# What is Kempo?



## Manny (Jun 29, 2009)

I think I have a little idea of waht is Kempo? However I will apeciate the opininon of an expert here.

How diferent is Kempo from another Martial Art Like Tae Kwon Do for example.

Thank you in advance.

Manny


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## celtic_crippler (Jun 29, 2009)

I'll be happy to supply you with the definition of American Kenpo per the Ed Parker's Encyclopedia of Kenpo.

_An updated and all-inclusive version of Kenpo, based on logic and practicality, that has been designed to cope with the mode of fighting prevalent on our streets today. _


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## Flying Crane (Jun 29, 2009)

Kempo/Kenpo is a Japanese word that roughly translates into "Law of the Fist", and is generic enough that it is used to describe many different arts, some of which are very similar and closely related, others which have virtually no connection whatever with regards to history, origins, technique and strategy.

One prominent Kenpo tree traces lineage back thru Hawaii to Japan, and from there to China, altho I believe it is impossible to either prove or disprove any Chinese roots to the art.  If the art originated in China, it was long enough ago that all records are lost and it simply cannot be traced to any surviving Chinese art as an ancestor.

This particular tree then traces thru James Mitose (deceased) and William Chow (deceased) in Hawaii, and (among others) Ed Parker (deceased) and Adriano Emperado (deceased) on the Mainland.  Parker and Emperado were students of Chow, who then took what they learned and went in different directions with it.  Mr. Emperado was a founder of today's Kajukenbo, and Mr. Parker taught many people who now propagate what they learned from him, which changed greatly over the years. 

Mr. Parker's tree is probably the most widely recognized and known, as the art has been taught far and wide.  Different lineages exist under Mr. Parker, some of which are more similar than others.  This is due to WHEN a person studied under Mr. Parker.  Since Mr. Parker changed the art significantly over time, those who studied with him at an earlier date are often teaching different material from those who studied under him at a later date.

Some prominent individuals who came out of Mr. Parker's teaching include Al and Jim Tracy, Larry Tatum, Ron Chapel, Bob White, Chuck Sullivan, Frank Trejo, Richard Planas, Jeff Speakman and others.  These people are recognized as leaders in Kenpo today, and each teaches according to how and what they learned from Mr. Parker, as well as incorporating their own innovations where they saw fit.

In many cases, the Parker tree of kenpo prides itself in taking a no-nonsense approach to self defense.  

Other arts have links to Mr. Chow, including those propagated by Fred Villari, Ralph Castro, and those people connected to them.  

Still other arts, like Okinawan Kempo and Shorinji Kempo have no connection to what I have described above.

Beyond this, I think you'd need to experience some kenpo teachings before further discussion would be particularly meaningful to you.


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## BallistikMike (Jun 29, 2009)

Some claim it goes back thousands of years. 

Some say it has roots to okinawan/japanese karate.

Some say a little chinese kung fu was thrown into the mix.

Some say hawaiian street fighters developed it further to combat local street thugs.

Some say it was designed to combat western boxing.

Some say it was developed on an island that was a melting pot of information from china, japan, philipines, united states mainland, local hawaiian toughs, before, during and after the last world war.

Well known names and I am sure not well known names contributed ideas, skill sets, experience and time to this amazing art.

Its traveled around the globe in under 100yrs been watered down, revamped, traditionalized, developed further, reinvented, and lost various techniques, forms and skill sets through out its history.

Instructors are pathetic to god like. Students are the same.

It can be as inspiring as any dance ever seen, as ugly as any fight ever witnessed and you will get both as the correct way to practice it.

Politics are embedded and will never go away.

It has protected me in my bar days, protected me at a gas station when getting robbed, allowed me to met incredible men and women as well a crappy ones. Gave me scars on both hands from traditional makiwara training, to punching wrong and scraping the canvas bags, to feeling another man's mouthfull of teeth on the knuckles. Broken nose 2x, chipped tooth, yes I even had to have a hydrocele removed (very painfull happens when you dont wear a cup on a certain seminar). 

Gonna offend people here but, it is one great mutt of an art.


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## LawDog (Jun 29, 2009)

Kempo / Kenpo is what the self appointed Kempo / Kenpo historians and icons have said it to be, not!
To find out what Kempo / Kenpo truly is one must chip away all of the b.s. that has been placed upon it then what you have left is Kempo / kenpo.
Good luck!


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## Kenpo17 (Sep 1, 2009)

Kempo is the Chinese name to Kenpo Karate.  Chinese Kempo is similar, although not exactly the same as American Kenpo.  The differences are not from the attacks and techniques, rather the view Chinese Kempo places on how to go about defending yourself from the attack.


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## Carol (Sep 1, 2009)

Kenpo17 said:


> Kempo is the Chinese name to Kenpo Karate.  Chinese Kempo is similar, although not exactly the same as American Kenpo.  The differences are not from the attacks and techniques, rather the view Chinese Kempo places on how to go about defending yourself from the attack.



Incorrect.  The Chinese word is "Chuan fa"  

Kempo and Kenpo are two different spellings of the same Japanese word, written in Hiragana for clarity:

[SIZE=+1]&#12465;(ke) &#12531;(n)[/SIZE]         &#12413;(po)

In Japanese when the [SIZE=+1] &#12531;(n)[/SIZE] character comes before certain characters that begins with a hard sound,  such as         &#12413;(po), then the character is prounounced like the english M in Milk.


Another example is the Japanese word for newspaper: 
&#12375;(Shi) &#12531;(n)         &#12406;     (bu)  &#12531;(n) 

The characters map to the English letters "shi*n*bun" but the word is pronounced "shi*m*bun"


So with Kenpo and Kempo, the characters of the word map to the English letters "*Kenpo*" but in Japanese, the word is properly pronounced "*Kempo*".

Typically in the U.S., most Kenpo lineages that spell Kenpo with an N have a direct link to Professor Chow, as he spelled Kenpo with an N, where most others spelled Kempo with an M.  

Hope that is clear.


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## Xinglu (Sep 1, 2009)

Kenpo17 said:


> Kempo is the Chinese name to Kenpo Karate.  Chinese Kempo is similar, although not exactly the same as American Kenpo.  The differences are not from the attacks and techniques, rather the view Chinese Kempo places on how to go about defending yourself from the attack.



To add to what Carol has already said, let's look at the actual characters that both the Japanese and Chinese use to Identify: &#25331;&#27861;

*&#25331;* This in Chinese is pronounced quán and means "fist"
*&#27861;* This in Chinese is pronounced f&#462; and means "law/ method/way/Buddhist teaching

So Kenpo is the _Japanese_ name for quanfa from China.


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## Xinglu (Sep 1, 2009)

Carol Kaur said:


> Typically in the U.S., most Kenpo lineages that spell Kenpo with an N have a direct link to Professor Chow, as he spelled Kenpo with an N, where most others spelled Kempo with an M.



Incorrect. Chow himself switched over to the M spelling around the same time he named his method Kara-Ho.  GM Kuoha cited many reasons for this, but the most prominent reason I took away from it all was so that at a glance one could determine that it was not affiliated with Parker's Kenpo.  Politics, gotta love it.


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## Xinglu (Sep 1, 2009)

Manny said:


> I think I have a little idea of waht is Kempo? However I will apeciate the opininon of an expert here.
> 
> How diferent is Kempo from another Martial Art Like Tae Kwon Do for example.
> 
> ...



Having studied Tang Soo Do and Kenpo I will directly compare those.  Tang Soo Do his more of a long range fighting system relying on powerful and fast kicks.  The punching methods while powerful are slow and are very linear.

Kenpo is primarily a boxing method (close and mid range fighting), less focused on kicks then most arts.  The punching combinations are lighting fast and generate there power from speed and accuracy.  Kenpo also uses more joint-locking than TSD is is far more circular in it's attacks, though there are plenty of linear techs. Kenpo is much more of a "scrapy" or "brutal" art, meaning that it is focused on doing the most damage by any and all means necessary using pinching, gouging, raking, hair pulling, or ear ripping.  

I have blended my TSD kicking into my Kenpo so that I have a competent long range fighting capacity, and have also found that it has made my mid and short range Kenpo kicks that much better and powerful. 

Hope that helps


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## suicide (Sep 1, 2009)

theres only one way to really find out what kenpo is , just take that first step !


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## Carol (Sep 1, 2009)

Xinglu said:


> Incorrect. Chow himself switched over to the M spelling around the same time he named his method Kara-Ho.  GM Kuoha cited many reasons for this, but the most prominent reason I took away from it all was so that at a glance one could determine that it was not affiliated with Parker's Kenpo.  Politics, gotta love it.



Interesting!  Mr. Chow used the N spelling on his rank certificates with Mr. Parker (assuming this image is legit), I didn't realize he changed along the way.


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## Xinglu (Sep 1, 2009)

Carol Kaur said:


> Interesting!  Mr. Chow used the N spelling on his rank certificates with Mr. Parker (assuming this image is legit), I didn't realize he changed along the way.



Yes, he most certainly was still using the N  and I believe even when Parker was teaching out in Hollywood and was no longer affiliated with Chow he was still using the N.

You would have to ask GM Kuoha for the exact year that he switched over to calling his method "Chinese Kempo of Kara-Ho Karate." Like I said, it was to differentiate himself at a glance from other people whom he wanted to disassociate with. Like I said, politics, gotta love it!


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## Carol (Sep 1, 2009)

Xinglu said:


> Yes, he most certainly was still using the N  and I believe even when Parker was teaching out in Hollywood and was no longer affiliated with Chow he was still using the N.
> 
> You would have to ask GM Kuoha for the exact year that he switched over to calling his method "Chinese Kempo of Kara-Ho Karate." Like I said, it was to differentiate himself at a glance from other people whom he wanted to disassociate with. Like I said, politics, gotta love it!



Ain't that the truth


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## dianhsuhe (Sep 2, 2009)

Is there a Kara-Ho question here?


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## Carol (Sep 2, 2009)

Hey James!

Out of sheer curiosity, do you know when Professor Chow changed the spelling from KeNpo to KeMpo?


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## Xinglu (Sep 2, 2009)

dianhsuhe said:


> Is there a Kara-Ho question here?



As carol stated above, I can't for the life of me remember when Chow switched over to spelling it with an M, but I' pretty sure it was when he titled his art Chinese Kempo of Kara-Ho Karate.  Can you elaborate?  Do you remember roughly when that was?  My first instinct said it was the 70's but I would be completely guessing at this point and not remembering has been really bothering me, I used to have it written down, but I can't find my book that I wrote such stuff down in, I think it might have ended up in my storage unit.


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## KenpoDave (Sep 2, 2009)

There are many styles out there that have curriculums built around a base of kenpo/kempo.

It is my opinion that, stripped of all of that, kenpo is simply a martial art built upon the manipulation of the vital points of the body.  I believe that any art that does not focus on vital point manipulation is not kenpo.


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## dianhsuhe (Sep 7, 2009)

Hi Carol!  Yes, Daniel-San I am kicking myself now trying to remember....I have a roughly 40 page document that I have created based on Grandmaster Kuoha's posts here on MT, MAP and KT.  I guess I had better dig it out and start researching!  LOL

I do know it was so that Professor Chow could differentiate himself from Parker whom he hated at that point.

I will get back to you-

James


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## Milt G. (Sep 7, 2009)

Hello,
I consider "Kempo" the mostly Japanese variant of the term Kenpo.
In the Japanese language there is really no difference and either are appropriate use.

Most of the Japanese based systems utilize the American KeMpo spelling and most Chinese based systems the KeNpo.  This is not always the case, though.  Just generally.  I would guess that William Chow changed the spelling at the time of his last "ill feelings" with Ed Parker.  As I am not involved with the Kara-Ho groups, or history, I would not venture to guess.  But if I did guess, I do believe it was around the time that Parker was "promoted" to 10th dan.  Just a guess, though.  I know that Chow was not real "excited" by that.

I have used both terms in the past and consider them, mostly, as describing the art as brought by the Mitose/Chow/Parker lineage.  There are traditional Japanese systems that use them, and many "variants", "off shoots" and related arts that use them as well.

Really...  It only means "fist law"...  It could perhaps, loosely, be linked to "Tae Kwon Do", or other martial arts...?  I mean, it is only literally "fist law".  Perhaps boxing?  
But both terms have been used to describe what most in this country see as the martial arts attributed to Mitose, Chow and Ed Parker.

Thank you,
Milt G.


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## tonbo (Sep 9, 2009)

And now for a less serious answer:

"Kenpo is percussion class, where you use other students as the instruments".

/bow

Peace -- 

--Tonbo


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