Opinion of James Mitose

[Karazenpo]

Well I've made myself clear on this issue on many occasions in the forums so I won't rehash Mitose. However I will remind you what Parker's position was. SImply he didn't think Mitose was a good person and at best a very poor martial artist. Mitose showed up wearing his priest collar and cross, but rarely did anything. When he did, he taught the one kata he apparently was familiar with. Parker often said publicly, "Chow was an impressive fighter, Mitose never fought and was very unimpressive." Mitose later proved Parker's statements by coming to the Pasadena School on the mainland with an offer of a "church con" to Parker which Parker quickly declined. Then Mitose got on the mat to show some of us in attendance a "secret technique" where he proved just how unskilled he was.

The argument could be made that Mitose was a part of the Chow lineage even though Chow studied with many others. However Parker made it clear. "Mitose never taught me anything, and showed me nothing." Parker excluded Mitose from his personal lineage, and therefore I know for a certainty, he's not in mine. If you are in the Parker lineage, the fact Parker excluded him should be relevant to you. If you must, put him in the history of Chow's Kenpo, but my lineage stops with Edmund Kealoha Parker Sr.

Parker was a very special man who had skills before he met Chow, and would have gotten information from anywhere he could have found it in the martial arts rich islands to grow. However he always gave Chow the credit for the idea of the "direction" (practical self-defense) he wanted to take his art in, not for the physical anyway. And for those who talk about Mitose's books and the techniques, the knowledgeable know those books were "posed" and copied almost exactly from another source.

Hi Doc, hope all is well. Just a little friendly 'argument' here. I got the 'zing' you threw at me that 'the knowledgable know' in regards to the plagarism of Mitose's book. If you recall I am one of the 'knowledgable ones' that do know since you and I discussed this at length through e-mails and also for the fact Professor Kimo Ferrierra brought all the books in question to Hanshi Craig Seavey's dojo and we all examined them. I just wanted to clear that point up as I'm not talking through my hat. I grant you certain pictures of Okinawan masters were reproduced in Mitose's book. As far as techniques go, they most definitely appeared Okinawan in origin but the follow ups or finishing moves had a distinct Japanese Jui Jitsu flavor and this jui jitsu was emphasized in all the movements. It has been proven Mitose shared a dojo with Professor Henry S. Okazaki early on and I thought this may have been Okazaki's influence on Mitose. Experts of Danzan ryu have stated this jui jitsu does not bear resemblance to Danzan ryu. Okinawan experts have stated it doesn't bear resemblance to Torite, the Okinawan grappling art but may have came from Takenouchi Ryu the early jui jitsu of Japan (Circa. 1500's) that some historians say blended with the Chinese martial arts of the time. There is a current investigation taking place that I am privy to on in Hawaii and so far it is leading to the fact that Mitose studied Okinawan kempo ( I mentioned the instructor in my previous post and so did Sigung John Bishop), I currently don't recall his name off the top of my head but check back on our posts to confirm. It is believed this instructor is related to the Motobu lineage. Mitose's knowledge of Naihanchi and his connection to Okinawan kempo techniques seem to validate this research so far. My whole point being that where he got it or how he learned it is not my argument, my argument is that the 'rudiments' of this system is clearly evident as in the original core of Parker's system and all Hawaiian derived kempo and I pointed that out by reviewing Parker's book of 1960. Unless Parker took Okinawan karate extensively after leaving Chow then a reasonable man would have to draw the conclusion it was of Mitose/Chow origin. Research has also concluded that Mr. Parker taught essentially the same kempo taught to Chow by Mitose with some additions and modifications up to around 1961.

Now, remember, I am not a Mitose follower and I totally agree on his criminal background and dark side but I am simply searching for the truth and trying to be 'fair and balanced' to all sides. I have no alliegance to him other than the fact I still have to agree No Mitose, No Kempo as we know it today. As far as his abilities go, I have never seen him perform therefore unless a film is produced we must go by opinionated, subjective hearsay. This I can say for sure. In all due respect to Mr. Parker he 'flip-flooped' on his opinions of Mitose and I have proof of that. I'm home now and do not have access to the magazine which is at my school but for doubters I can get the volume, month and year of Black Belt magazine where Mr. Parker had a monthly column. In this issue he spoke very positively about Mitose, giving him much credit in the evolution of kempo and all his contributions which we reap the benefits today. Please don't shoot the messenger, which is me, lol, but it's in black and white in this article, read it before you pass judgement of whether I'm off base or not. Reason I say he did the 'John Kerry' flip flop is because I read Infinite Insights into Kenpo and other comments people have brought up after his death and their all negative. Why the turn around? Again, this is not my opinion but is in black and white, just research the article. I even posted an excerpt from it on the Kajukenbo Cafe a while ago when this topic came up. Secondly, when I was doing research on Mitose I asked my good friend, Professor Gerry Scott of Hawaii, a close friend of Sijo Adriano D. Emperado, founder of Kajukenbo who also promoterd Mr. Parker to 8th dan, if he could ask Sijo some questions for me. One was on the controversy of Mitose's skill and knowledge. He stated that Mitose had the abilities of a Master Instructor, that was also posted on the Kajukenbo Cafe by Professor Scott as a direct quote from Sijo. He also stated it was felt by the elders that Mitose's art had Okinawan origins.

Professor Chow having many teachers? I could be wrong and I'll stand corrected if so but outside of Mitose the only connection I could find and it was recently backed up from one of Professor Okazaki's students during that period was that Chow took Danzan ryu and had the highest respect for Professor Okazaki. No kung fu from his father or grandfather. I have not seen anyone else come forward that either they or their teachers taught Professor Chow. Not to mention, it would have been difficult for Chow to receive instruction from the Kung fu masters either in Hawaii or the west coast at that time since being half Chinese they would have been prejudiced towards him as they were the late Bruce Lee.

Lineage? Martial arts lineage was always based on 'family' and bloodlines in early times. Family trees of your own birth and martial arts trees do have parallels. Just think how ridiculous it would be to take your great grandfather out of your family lineage because either you never knew him or he never taught you anything and did nothing significant for you. Well, let me say this, if I could go back and manipulate time and have kept your great grandfather from ever meeting your great grandmother, would you be the same person you are today? No matter how anyone cuts it, Mitose taught Chow his version of a system called Kenpo and anyone Chow taught passes that lineage on undisputed and it doesn't matter if Mr. Parker never learned a thing from Mitosoe personally nor if he disliked him. C'ome on, I have never taken a lesson from Sijo Emperado but I am most definitely connected to him by this thing called 'lineage'. We can't pick and choose who will be our lineage either due to politics, in-house fighting, misunderstandings or something the man did morally that we detest no more than we can cut our great grandfather off the family tree for the same reasons. I don't understand why some argue the logic of this and although I respect you and your opinions and can't concur on this one. Respectfully & Sincerely, Professor Joe Shuras

 

[Doc]

C'ome on, I have never taken a lesson from Sijo Emperado but I am most definitely connected to him by this thing called 'lineage'. We can't pick and choose who will be our lineage either due to politics, in-house fighting, misunderstandings or something the man did morally that we detest no more than we can cut our great grandfather off the family tree for the same reasons. I don't understand why some argue the logic of this and although I respect you and your opinions and can't concur on this one. Respectfully & Sincerely, Professor Joe Shuras

Hey Joe you know I don't throw "zingers' at you. We get "shot at" enough already. I mostly agree with you. Yes Parker used to flip flop on Mitose. What he sometimes said in print versus what he truly felt, but he did that with a lot of people. Parker was the consumate martial arts politician and publicly often heaped praise on people he privately hated. Ed Parker Jr. could tell you about what he really felt about a lot of people still around who claimed to be so-called "tight" with Parker. He did that out of respect or Chow, but you'll also notice that once Chow passed, Parker changed his public and published tune on Mitose as well. I'm familiar with the series Mito used to run in Black Belt Magazine. It was called "Tales of American Kenpo" and I have most of them archived.

No Joe we mostly agree except for a couple really small points. I saw Mitose who looked really bad, and the technique was ludicrous. Maybe it was a bad day, but Parker always said ultimately in public in an interview that "Chow was impressive but Mitose showed nothing." and that's a public quote. In reality who cares?

Our biggest disagreement is the definition and use of the word, "lineage." You equate it to a "bloodline" which is a more Japanese tradition, and I don't. Especially since Parker translated nothing physical from Chow once he took another path.

Stay safe out there Joe, I need you.

 

[Karazenpo]

Hey Joe you know I don't throw "zingers' at you. We get "shot at" enough already. I mostly agree with you. Yes Parker used to flip flop on Mitose. What he sometimes said in print versus what he truly felt, but he did that with a lot of people. Parker was the consumate martial arts politician and publicly often heaped praise on people he privately hated. Ed Parker Jr. could tell you about what he really felt about a lot of people still around who claimed to be so-called "tight" with Parker. He did that out of respect or Chow, but you'll also notice that once Chow passed, Parker changed his public and published tune on Mitose as well. I'm familiar with the series Mito used to run in Black Belt Magazine. It was called "Tales of American Kenpo" and I have most of them archived.

No Joe we mostly agree except for a couple really small points. I saw Mitose who looked really bad, and the technique was ludicrous. Maybe it was a bad day, but Parker always said ultimately in public in an interview that "Chow was impressive but Mitose showed nothing." and that's a public quote. In reality who cares?

Our biggest disagreement is the definition and use of the word, "lineage." You equate it to a "bloodline" which is a more Japanese tradition, and I don't. Especially since Parker translated nothing physical from Chow once he took another path.

Stay safe out there Joe, I need you.

Hey Doc, sorry, I thought that was a rocket propelled grenade you launched at me on that one, lol, but as always I wanted to emphasize, 'a freindly argument' since you know I have the utmost respect for you. Yeah, I guess we are mostly on the same page. Mr. Parker was probably just being 'politically correct' to avoid hard feelings and controversy. So it looks like we're on the same page except for the lineage thing. Doc, I just feel that the first person you spend the most time with, that teaches you the basics who you make your black belt with gives you your identity and sets you on your path. I mean, hey, the guy could end up being a mass murder but so couldn't someone's father but you can't cut him out of the family tree(even thouh you'd like too, lol). I don't know, just how I look at it. You take care and be safe also, God bless, Doc, we need you too. Joe

 

[kenmpoka]

Greetings Doc, and Brother Joe,

It has been a while, but I am back. Doc, I have missed our interactions (you're the man). Joe, since we started talking a few years ago via the Tele and E-mails, you have turned into a mature and knowledgeable teacher. Please take it as a compliment. (But you're still not better than me). LOL. Don't shoot the messenger.

I just picked up the latest issue of "Classical Fighting Arts", I know I am probably way too late, and I came accross an article written by Charles Goodin of Hikari Institute of Hawaii (a Kenpo and Shorin Ryu practitioner). Informative and gives the credit where it
is due. Please pick up a copy If you have not yet.

"Mitose deserves credit for introducing these innovations in Hawaii. It appears that some of his students cross-trained with Okazaki Sensei at his Hotel street Dojo. After Mitose left Hawaii, his students innovated further (and are still doing so)."
"There is an unfortunate tendency to either deify or demonize Mitose. We should do neither. The art would be best served by thoroughly investigating the art he taught and exploring its roots. Some researchers focus on the mysterious nature of his training in kyushu. Some simply claim that he learned from the members of his family and/or Motobu and leave it at that......We should never forget that Mitose was one of the first Karate (Kenpo) instructors to teach publicly in Hawaii to students of all races. His application oriented emphasis contrasted with the kata syllabus of most Japanese schools of the time. He obviously had a successful approach. I suspect that Kenpo (under its many names) has become one of the largest collective styles in the world. Mitose was also the first to write a karate book in english in Hawaii and the west for that matter. The fact that he may have patterned some parts of the book upon Motobu's earlier work and other contemporary sources can be viewed as a compliment. To some extend we all are following in the footsteps and standing on the shoulders of the karate pioneers of the early 1900s".

Respectfully,

 

[Karazenpo]

Greetings Doc, and Brother Joe,

It has been a while, but I am back. Doc, I have missed our interactions (you're the man). Joe, since we started talking a few years ago via the Tele and E-mails, you have turned into a mature and knowledgeable teacher. Please take it as a compliment. (But you're still not better than me). LOL. Don't shoot the messenger.

I just picked up the latest issue of "Classical Fighting Arts", I know I am probably way too late, and I came accross an article written by Charles Goodin of Hikari Institute of Hawaii (a Kenpo and Shorin Ryu practitioner). Informative and gives the credit where it
is due. Please pick up a copy If you have not yet.

"Mitose deserves credit for introducing these innovations in Hawaii. It appears that some of his students cross-trained with Okazaki Sensei at his Hotel street Dojo. After Mitose left Hawaii, his students innovated further (and are still doing so)."
"There is an unfortunate tendency to either deify or demonize Mitose. We should do neither. The art would be best served by thoroughly investigating the art he taught and exploring its roots. Some researchers focus on the mysterious nature of his training in kyushu. Some simply claim that he learned from the members of his family and/or Motobu and leave it at that......We should never forget that Mitose was one of the first Karate (Kenpo) instructors to teach publicly in Hawaii to students of all races. His application oriented emphasis contrasted with the kata syllabus of most Japanese schools of the time. He obviously had a successful approach. I suspect that Kenpo (under its many names) has become one of the largest collective styles in the world. Mitose was also the first to write a karate book in english in Hawaii and the west for that matter. The fact that he may have patterned some parts of the book upon Motobu's earlier work and other contemporary sources can be viewed as a compliment. To some extend we all are following in the footsteps and standing on the shoulders of the karate pioneers of the early 1900s".

Respectfully,

Hey Brother Peter, always a pleasure hearing from you and yes, I do take it as a compliment because knowing you as I have over time and knowing your reputation in the arts I have learned that you do not give compliments very easily but when you do, you sincerely mean it. So, thank you again. I have learned much interacting over the years with yourself, Doc, Professor Gerry Scott, Sigung John Bishop, Professor Eugene Sedeno, Master Bill Chun Jr. and many others. It still not only brings a smile to my face but a real Laughing Out Loud when I hear you use the word 'Buffoon' in a post. That e-mail exchange you had with the 'Great Kahuna of Kempo' that I was privy to was 'classic'!, LOL. Take care & God bless, Brother Joe

 

[still learning]

Hello, It's sad that the history of these famous martial artist were not kept.

Our Professor came from Kajukenpo and had train under some of these people in Hawaii. Lot of the early years's Masters had bad reputations. (in Hawaii). Fighting was a part of the life(amoung martial arts) here many years ago. So call revenge for beating up one of our guys and it goes back and forth. In the 30's ,40, and 50,s it was consider a normal thing. Even our Professor in his younger years use to fight alot. Today many of the skills taught came from those fighting years, and the mix of the martial arts that was taught in those days.

Maybe that is why Kempo/Kenpo is very close to street fighting styles.

These are just my opinion and I am still learning things in the Martial Arts World. Learning to fight does not come from nice people? NIce people don't like to fight. Bad people like to fight and do! Who is the best person to learn from? Um?

 

[kenpojujitsu]

My opinion is that he was a con artist and a murderer.
Here's just one story about how how he conned people out of money:
http://www.kempojutsu.net/mitoseaikido.html

 

[Doc]

My opinion is that he was a con artist and a murderer.
Here's just one story about how how he conned people out of money:
http://www.kempojutsu.net/mitoseaikido.html

Although many may debate his martial arts skill, or lack thereof, what is not in dispute is he was a criminal who specilized in the "con," and ultimately a convicted murderer.

 

[Maltair]

Our biggest disagreement is the definition and use of the word, "lineage." You equate it to a "bloodline" which is a more Japanese tradition, and I don't. Especially since Parker translated nothing physical from Chow once he took another path.

So I consider lineage to mean where the knowledge came from. So if it wasn't Chow, who begot Mitose?

 

[Doc]

So I consider lineage to mean where the knowledge came from. So if it wasn't Chow, who begot Mitose?

He probably begot himself, and conned his way through. Nothing new there. The same thing happens today. I'm sure you've seen more than one out and out fraud teaching. I know I've seen dozens in the last few years alone. And why not? At a time when the arts were schrouded in mystery and unknown, a con man with just a little knowledge could probably go along way.

 

[BlackCatBonz]

it would seem that a lot of the fellas that studied martial arts back then were less than stellar citizens.
im sure more than one of them was a con man and a murderer.

i think there were a few too many lies spread about back then for anyone to really know the truth.....which is sad.
like it or not......most of the guys who learned kempo back then, learned those skills from mitose....they didnt pull it from their butts.

 

[Danjo]

Here's some info on Mitose's character going way back.

 

[Gentle Fist]

Here's some info on Mitose's character going way back.

:waah: Ow my eyes!!!! J/K Cool find!

 

[Danjo]

:waah: Ow my eyes!!!! J/K Cool find!

I know, I know. If you copy and paste it into MS Word, you can adjust the contrast and brightness until it's more legible.

 

[Hand Sword]

I agree with other posts here. He was who he was, and did what he did. However, his place in the family tree can't be denied, even if he caused the rest of the "family" to be ashamed of him.

 

[bushidomartialarts]

bruce juchnik has written a few books about studying with mitose while mitose was in prison. got a real sense of the man.

they're out of print and pricey when they do turn up on ebay, but you can get a good sense of who mitose was -- flaws and all.

 

[Jonathan Randall]

I agree with other posts here. He was who he was, and did what he did. However, his place in the family tree can't be denied, even if he caused the rest of the "family" to be ashamed of him.

Perfect summation.

MT says I have to wait to positive rep. you again (you can only rep. the same person every ten passes), but this post deserves it.

 

[Danjo]

Bruce Juchnik has written a few books about studying with mitose while mitose was in prison. got a real sense of the man.

they're out of print and pricey when they do turn up on ebay, but you can get a good sense of who mitose was -- flaws and all.

I'm not really sure how much Juchnik could have learned by doing nothing but listening and watching hand gestures in terms of martial arts knowledge, nor how much of the man's character he could have gotten a line on given that Mitose was clearly using him for his help with attorneys etc. It's pretty clear that Mitose was stringing Juchnik along if you read the letters that Mitose wrote Juchnik from prison which can be found on Juchnik's website. "there are certain arts I can only teach once I'm released" etc.

http://www.collectivesociety.com/skski/letter1.html

http://www.collectivesociety.com/skski/letter2.html

 

[Ray]

...given that Mitose was clearly using him for his help with attorneys etc. It's pretty clear that Mitose was stringing Juchnik along if you read the letters that Mitose wrote Juchnik from prison which can be found on Juchnik's website. "there are certain arts I can only teach once I'm released" etc.

Wasn't Mitose going to make someone else a kenpo master in exchange for a couple of murders? Wasn't that what got Mitose convicted in the first place?

Sounds like a well-practiced con-man to me.

 

[Danjo]

Wasn't Mitose going to make someone else a kenpo master in exchange for a couple of murders? Wasn't that what got Mitose convicted in the first place?

Sounds like a well-practiced con-man to me.

That would be Terry Lee. The guy that killed an elderly Japanese man and attempted to kill his wife. He's teaching the martial arts in Philledelphia I think.