What exactly is Kenpo/Kempo? I don't fully understand. What makes it different, and it's techniques, and main points? Also what are all the types of Kenpo? And how are they different between each other? I know there is Kenpo, Shorinji Kenpo, American Kenpo, Chinese Kenpo, and Kenpo Karate, right?
I think I have the answer to this post on a hot-key it is asked so often. Click here Answers to All Questions and all of your questions can be answered
KenpoDavid is offering a good answer. For this forum has answered your question in great detail many times before. It would be a little foolish to repeat the exercise when we have covered pretty much every angle already...
While on a journey through the desert, the Wise Man drinks the rainwater. Only a Foolish Man demands bottled Perrier with a Sports Cap. When seeking enlightenment, ignoring the obvious will generally not prove helpful. Please read the threads mentioned earlier for more...
Kempo is the Japanese reading of Chinese chaun fa, it means fist method. I have no idea of how many different styles there are, or what makes them different. There are a number of Japanese forms of Kempo, Shorinji Kempo would be the largest. In fact Shorinji Kempo under its organisational banner of WSKO is generally considered to be the largest single martial arts body in the world. Despite this it is relatively unknown in the west where the different forms of American Kenpo are better known. The difference in spelling stems from older translation methods that didn’t capture the sound correctly. While the Japanese don’t differentiate between n and m, they do sound the n as m in some grammatical circumstances. When you listen to a Japanese person they say kempo not kenpo. You could write a book on how they are all different from each other and what their individual characteristics are and it would still be difficult to capture them correctly. We have no hope of doing this on this forum. There is a massive amount of information out there in cyber space, you really do need to check it out and then ask specific questions to qualified people. In time you will have a good understanding. I'm sorry there is just no easy answer for what you are asking.
Okay, I just re-read those threads. The first one in particular had some cracking stuff from Colin. His posts make it abundantly clear that he speaks primarily about his chosen style (mine too) of Shorinji Kempo. You want to know about ALL(!) the others? Perhaps they should write to you personally, or send you a DVD with extras... Sorry, enough sarcasm. (I'm a bad boy, consider my wists slapped). You ask about the major styles. I think that would be a list of the North American continent's shopping Malls and backstreet Dojo. The "general" descriptions given in those threads should be enough to point you towards some general areas to pursue further... Perhaps you may wish to do some reading on the various links that came up on those threads, then come back with some more questions. Or You could tell us what you actually want to know... and we could see if anyone has an answer. Are you looking for somewhere to train? Do you want to check up on an existing school? Do you want to raise my blood pressure? Do you live beneath a bridge?
I want to know what are the differences between America Kenpo, Shaolin Kenpo, Chinese Kenpo, and Shorinji Kenpo? But what I really want to know is about American Kenpo and Shorinji Kenpo?
I can help you with Shorinji Kempo. Try this link http://wsko.econ-net.or.jp/index.html it is the WSKO (World Shorinji Kempo Organisation) home page. This is a very good site from Sweden http://www.shorinji-kempo.org/ . If you have any questions please get back to us.
American Kenpo: Although the terms KENPO and KARATE are often used synonymously, it is the Chinese who have been credited with developing these pugilistic forms of self-defense over the centuries. It's popularity, however, did not reach the Western World until the late forties, early fifties and well into the sixties. Acknowledgement has been given to the Japanese for it's introduction into the Western World. As a result, the Japanese term, Karate, meaning empty hand, is known world wide. Karate, which strikes with various natural weapons (side of the hand, elbow, heel of the foot, etc...) is not to be confused with Judo, Jui Jitsu, or Aikido which are oriental forms of wrestling. Karate is the Japanese term describing their art form which originally stemmed from Chinese Kenpo (law of the fist), their mother art. Today, the American version of Kenpo developed by Ed Parker is rapidly becoming the more acceptable school of thought in the United States. Ironically, historical examination of the Martial Arts has made a startling discovery -- there has never been a pure system of Karate. There may be specific styles that adhere to traditional protocol -- styles that are specifically outlined to follow a precise format. Styles, however, are isolated segments that are extracted from a Martial Arts system that encompasses a more total picture of what lies within the realm of self-defense. A good system takes into account strikes, strike downs, contact manipulation (throws, locks, twists, dislocations, etc...), ground techniques, multiple attacks, use of weapons as extensions to natural weapons, etc. Consequently, it is difficult to establish as accurate family tree for many self-defense styles that are now spreading to the West. Because many of these styles were founded by individuals who apparently borrowed, specialized, and contributed ideas of their own, historical accuracy has been difficult to ascertain. Therefore, since the system of American Kenpo, engineered by Ed Parker, is based on logic rather than tradition it can be said that it is neither Japanese nor Chinese, Oriental or Western. It is, what it is. Kenpo Karate are dual terms used by Ed Parker to describe his creation of American Kenpo. Since the inception of his system into the United States Mr. Parker has produced a number of first generation students and countless numbers of second, third, fourth, and fifth generation offspring. Unfortunately, some of his third, fourth, and fifth generation offspring, who have opened schools of their own, have been teaching impractical versions of Kenpo Karate. Mr. Parker was saddened by the lack of principles, and technical know-how void of knowledge and practicality. He felt that their teachings were perpetuating false confidence among their students. Granted, they are adopting worthwhile principles embraced by Zen, and other like disciplines, but such a "philosophy" or "way of life" is often fancy trimming used to cover up their inadequate approach to self-defense. Greater still are their claims of being Masters. They often boast of their humility in avoiding a fight and well they had better. It was Mr. Parker's wish to produce students free from brain washing that can get students killed. His Kenpo demands that fighting be considered realistically, a feature frequently lacking in the self-defense arts of today. Movements are to be measured against the yardstick of modern street fighting and are not to be passed of as self-defense techniques if originally intended to be exercises. It is one thing to play quick draw with blanks and quite another to use real bullets. Another item often not taken into account is physiological differences. The art must be made to fit the individual, not the individual to fit the art. Karate styles are sometimes criticized for not making contact when sparring. It is true that pulling one's strike(s) is comparable to playing flag football, but the experience when hitting of being hit is not worth the loss of practice sessions that may result from injuries. Working on a heavy bag is a great substitute. It affords you the opportunity to make actual contact. If this is not enough there is no adherent reason why two colleagues cannot make contact if they agree on specialized rules. Some styles attempt to solve the problem of making actual contact by outfitting themselves in armor. The drawback here is that armor is often cumbersome and therefore, may hamper the execution o effective technique. On the other hand there are styles who only prefer to shadow box. Considerable controversy exists among the fans of self-defense advocates as to which style is superior in actual combat. When pitted against several attackers the evaluation is not o difficult. There seems to be little chance of consecutively strangling five opponents, holding them don until they say "Uncle", or boxing five times fifteen rounds. Instead it becomes highly desirable to be able to dispense with an attacker immediately. The prescription: some form of hitting that emphasizes speed, power, and accuracy. In Kenpo Karate speed is achieved by relaxing your body (muscles) and conserving motion. Body limbs (arms and legs) move much faster when relaxed rather than tensed. Just prior to contact (when it will do the most good) is when you should tense your muscles so that proper force is exerted. (When skin kisses skin, tension begins.) When properly trained the body is capable of generating tremendous force in a short span of space and time. Motion and time are conserved in three ways, (1) When movements are direct (Unnecessary moves are eliminated. The fist does not draw back to gain greater striking distance -- It goes!) (2) During the advanced stage of your training the "ands" are eliminated from the response. Instead of blocking "and" hurting, both defense and offense occur simultaneously. (3) By combining several moves into one basic motion, strikes combined with strikes, blocks combined with strikes (or vise versa), creates faster reaction and response. For instance the fingers might proceed to the eyes, after a chop to the neck, or an elbow might sequentially flow immediately, after a fist is delivered. An important question often asked is what style offers a little guy the opportunity to survive. Certainly trading punches is not the answer. Even if a smaller individual can develop equal power he is certainly not capable of withstanding equal punishment. A suggested strategy in Kenpo is the use of checking. Checking helps prevent retaliation. It can be accomplished in several ways. (1) Stepping on an opponent's foot to prevent a kick, (2) Preventing the shoulder, elbow, hip, etc. from obtaining leverage, (3) becoming skilled in employing offensive moves as a means of preventing retaliation. This method of checking often forces an attacker into an awkward position and/or can effectively minimize his leverage. Flexibility is highly stressed in Kenpo. It permits freedom to strike any portion of an attacker’s anatomy -- from his skull to his toes. Conversely, the application of natural weapons must also be diverse. This includes the fingertips, side of the hand, knees, elbow, heel of the foot, etc. While some of these natural weapons are limited in terms of frequent use they are effective under special conditions and situations. Kenpo training does attempt to develop your ability to learn all methods of executing strikes with your natural weapons. It becomes a matter of logic for example as to when and how to hit with what. Something in the way of flexibility can be learned by watching the hands of the director of an orchestra. Observe the many rhythmic changes and gestures that his baton and hands go through when directing the orchestra. The timing, height, width, and depth of his hand gestures alternate accordingly. When he wants softness he lowers his baton. When he wishes for greater volume he raises it. When he wants a specific section to respond, he points. Synchronization is impeccable as he director and his baton become one with the musicians. In comparison a fight is harder to anticipate. It cannot be orchestrated, nor can it be compared to a sheet of music. You are not privileged to blend with reactions of your opponent as an orchestra can do via practice. It requires spontaneity. It is your ability to respond extemporaneously with action and reaction that is the key. Therefore, the greater your knowledge of offense and defense, along with your skill to apply it, the greater your chances are for survival. Fighting can be easy or it can be difficult. All elements pertaining thereto are important. While a good system can offer you effective and practical variables, it all comes down to you -- you are the only one that can make it work for you. To get to levels of spontaneity considerable practice is given to pre-set sequences. This helps a beginning student to develop coordination before advancing to higher levels of conditioned response. The more he practices the better he is able to express himself extemporaneously. As his levels of spontaneity increase he learns to alter his moves without hesitation. He soon learns that the Kenpo system that Ed Parker teaches is not based on untried theories, but proven theories that come with practice. In the words of Ed Parker, "an opponent can be struck four or five times within a second so that he will be unable to hold all of the targets that hurt".
reply.. Here is something of which has seemingly been overlooked. This is the real difference between the two, but is hardly known. Going back to the days of Ed Parker, he had a student. Parkers system was kenpo and his student wanted to break away and form a martial art of his own and open up a school. Thus forming the art of kempo. This is the story I recall being told, forgive me if there is any error from lack of memory.
Sorry, the term Kempo was around long before Parker. It is, as has been said previously, just the Japanese pronunciation of Chaun Fa. Even some of the old Japanese Jujutsu systems sometimes called what they did Kempo. Kenpo is just a poorly transcribed way of writing Kempo. From my understanding I believe Kenpo is used in the USA because of a misprint in Mitose’s book and or as a means to distinguish it from the Japanese and Okinawan forms, thus giving it its own identity.
That is also what I heard, Mr. Linz. As the story goes, Professor Mitose wrote a book on "Kosho Ryu Kempo", then scrounged up barely enough money to get it published. However, his publisher inserted "n" instead of "m" on the cover, and Professor Mitose couldn't afford to redo the publication. May you achieve Satori
my apologies to everyone, I didnt mean to put Ed Parker. It was mitose. Though I have heard the mentioned misprinted rumors, but also the case of the students wanting to break off into their own sector of the art.
