Can't speak for everyone, but a typical class for us is: 1. Start with prayer 2. warm ups / basics 3. conditioning / punching / kicking / bag work 4. technique 5. kata 6. sparring / rolling / self-defense 7. cool down / review / questions The order can change, particularly stuff in the middle. The structure is going to be like a karate or kenpo school for us, but one thing to realize is that kajukenbo is not an overly complex system but contains an integration of karate, judo/jiu-jitsu, kenpo, American boxing/kickboxing, Chinese boxing, eskrima, and in our case also Aikido, BJJ, Muay Thai, and some Tai Chi. So depending on the teacher, any one or combination of these elements can be seen in the principles as well as the training. The kajukenbo core techniques are going to reliant on more brute force than perhaps other similar techniques found in other core systems. For instance, a powerful backhand slap developed in Tai Chi is going to likely be a hammer fist in kajukenbo. With out a weapon in hand, the backhand slap might be a more effective technique and probably would be used by more advanced practicianers, but the hammerfist is simple, direct, and gets the job done... the point being that they seem different techniques but they use the same principles. One can take kajukenbo and because it has basic principles shared by many martial arts, the training from kajukenbo can be used to expand into other martial arts very easily. Some schools are even following more of an MMA training atmosphere which is easy to come from kajukenbo because most technique work starts from stand-up combat, works to stun the opponent, lock/break the opponent, take the opponent down, and finish with ground attack/fighting. This is basically the same progression found in MMA ranges. Kajukenbo is a mixed martial system any of which element can be improved with specialization. Original method is going to have some variation of the same techniques we use, but there will be closer to the original techniques taught by Sijo Emperado. The principles of techniques will remain the same, with the kajukenbo flavor. There is going to be some heavy contact the higher the belt and a real sense of danger that if you don't block and get out of the way, you will be hit. Techniques will follow down to ground attack as necessary. I don't know if what I wrote helps you. It would really help to know what experiences you have in martial arts because it can be easier to compare what you know to what might be the same or different than how we train. Edit: Sorry if not clear, we are not original method school but as part of our requirements, we learn some techniques the same as the original method versions such as the Alphabet techniques.
Pretty close to how we train also through step 3, though we usually train with either Kata, Punch Counters, Grab arts, Club or knife counters etc. or Sparring due to time. What method do you train in?
We are under Grandmaster Edmund Louis and under Professor Gerry Scott, in the KSDI. My instructor Sigung Frank Mateo was originally CHA-3 kenpo karate. Our local Professor is Professor Brian Baxter and he is under Grandmaster Gaylord. We are quite a mix, having kenpo techniques from Tracy's Kenpo as well as Kajukenbo, we have Gaylord method Punch & Counters, Grab Arts, etc., Alphabet techniques that we are just learning I believe from Original Method, Grab Arts from Hawaii... etc., many things from Sigung Mateo that are his own techniques based on the Kajukenbo, Judo, Muay Thai, and CHA-3. All I can say is we are a mix always trying to learn as much as we can and always giving credit for where things come from to the best of our knowledge.
thanks for the replies guys. my closest point of reference is prolly kyokushin karate ("older" method.. eg. self defence and regugar groin, face strikes allowed.. rather than some schools that were 100% tournament driven if u know hwat i mean) and Okinawan goju-ryu karate with some uechi-ryu and "hanging out" with japanese goju-kai folks.. its interesting that many kenpo/kajukenbo/goju-kai/kyokushin guys mixed and crossed same circles.. bobby lowe comes to mind here .. *I think* (bad memory).... sal ebanez as another does kajukenbo do standing basics? eg. ala kyokushin: standing still and 50 forefist punches, 50 knife hands, 50 round elbows etc then blocks, then kicks? i noticed cha3 guys put alot of emphasis on hand conditioning by they look of their hands and breaking.. is that normal makiwara and the like or is there methods particular of kajukenbo? lastly while im here... i remmeber a story .. but cant remmeber exactly how it went so if anyone knows and can give some info much interested.. this is a "mine better than yours" butthe way i was told it was a mutual respect kinda of thing and some fun pride it was either: along the lines of: emperado broke a stone and said hows that, oyama took a peice of that broken stone and then crushed it and said "well that was good but thats how we do it in kyokushin' OR vice versa .. oyama broke.. then emperado took the piece and crushed it my BAD memory is saying it was emperado that did the "one up manship" ... but i cant recall... anyone heard this story? cheers
further anyone have any info on bobby lowe and/or masaiicho oshiro paul yamaguchi also would be most interesting thank you~
In regards to Goju-Ryu and Kajukenbo, Miyagi Sensei (founder of Goju-Ryu) spent around 18 months in Hawaii I've been told, during this time he may have strongly influenced many Hawaiian arts including the formation of Kajukenbo. As for standing basics, our school does karate basics, but we also do boxing and Muay Thai basics too. The only real difference is that we might do lots of single blocks e.g. a rising block, but we also in our basics do combinations e.g. rising block with upper cut or another example would be our elbow to the rear would be combined with the other hand spear striking to the eyes, etc. In other words, much of our basics are not one single technique but the combination of a block and a strike together or two strikes together. Also, our basic blocks are either covers or strikes, the primary block taught is simply the slap block or parry like in boxing.
We do about 15-20 minutes of standing basics as part of the warm up after stretching. It depends on the school. Some have makiwara, some don't. Some still do a lot of breaking, while others don't do any. It's not a system wide standard anymore. The way the story's been told to me Oyama made the first break, and Emperado crushed the broken piece with a hammerfist strike. Whether the story's truth or legend, Emperado and the early Kajukenbo instructors all practiced breaking, and were very good at it. Here's Emperado at age 58
john bishop: thanks for the informative post and great photo~ age 58! the hammerfist rings a bell , and flat on the ground. thanks. interesting / inspiring legend of not. thanks again all~
