# What's the difference?



## sparky12 (Jan 13, 2009)

Hi, I Have been reading some of the kempo posts and just wanted to ask what the difference is between shaolin kempo and kempo karate or do I have it all wrong? As you can see I know nothing about kempo.


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## 14 Kempo (Jan 13, 2009)

I could be wrong, but as far as simply the name, without getting into the nuts and bolts, "Shaolin" is a word placed in front of Kempo by Fred Villari when he broke away from Nick Cerio.

As far as differences in the arts themselves, there are many, many different Kempo systems that are said to be very, very different. Even those stemming from the same beginning, James Mitose as an example, are very different and having not studied them, nor even having seen many of them, I would not be able to explain the differences.


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## celtic_crippler (Jan 13, 2009)

Though overly simplified....think of it like this:
Kenpo/Kempo is extremely old in origin, just like an old tree that's been around for many centuries. 
A tree has many branches at different heights. Some branches are old, having grown when the tree was young, and some are newer having sprouted later in the tree's life. 
Each branch is unique, with it's own set of leaves being influenced by various factors (available sunlight at that level of the tree, water, etc...) but all sprout from the same basic tree. 
Of course, the branches further up may not appear as much like branches closer to the bottom....but when studied a little closer you can see it belongs to the same tree to some capacity. 
You could even go so far as to say some of the branches produced seeds that fell to the ground and grew into totally new trees! But still...the influence of the first tree is there.


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## sparky12 (Jan 13, 2009)

I thought that I read somewhere that one or more of the kempo styles came from China abd were an off shoot of shaolin gong fu while others had different origins


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## Kenpo17 (Jan 13, 2009)

The difference between Kenpo and Kempo Karate is that Kenpo is originated from Mr. Ed Parker, and Kempo is an ancient Chinese form of Kenpo that broke of of Mr. Parker's Hawaiin Kenpo Karate.  Although different names, the strikes, blocks, forms, techniques, etc. are pretty much identical, although Chinese Kempo and American (Hawaiin) Kenpo Karate follow different curriculum's, we both use the same names for our techniques, all the definitions have the same meaning in both, etc.  However, people think just because they see the word Kempo instead of Kenpo that they are two intirely different forms of Martial Arts, when infact they are very identical, Now they are not word for word the same thing, but for my purposes and many other people's purposes they are identical, though some people will say they are completely different forms of Martial Arts.  If you have ever seen an American Kenpo patch, and a Chinese Kempo patch, the only difference is that the Chinese patch has a Ying-Yang in the backround of the patch and American Kenpo has a white circle with black lines through it, other than the background of the patches, they both have the "K" at the bottom of the patch for Kempo, or Kenpo, and they both have the Dragon, and the Panther(Tiger) on it.


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## FeralKenpo (Jan 13, 2009)

has anyone noticed any major technical differences in different kenpo styles?


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## IWishToLearn (Jan 14, 2009)

Kenpo17 said:


> The difference between Kenpo and Kempo Karate is that Kenpo is originated from Mr. Ed Parker, and Kempo is an ancient Chinese form of Kenpo that broke of of Mr. Parker's Hawaiin Kenpo Karate.  Although different names, the strikes, blocks, forms, techniques, etc. are pretty much identical, although Chinese Kempo and American (Hawaiin) Kenpo Karate follow different curriculum's, we both use the same names for our techniques, all the definitions have the same meaning in both, etc.  However, people think just because they see the word Kempo instead of Kenpo that they are two intirely different forms of Martial Arts, when infact they are very identical, Now they are not word for word the same thing, but for my purposes and many other people's purposes they are identical, though some people will say they are completely different forms of Martial Arts.  If you have ever seen an American Kenpo patch, and a Chinese Kempo patch, the only difference is that the Chinese patch has a Ying-Yang in the backround of the patch and American Kenpo has a white circle with black lines through it, other than the background of the patches, they both have the "K" at the bottom of the patch for Kempo, or Kenpo, and they both have the Dragon, and the Panther(Tiger) on it.



I've never seen that particular patch you speak of...however I have black belt ranks in a style that's a blend of shorinji kempo and a couple other systems as well as kenpo. They're nothing even close in application.

From conversations with several people who have been around for the better part of the last century in and around the Arts, keNpo styles have more of a Chinese flavor to them, and keMpo systems are more Japanese system influenced in their movements.


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## FeralKenpo (Jan 14, 2009)

nick cerio's kenpo 





EPAK American Kenpo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bp0IHEdB1GI&feature=related

If you want to see shaolin kempo go to
http://kempoinfo.com/

I've noticed that is looks like Cerio's kenpo does several strikes and then goes for a takedown, while EPAK has more very fast strikes.


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## celtic_crippler (Jan 14, 2009)

tom-A-to....tom-O-to...lol

To put things a little more into perspective...consider this: The same instructor (say...like...SGM Ed Parker) can teach several student's their curriculum; however, once those students reach a level of proficiency their "styles" become different...personalized. 

SGM Parker stressed the concept/principle of "tailoring" because no two people are exactly alike; we all differ anatomically, physiologically, as well as in our thought processes (likes and dislikes.) In essence, no two people will execute the same maneuver the same way with the same effectiveness....but it doesn't matter....as long as they're applying sound principles. Basically...it doesn't matter who you are...2+2=4. 

SO....when these "students" come into their own and put their own spin on what they've learned it is only logical to assume that it would look different than what their instructor did. You should be able to see the similarities, but each person puts their own flavor into their art. 

It's like a stew....The system and/or the instructor supplies the broth and maybe a seasoning or two...but it's up to the individual to supply the ingrediants that appeal (or work best) for them....a carrot...some peas...whatever. 

It requires an extremely abstract thought process to truely wrap one's head around it really....I'm not even close to fully understanding the "hows" and "whys" ...but that's the beauty of this journey; the constant discovery! 

One thing about "American Kenpo" that attracted me to it was the history. Kenpo evolved from China, to Japan, to Hawaii....Hawaii, being a bottle neck entry point from Asia to the States provided a unique environment of influences that contributed to SGM Parker's training and influenced what American Kenpo would become. So you see...if one looks in the right places and hard enough, one will see the similarities. 

...in the end it's about "What Works?" with all Kenpo/Kempo practicioners (at least the ones I've encountered anyway.)


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## marlon (Jan 18, 2009)

FeralKenpo said:


> has anyone noticed any major technical differences in different kenpo styles?


 

The Kenpo styles from GM Parker are more striking based positioning mainly btwn 8:00 adn4:00 relative to the attacker. SL4 is a noteable exception using many msk manipulations
The shaolin kempo styles from GM Villari uses more body manipulations and joint locks and takedowns, striking to position the attacker and to get close enough.  Uses more of the 360 degrees of the kempo clock relative to the attacker
my thoughts

Respectfully,
marlon


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