from "Comprehensive Asian fighting arts" or "Asian Fighting Arts" by Donn F. Draeger & Robert W. Smith, 1954]

HAWAII

The art of Kenpo/Kempo was brought to the Hawaiian islands by Choki Motobu in and the art of "Kosho Ryu Kempo" was brought by James Mitose in 19?? He taught at the Nuanu YMCA and He instructed the various aspects to several students in the Kosho Ryu Kempo. there were several students of note that trained with Mitose, namely Thomas Young [who was senior student],William Kwai Sun Chow, as well as others. James Mitose wrote two books on the subject of Kosho Ryu Kempo. William Kwai Sun Chow was Chinese by birth and one of 16 children. He allegedly learned Shaolin Hung Gar from his father and was later introduced to the Kosho Ryu Kempo system and studied with James Mitose. Eventually, He achieved the rank of Godan [Fifth Degree black Belt] under Mitose. Although many times throughout his life he claimed that Mitose was his only "Teacher", William Chow observed and exchanged information with several different instructors. In the art of Danzan Ryu jujutsu, taught at the Kodenkan by Professor Okazaki [NOTE: the title of "Professor", used by Okazaki, was probably the impetus for many of the Hawaiian Instructors using the term when achieving Fifth Degree Black Belt in Various Kenpo styles] as well as several Kung Fu instructors on the islands. Chow was nicknamed "The Thunderbolt" ofr his ability to close the gap like a mongoose and to hit you so hard you felt like you got hit by lightning! UNITED STATES