| . |
 |
Kenpo History Ancient Kenpo history
Recent Kenpo historyUK Kenpo historyYou may have heard many stories about the origins of the martial arts. Much of the truth of these histories has died along with the past masters. The following is presented as an unbiased account of Kenpo.
Kenpo -"fist law, law of the fist" (known as Chuan Fa in Chinese), understandably, has connections with many other systems of martial arts. Kenpo, also written as Kempo, is considered by many to be the first true eclectic martial art.
As you read on, you may concluded that many martial art systems have similar origins. The diversity in these systems appears due to individual master's preferences and interpretation. Environmental and cultural conditions have also had an influence on their developments.
It is with little doubt that the form of martial art practiced in Kenpo has its origins in Asia, predominately originating in China, India did have an influence though this is open to argument.
China
Approximately 3000b.c, recorded history indicates that a form of unarmed combat was practiced in China and India. In the year 2674 bc the Yellow emperor, Huang Ti was recorded as having employed Chuan Fa in battle. This was undoubtedly not the first time unarmed combat of some description was used in battle.
Between 206 bc - 225 ad, the six chapters of hand fighting, Shou Po, were mentioned in the Han book of arts, Han Shu I Wen Chih.
190 - 265 ad, Hou To, a famous Chinese surgeon and discoverer of anaesthetics, developed a sequence of moves for the promotion of health. These moves were later further developed into a martial art. They were based on the movements of the deer, tiger, bear, monkey and native birds of the region. These movements were a refinement of the, by then, ancient methods employed by the Chinese.
From India many wandering monks brought with them their martial skills, although some believe these movements were only used as exercise. These monks arrived in China, where they spread their teachings to the population. They also shared their martial skills as well, probably to the more dedicated disciples.
Around 530 ad, Tamo arrived in China. Tamo, also known as Bodhidarma in Sanskrit, or Daruma in Japanese, was a prince and warrior of Southern India. He was a Zen (Ch'an in Chinese) Buddhist and the 28th Buddha. He finally settled at a Shaolin temple in Honan province built by Emperor Hsiao Wen, in the Wei dynasty 386 - 534 ad.
Tamo developed a stationary form of exercise that emphasised breathing which is believed to have been the art of Shih Pa Lo Han Sho, or 18 hands of Lo Han. Lo Han is generally used as a term describing the famous disciples of Buddha. These breathing exercises were probably the forerunner of Chi Kung. They were the foundation for almost all martial arts practiced today. They were probably never intended to be utilised as methods for fighting. They were a way for the monks to condition their bodies enabling them to endure the rigours of attaining enlightenment. In later scripts this, by then, fighting art was recorded as Chuan Fa or fist Method. Tamo, therefore, could be thought of as the catalyst or founder of Shaolin Chaun Fa, Kenpo.
During the period 520 - 1600 ad the Shaolin (Sillum in Cantonese, Shorinji in Japanese) temples became the mainstay for Chinese martial arts. Shaolin Chaun Fa, originally an internal system, later developed as external systems.
In the Sung dynasty 960 - 1279 ad, General Yuen Fei, wrote a set of twelve lessons of tensing movements, Paluanchin. These movements, believed to be for health and conditioning the body, have an obvious link to the practice of martial arts.
Around 1300 ad, Chuen Yuan, a Shaolin priest, revised the 18 hands of Lo Han to 72 movements. Yuan spread this form over China while in search of other martial artists and their knowledge. He met with Li Ch'eng and Pai Yu-Feng in Lanchow of Kansu. Pai Yu-feng was known for his martial ability. Together, in a Shaolin temple in Honan, they increased the original 18 hands and Yuan's 72 movements into 170 movements. These movements became the basis of all Shaolin Chuan Fa, becoming the five styles of Dragon, Tiger, Leopard, Snake and the Crane.
Another famous martial artist of this time particularly in the internal arts was Chang San Feng. An acupuncturist and martial artist, he is believed to have developed Dim Mak, the striking of pressure points to render a victim helpless. He is also credited with the development of Tai Chi Chuan which he devised by combining the Crane and Snake systems, masking the deadly potential of what he had created. At about this time it is believed Shaolin Chuan Fa spread further afield to Okinawa, Japan and Korea. In these countries Chuan Fa was integrated with their own fighting methods to create more systems.
A young Japanese Buddhist priest, Jinshi Eison travelled to China. He was a student of Eicho a disciple of Eisai Zenji who is credited with bringing Zen Buddhism to Japan. He studied the Lin Chi (Rinzai in Japanese) sect of Zen Buddhism in Chekiang province, China. Lin Chi was a Zen and Chuan Fa master, Jinshi Eison therefore learnt Chuan Fa as part of his studies.
Japan
Jinshi Eison returned to Japan, settling at the Shaka In temple on Kyushu island, built in 799ad. Jinshi Eison established Lin Chi Zen Buddhism and Kenpo here. The temple was later destroyed in 1588 by Konishi Yukinaga as he feared reprisals from the warrior monks. It was later rebuilt by Kato Tadehiro but it never regained its former prosperity.
Okinawa
In Okinawa the martial arts had already started to develop with the influence of visiting Chinese, and the returning natives who had studied Chuan Fa in China. The advancement of their own systems, known as Tode or Te, was often urged by oppressive conditions. This was brought about in the first instance in 1372 ad, when King Satto of Okinawa pledged allegiance and gave his domain to the Ming Emperor of China. Later in 1470, Sho Ha Shi, ruler of Okinawa, banned the possession of weapons, and, again in 1609, the Satsuma clan of Kagoshima led by lord Shimazu also banned weapons.
Between 1609 and 1903 the greatest achievements in Te were made. Many Japanese and Okinawan made trips to China to learn the art of Chuan Fa. Some would disappear for many years, presumed dead by their families, only to resurface as a master of the martial arts. One such man was named Karate Sakugawa.
Karate Sakugawa lived in the village of Shuri on the island of Okinawa and traveled to China during the 18th century to learn Chuan Fa. Over many years of refinement the art Karate Sakugawa had learned was renamed to Shuri-te and is considered the predecessor to many forms of modern Karate. Another inhabitant of Shuri, Shionja also traveled to China as Karate Sakugawa did. On his return, in 1784, he brought with him a Chinese companion named Kushanku. Both men had studied Chuan Fa, which they had studied together in China. They began to demonstrate their abilities through out Okinawa. Its is believed that Kushanku and Shionja had the greatest influence on Okinawan martial art systems than any other martial artist. Kushanku became the most famous of the visiting Chinese martial artists. Karate Sakugawa, is believed to have also trained under Kushanku, and in his later years passed on his knowledge to Sokon Matsumura.
Sokon Matsumura became a legend in China, Japan and his homeland. He taught Itosu Yasutsune, who was renowned for his fights; whom, at the age of 75, accepted a challenged by a top Judo player. He stopped him with one blow to the solar plexus. Itosu Yasutsune is believed to have taught Choki Motobu who had also trained under Kosaku Matsumora a disciple of Karate Sakugawa.
Choki Motobu was greatly influenced by T'ung Gee Hsing who settled in Kume Mura, Okinawa. T'ung Gee Hsing's ancestors studied internal systems of Chuan fa, Hsing -Yi and Pa Kua, and external systems of Shaolin - chun, Hung-Kun.
Choki Motobu was one of five masters who met in Naha capital of Okinawa and changed the character of Kara in Kara-te from 'China' to 'empty'. This was done to eradicate any Chinese connection. Two of the others were Nagashi Hanage disciple of Chogun Miyagi master of Goju Ryu and Gichin Funakoshi who developed Shotokan in Japan. Chogun Miyagi was a disciple of Kanruo Higaonna who with Itosu Yasutsune developed Shito Ryu.
United States of America
From 1848, Chinese coolies immigrated to the USA. They laboured in the mines and on the transcontinental railway. Some of these coolies would have had experience in the martial arts, so it could be said that they were the first to introduce the martial arts to USA.
Choki Motobu died in Okinawa in 1944, but is believed to have passed on his system, Shorei Karate Kempo, to James Masayoshi Mitose, his nephew. James Mitose 30/12/1915 - 26/03/1981 who was born in Hawaii, changed the name to Kosho-Ryu Kempo Jiujitsu (Kosho 'old pine tree'). He was the Twenty-first head of this system.
James Mitose's portrayal is that he learnt the system from 1920 -1935, in Japan, from his family at the Shaka-In Temple. This disconnects any direct Okinawan connection and gives a direct link to Tamo via Rinzai and the young priest Jinshi Eison. Mitose does refer to Choki Motobu in his book 'What is self Defence'.
James Mitose opened 'The Official Self Defence Club' in 1946, where he taught openly. It was here that he promoted six of his students to black belt. Thomas Young, William Chow, Edmund Howe, Arthur Keawe, Jiro Naramura, and Paul Yamaguchi. It has been noted that William Chow's black belt certificate was actually signed by Thomas Young. When James Mitose stopped teaching, in 1953, in order to pursue his religious studies, he left his Hawaii club in the hands of Thomas Young. He also had passed on the system to his son Thomas Barro Mitose, whom Mr & Mrs O'Connor met in 1986 at one of his British seminars.
William Chow was later known as Professor William "Thunderbolt" K.S. (Kwai Sun) Chow, because of his explosive and rapid techniques to the vital areas of the body, as a thunderbolt. William Chow started his martial arts training with his father,Hoon Chow an immigrant from Shanghai, China. His father later journeyed back to China so William Chow sought others that he could train with, which is when he found James Mitose. Those who trained with William Chow agree that he was a technician, and very few lasted his brutal style of training.
In 1949, having gained his black belt in 1946, William Chow attracted a number of students to his own teachings and opened a class at a local YMCA. To make a distinct variation from Mitose's Kempo, William Chow referred to his art as Kenpo Karate.
William Chow is perhaps responsible for the largest leap of Kenpo to the general public. Chow united the arts of Kosho Ryu Kempo and his families Kung Fu to form a new art, which would eventually be referred to as Chinese Kara-Ho Kenpo Karate. This uniting brought the circular moves back to Kenpo which had been lost somewhere in its history, probably under the Okinawan/Japanese influences.
One of William Chow's most flourishing students was a Hawaiian named Edmund Parker. Ed Parker, as he was known, was one of the highly significant figures in modem Kenpo. He had trained in boxing and had four years Judo experience when he started Kenpo in 1949. In 1954 Ed Parker earned his black belt in Chinese Kenpo and in 1956 he opened his first Kenpo Karate studio in Provo, Utah. By 1964, when he held his first tournament, Parker had became a household name, teaching his art to the likes of Elvis Presley, and Steve McQueen. Ed Parker further refined and defined the techniques of Kara-ho Kenpo till he perfected his American Kenpo Karate system. He is often referred to as the father of American Karate. Ed Parker met James Mitose over a five-month period in early 1970 but his account of the encounter shows a little disappointment in what he saw.
United Kingdom
Kenpo arrived in the UK in 1966. An Irish student, who had studied Kenpo in Dublin under Mr John McSweeney (1st generation Ed Parker black belt), chose to settle in Swindon. He and a few others, including Mr Phil Hegarty, formed the first UK Kenpo Karate Club.
This club later affiliated itself to Wado Ryu. Mr Hegarty, who had reached 1st Kyu Brown Belt, moved to Landrake in Cornwall, setting up a club teaching Kenpo.
Mr Hegarty eventually had to retire from Kenpo for health reasons. Master Bob Rose, his student, continued to teach at the club. Master Rose went to the U.S.A. to further his own standard, and trained under several American Kenpo experts, including Grand Master Ed Parker.
When Master Rose returned as a Black belt to England, he brought Grand Master Parker with him to establish the International Kenpo Karate Associations (I.K.K.A.) UK branch in 1979. Soon after, dissatisfied with the I.K.K.A., Master Rose left and founded the British Kenpo Karate Union (B.K.K.U.) as a totally independent organisation in 1980.
Great Grand Master Thomas Mitose, head of the International Kosho Shorei Association (I.K.S.A.) visited the B.K.K.U. in December 1986. He awarded Master Rose his Masters Degree. Effectively grafting the B.K.K.U. back into the original rootstock from which Grand Master Parker developed his system and style.
Mr Paul O'Connor was awarded both his 1st and 2nd degree black belts from Master Rose while training with Mr Bob Walsh, who later awarded Mr O'Connor with his 3rd degree. In 1997 Mr Walsh presented Mr O'Connor with an honourary award in recognition of his support and loyalty to Kenpo while teaching as club instructor.
Mrs Jo O'Connor received both 1st and 2nd degree black belts from Mr Walsh. The 2nd degree was awarded during a club training night emphasising Mrs O'Connor's contribution through teaching.
After teaching along side Mr Walsh since 1996, Mrs O'Connor decided to form the Taunton Kenpo Tigers Academy (T.K.T.A.) in February 1999. The T.K.T.A. is an independent junior club and has subsequently expanded to include adult classes since November 2000.
In August 2001 Master Rose E-mailed Mr O'Connor to ring him. Since that date Mr and Mrs O'Connor have been in regular Contact with the B.K.K.U.. This is good in that the Kenpo family ties are being rebuilt. It is also good for both Mr and Mrs O'Connor to gain more knowledge from respected Kenpo instructors. This in turn will only make the T.K.T.A. clubs a stronger foundation for Kenpo training.
Kenpo is an ever evolving system, as such this text is just the beginning of the Kenpo story.
"Nothing is impossible to a willing mind"Printable version |
. |
