Just a question on something my Sensei said. Maybe you can tell me if he's right or wrong. I was gonna post this question on a few different MA forums to see different responses from different people. I was talking about the fact I trained in kempo for 2 months last year and i had a black gi. I named the kempo sensei and my shotokan sensei who knew of him and his family said "He's a fraud. Kempo is chinese. and karate is japanese. He calls his schools and advertises as "Kempo Karate" and thats just fraudulent and isnt even right." Is this true what Sensei says? I only did kempo for 2 months and really dont know a whole lot about it. But I did say that I felt and still feel that school had some characteristics of a McDojo.
This is a bit of a can of worms but roughly: Kempo is a Japanese word that means something like "law of the fist" and is a generic term for "martial arts". In Chinese it's read as "chuan fa" and you do hear it used in the names of some Chinese martial arts. I believe that Japanese karate first made its way to America under the name "Kempo" as that was the Japanese word that the early American practitioners had heard associated with the activity. However, once the Japanese began to really push the export of karate, they used the name "karate" (which in Chinese would be "kong shou"). Therefore, in the States, you end up with the first wave of American schools which used "kempo" and the next wave of Japanese-led schools called "karate". Then everyone went nuts and started calling the Korean arts "karate" too, so everyone got very confused, particularly when Taekwondo became even more popular than karate but still called itself karate in USA. In summary, there's nothing really wrong per se in calling a karate club "kempo", but the name has kinda been co-opted by a few specific lineages of American martial arts such as Ed Parker's Kempo, so generally the training you will get will be less like the Japanese form. This could be a good or bad thing, depending on what you're looking for. I personally haven't been too impressed with Kempo, but as with everything, schools will vary in quality and people will vary in what they want. This could be wrong, but it's my understanding of the way it all worked out.
kenpo karate is just another name for ed parker's american kenpo system http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Kenpo and karate is okinawan, so there
What everyone else has said is correct. Frankly, your instructor is full of poop. Kempo is a Japanese word, an adaptation of Chuan Fa. In one way or another, Kempo schools trace their lineage from China, through Japan (and then through Hawaii in the case of American kenpo). Kempo schools often use the term "kempo karate." Yes, people like Ed Parker (founder of American kempo) heavily modified what they had learned instead of just transmitting it unadulterated, but so did Gichin Funakoshi when he heavily modified Okinawan karate to make Shotokan karate. You may prefer what Parker did or you may prefer what Funakoshi did, but both heavily modified what came before. And for what it's worth, if you trace Okinawan karate back far enough, you end up in China too (remember that "karate" was originally spelled with the kanji for "Chinese hand," and only later was changed to the kanji for "empty hand," which is pronounced the same way). Your instructor is throwing stones in a glass house.
Yeah I know Sensei is full of horseradish at times like when he said that kempo and shotokan share nothing in common as far as techniques (they do though, such as the roundhouse kick, the x block an the downwards block though their upper arm block is done a little bit different than ours) Just wasnt sure if he was this time. So thanks for your answer, Mitlov.
Great post, Moosey. Actually, there's also Okinawan Kenpo. Kenpo can be used to describe a lot of the Okinawan styles depending on who you're talking to. http://www.okinawakenpo.com/
kuma, i was referring strictly to parker's american kenpo, which is what blade did, under the name kenpo karate, which is what blade's sensei was nerdraging about
.....I studied Shorin Ryu karate for a couple years until the class "fizzled out',since then I have been studying Sullivan's American Kenpo ...and yes the word karate finds it's way in there too ...for what it's worth I have enjoyed both styles ...different kata etc. but both styles seem effective to me ...not to oversimplify but a punch is a punch and a kick is a kick...no matter where they "come from"...it ain't the arrow,it's the Indian,if you know what I mean....
Definitition of Chinese Kenpo After reading the thread concerning the term of Kenpo vs Kempo, I thought I would share an article that I wrote a few years back CHINESE KENPO (also known as Kuntao/Chuan Fa) FIST WAY (Kuntao) Law of the Fist (Kenpo) A Style With A Traditional Influence Kenpo, sometimes known as “Kenpo karate” or”Chinese Kenpo karate,” has developed into one of the Most popular martial arts in the United States, which itself is remarkable for a fighting art that came to the United States from Hawaii only a few decades ago. Chinese Kenpo is described by some of it’s practitioners like this: “Just as it is possible to use a gun for many different purposes—target shooting, hunting, or law enforcement—Chinese Kenpo has always been structured to serve many different purposes such as sport competition, self defense, and to include the offensive movements necessary for a well rounded fighting system.” To the trained eye, it does look a 1ot more like kung fu than other Kenpo systems. There are a lot of long-range hand strikes that remind the observer of some kung-fu systems, instead of the short-hand, inside fighting techniques often associated with Kenpo karate. Chinese Kenpo techniques rely on a great amount of speed and power, coupled with the idea that instead of having only a one-two punch-kick combination, the student learns five and six-combination strikes. The theory is, “If you miss, you don’t have to stop and regroup. The result would be the ability to launch a series of five or more strikes, directed at more than one attacker, in lightning-fast sequence. “To be prepared to defend yourself in a street situation against more than one attacker, you must be able to use a lot of speed with your attacks. In that respect, speed becomes more important than power, but as the student gains speed and accuracy he also gains power in his punches. The differences between Chinese Kenpo and other Kenpo Systems are immense. The Stances are unmistakably Chinese. The Chinese Kenpo student moves quickly and lightly in the manner of the Chinese arts to avoid the attacker’s onslaught altogether, rather than apply the Japanese tactic of meeting attacks with a solid frontal defense. The Chinese Kenpo student frequently circles quickly, continuously bombarding his opponent with an onslaught of blows calculated to find or create an opening in the opponent’s defense. This type of attack is characteristically Chinese and completely unlike the Japanese and Okinawan concept of a more straight-forward, harsher, and angular push-pull block and punch combination. The foot techniques used in Chinese Kenpo also bear a strong resemblance to those used in Kung fu. A straight front kick is frequently used, often in the form of a kick to the opponent’s groin. Side kicks are also popular, here again not so much to the head, which would complicate balance, but lower, directed more at body targets. On the other hand, the popular roundhouse kick is not emphasized in Chinese Kenpo. The kicks are applied in conjunction with the hand movements, thereby breaking the opponent’s concentration on the hand strike or kick that could end the fight. This follows the Chinese way of thinking punches and kicks performed in conjunction with one another lead an opponent to expose himself while attempting to block one part of the combination. The Chinese Kenpo stylist also uses a wide variety of sweeps and leg blocks in his art. The sweeps include the low, 360-degree circle and the short, kick-like sweep—both are used to knock an opponent off balance. The leg blocks are also performed in conjunction with quick hand movements. The emphasis in Kenpo is generally on hand techniques, and Chinese Kenpo is certainly no exception. The only difference is that Chinese Kenpo places the emphasis on kung-fu types of hand movements. Although the system has closed fists (such as the straight punch and the backfist )common to karate, kick-boxing and kung-fu), it leans heavily toward strikes imitating the animal forms so popular in kung-fu. The animal fighting forms are not usually part of Japanese or Okinawan fighting systems. Chinese Kenpo contains a liberal amount of techniques based on the tiger, eagle, leopard, and dragon styles, again, with all of them bearing strong resemblance to certain Chinese martial arts. One interesting difference between Chinese Kenpo and karate is that the fighter’s guard hand is not kept at his hip to facilitate the “push-pull” action so common to Japanese systems. The guard hand is always kept in a circular protecting position in front of the body, as in most Kung-fu styles. This is a basic difference in philosophy, because the kenpo fighter, instead of relying on the kind of power developed by the push-pull hand techniques, must utilize his speed, agility, and quick footwork to evade, counter, and return the attack. This marks an important difference in theory between the Chinese and Japanese schools of thought. Unlike a boxer, the Chinese Kenpo stylist does not at any time stick or grapple with his opponent . He will, however, block the attacker’s blows in a manner that “sucks in” his opposition. He will be trying to render his assailant off balance, and one method of doing that is to pull him into range of the kenpo stylist’s barrage of blows. The hand strikes in Chinese Kenpo are much more circular than linear, as in the karate oriented systems. The arm motions are usually sweeping, long-range attacks allowing the Chinese Kenpo practitioner to simultaneously block and attack. Remember that in order to fully utilize these circular hand movements he must be able to change direction quickly and smoothly. This emphasis is also very Chinese in character. The method with which Chinese Kenpo is taught constitutes another difference between that system and other styles. Chinese Kenpo introduces the student to some very quick effective combination techniques from the student’s very first day in the studio. In the beginning, there are no basics taught, just these techniques. Along with those techniques, Chinese kenpo teaches the practical application and stresses development of speed. The new student gets an idea of the coordination between hand and footwork necessary in Chinese Kenpo. After learning those initial combination techniques, the student is then taught the basics of the system. This foundation is something that he will be expected to constantly refresh himself in. One advantage of learning the important basic theories (such as speed and focus) of the system before learning the basic stances, hand strikes, and kicks is that the new student can immediately start to apply those concepts to the basics as he learns them. That way he gets the confidence and idea of how to effectively use what he is learning, even as he learns it. The forms taught in Chinese Kenpo are identified as “sets,” as in kung-fu terminology, instead of using the Japanese term “kata.” The sets are designed to teach the student how to apply the techniques that he has learned, as well as to practice his form, speed, and balance. Chinese Kenpo does not use the sets simply to practice the basics of the system, but makes them into practical flowing forms designed to simulate counters and attacks against many attackers. These sets are designed to be practiced either alone or with another kenpo stylist. Not only does Chinese Kenpo students practice their sets with an actual antagonist, but the sets themselves are structured to he used as the defensive or offensive counterpart to other Chinese Kenpo sets. Here again we have a situation that tends toward the kung-fu philosophy of the need to have two-man sets to teach focus, speed, and quick reactions. The sets are structured to teach an important principle or technique to the kenpo student. The animal forms come when the kenpo student has thoroughly assimilated the basics of the system. These are all advanced sets designed to be used by the student who already has developed his confidence, speed, and power. Not only does the student use his forms training alone and against a partner, but he takes portions from his sets for use in tournament fighting. This links the practical applications of the techniques with the fighting movements derived from the forms. .
There are several schools of Chinese and Shaolin Kenpo karate in the states.. One of the major systems is the system of Ralph Castro who teaches in California. William Chow was the major influence of the integration of both Chinese and Japanese arts to come up with term Chinese Kenpo.. Chow combined the training he had from his family art of Kungfu along with the Mitose kempo jujitsu system he learned from Mitose.. This was the foundation of various Kenpo systems that came from Hawaii..
I suppose yeah. He's very proud. and protective. He thinks shotokan should be served to everyone on a silver platter. and gold bars fall out the ears of Shotokankas. traditional Shotokanka who is very much protective of the Japanese traditional shotokan way of life, and no one else like kempokas should put the word karate in their art's name.
i would love to see the look on kanazawa or the late nakayama's faces if he told them that. they'd probably laugh him out of the dojo
my sensei trained under Masatoshi Nakayama sensei. And Hidetaka Nishiyama sensei. I have no idea what they thought of his beliefs, if they knew of them. I have never asked him that. He never met Kanazawa, but obviously knows who he is.
I wanna know what the heck "the Japanese traditional shotokan way of life" is. Being a schoolteacher who writes poetry and teaches karate?
I'm not sure you can define "tradition" as "doing a 'Single White Female' on the guy who founded the school".
