History Of Kenpo
There are over 300 styles of martial arts in China and they are referred to as Ch’uan Fa (Ken Fat in Cantonese), meaning "fist law". In Japanese, the Kanji for Ch’uan fa is pronounced Kem Po (spelled Kenpo). There are many styles or systems of Kenpo, as Kenpo is a generic Japanese term describing martial arts with Chinese influence. This history deals with the style of Kenpo brought to the west by James Masayoshi Mitose that would influence the direct development of systems such as American Kenpo, Tracy Kenpo, Kara Ho Kenpo, Kajukenbo, etc. Like other systems of martial arts, the history of the Kenpo system brought by James M. Mitose is shrouded in mystery and confusion. Origins One story states that around 1235, at the Shaka-In Temple, Mount Kinkai, Kumamoto, Japan, Kenpo as we know it today was first developed. This art was a combination of Shaolin Kung-fu (Ch’uan-fa), brought by a monk fleeing China who sought refuge with the Yoshida family (clan), and the family’s art, which was similar to Aiki-Jujutsu. They named their system Kosho-ryu (Old Pine Tree Style). Kosho-ryu consists of instruction in philosophy, human anatomy, kendo, kyudo, ikebana, suiei, tree-climbing, horsemanship, weapons, and hand to hand combat. Another version states that James Masayoshi Mitose himself created the Kosho-ryu name/style, as there are no direct links to a previous family art of the same name. He came up with the style after he had studied for some time under Choki Motobu and studying Koga-ryu Ninjutsu and Sato-ryu kempo under Seiko Fujita. (The Motobu family style can be called Shuri Te, Shuri-ryu, Shorei-ryu, or Motobu-ryu). Motobu ended up becoming Mitose's uncle through marriage. So which version is true?
Here are some problems with the history of Kosho-ryu:One thing I have found out for fact is: Kosho-ryu can not date back to 1235 CE. The ryuha pattern of organizing training and training principles originated in the 1400s. There are no verified documents referring to bugei ryuha in the 13 th century. The majority of the ryuha that claim pre-15 th century origins, in fact, can be traced back only to the 18 th , 19 th centuries. The Bugei Ryuha Daijiten written by Watatani Kiyoshi and Yamada Tadashi that list all the ryu of Japan ( which usually errs on the side of over-inclusion ) lists a Kosho-ryu (written "old pine tree") and identifies it as a karate system, but doesn’t say anything else about it. Which usually indicates that the editors either couldn’t find any information other than the name or dismissed whatever information the school itself provided as completely fantastic. James Mitose was supposed to be the 21 st generation descendant of the founder. The Katori Shinto-ryu is the oldest proven ryu, founded in the 1400s, and they are only on the 20 th headmaster (with Maniwa Nen-ryu possibly being older). Although, it is possible they founded the style back in 1235 but didn't organize it into a ryu until later. This is true of other ryu. That would explain a lot of things, including the generation gap. The only Chinese, Shaolin-type influence I have heard of ( aside from Okinawa ) is actually from the Edo period (fairly recent in Budo terms) and related to Kito-ryu or Yoshin-ryu jujutsu. Also the mixture of arts in Kosho-ryu seems kind of odd. It definitely deviates from the traditional "Bugei Juhappan" (18 arts of bugei): sword, iai, bo, jujutsu, etc., unless it was passed on in a REALLY important and rich family, and if that was the case, the ryu would be well documented. There has been much speculation about the relationship between James Mitose and Choki Motobu, going so far as to question that there even was a relationship. Did Mitose learn from Motobu? 1. They were both in Japan from 1921-1936. 2. Choki Motobu was James Mitose's uncle through marriage. 3. According to John LaTourette, in his book Secrets of Kenpo Karate, both Motobu and Mitose used the same family crest (which is pictured at the top of this page). 4. They both emphasized Makiwara use (an Okinawan method, neither Japanese nor Chinese). 5. Mitose gave Motobu a prominent picture and credit as a master of Karate-Kenpo in his first book, What is Self-Defense? Kenpo Jiu-jitsu. So which story is true?
I leave it up to you to make your own decisions on the history of Kenpo, but it should not affect the way you feel about your art! Kenpo today is still one of the best forms of self-defense available, regardless of its origins. Note: Kenpo is pronounced KeM-po in Japanese Ch'uan fa in Mandarin Ken fat in Cantonese It is also interesting to note that what we now refer to as Kenpo Karate (using the Kanji characters which are found on most Kenpo organizations’ crests-see figure 1) does not mean "Law of the Fist and Empty Hand." It actually means "Law of the Fist and China Hand." figure 1: When we (meaning the Kenpo community) spell Karate, we use the original form of Kanji for writing "Kara." (see figure 2) Not the character which is now used by the Japanese/Okinawans (see figure 3). The Okinawans changed the Chinese character for "Kara" in 1923 to the new one which would mean "empty." They felt the art that they now practiced was more Japanese/Okinawan then what they had brought from China and mixed with their Bushi No Te (Warrior’s Hands) or Okinawan-Te. It was no longer Chinese; it was now a new style. figure 2: figure 3: If you would like to learn more about this and the history of Okinawan-Te, I highly recommend Patrick McCarthy's book "Ancient Okinawan Martial Arts: Koryu Uchinadai Vol.2" and his site, the International Ryukyu Karate Research Society. Also note that there are those who practice martial arts in Okinawa who still refuse to use the new character; they still use the one which means China/Chinese. To recap, the word Kara-te can have two different meanings, reflecting the word's history. When written in its original form, Kara means "China" (or T'ang--pronounced "tong"-- referring to the T'ang Dynasty). In the second meaning, which is more commonly used now, Kara means "Empty." Thus, Karate became "Empty Hand." Note that Kara is pronounced Ko Old Sho Pine Tree Ryu Style or School Kem Fist or Ch'uan (Chinese) Po Law or Fa (Chinese)the same regardless of which character is used. Japanese (Modern) Kenpo Kara-te Original Japanese Character Kenpo Kara-te or Kenpo Toudi Chinese Mandarin Ch'uan-fa T'ang-Shou English Fist Law China Hand or Law of the Fist and China (Chinese) Hand.