# Professor Thomas Young



## Mark Weiser (Oct 19, 2004)

I am looking for any information on Thomas Young such as date of birth and death and location of schools. I am doing a project on the History of Kenpo.


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## John Bishop (Oct 19, 2004)

Contact Professor Charles Lee. (cleeaji@msn.com ) . 

He is the inheritor of the "Official Self Defense Club". This club was handed down from James Mitose to Thomas Young, to Simeon Eli, to Charles Lee.
When James Mitose abandoned the club, Thomas Young affliated it with Henry Okizaki's "A.J.I." (American Jujitsu Institute). It became the "Kenpo" branch of the A.J.I. It has been a part of the A.J.I. to this day.

There's really not much information about Thomas Young availiable. Unlike Chow, Emperado, and Parker, he was not known as a "great" teacher and practitioner. Most of his black belts, like Woodrow McCandles, Simeon Eli, Paul Pung, Antone Kruchy, and Steve Boldamero, were actually students that James Mitose left behind when he moved to the mainland. Prof. Young was mostly known for being James Mitose's first black belt.


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## Mark Weiser (Oct 19, 2004)

I know there is not much information I did an Internet search and came up with little information on this gentleman. So I thought I would try here. Thanks for the contact.


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## John Bishop (Oct 20, 2004)

Mark Weiser said:
			
		

> I know there is not much information I did an Internet search and came up with little information on this gentleman. So I thought I would try here. Thanks for the contact.


Give me a couple days to dig thru some old notes, and 
I'll see what else I can come up with.  If nothing else, I'll get you some more contacts in Hawaii you can email.


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## John Bishop (Oct 20, 2004)

*From a April 1959 interview with Bruce Haines:*
Thomas Young said that his first experience with martial arts was as a young boy when he received some lessons in "Chuan Fa".  
Later, as an adult in 1942, he started training with James Mitose.  He received his shodan from Mitose in 1946, and became Mitose's assistant. When Mitose left Oahu in 1953 and went to the island of Hawaii, Young became the head instructor of the "Official Self Defense Club".  This school was located at the Central Y.M.C.A. in Honolulu.
Between 1953 and 1959 the classes at the Y.M.C.A. usually averaged 25 students.  Between those years Young promoted six men to shodan. These men were; Antone Krucky, Steve Baldomero, Paul Pung, George Nagazawa, Simeon Eli, and Woodrow McCandless.  

*From a 1989 interview with me:*
Thomas Young started training with James Mitose in 1942.  This instruction was held at Mitose's house, in his garage.  Mitose taught him and a hand full of other students, "Kenpo Jiu jutsu" or what he sometimes would call "Shorinji Kenpo".  After the war in 1946, Mitose started the "Official Self Defense Club".  After Mitose left Oahu in 1953, he took over the self defense club, and affliated it with Henry Okazaki's "American Judoand Jujitsu Institute" (later renamed American Jujitsu Institute).  Young was made the head of the "Kenpo division" which at the time consisted of 3 Kenpo schools.  

Sorry Mark: But my interviews with Thomas Young were primarily about Kenpo history, so we didn't talk a lot about Young himself.  
Hopefully Prof. Lee can help you out more with personal information on Young.  Also,find out the month and year he died.  The "Honolulu Advertizer" is the main newspaper in Honolulu, so if they have their archives availiable on line, you may be able to find Young's obituary. That should give you his birthday.  If all else fails, let me know, and I'll get you  emails for some old timers in Hawaii.  Hopefully, Young has children and grandchildren still in Hawaii.


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## Mark Weiser (Oct 20, 2004)

Thanks John

I have the lineage except for Thomas Young with some details on each person. So I guess any help would help. There is a website of a school that is from Thomas Young I was thinking of contacting that instructor.


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