The Sorta Mixed Up History of Kenpo Karate

A Book on Five Martial Arts!

Three things today!

First, more books republished.
There’s a list of them at the bottom of this newsletter.

Second, I’m back on linkedin.
Somebody stole my site
and I had to jump through hoops,
but it looks like it is under my authorship once again.

Third,
here’s an article I wrote a while ago,
which has not been available
except through buying
The Biggest Martial Arts Lesson of All!
which is a ten volume collection of my articles.
Lord,
I’m going to have to republish the whole ten volumes!
But,
enjoy this one,
and I’ll be putting them in the newsletter.

Here go…

Hey Mate! What’s Yer Kenpo System?

Maybe you remember that great scene in Enter the Dragon where the bad guy asks ‘What’s yer style’ of Bruce Lee? As over the top as that statement appears, it points up the differences of arts, and how confusing such a thing as lineage can be. In no art is this as true as in the art of Kenpo.
Many people think Ed Parker created the style of Kenpo, but he actually only popularized it. And, to be honest, he more than likely added to the confusion of the art. He created something like five different versions, and he drew from Karate and Kung Fu and whatever happened to be on his mind that day.

Kenpo got its start in Japan. There is some confusion as to the correct spelling, some people saying Kenpo, and some saying Kempo. Kenpo usually refers to martial arts stemming from China, and Kempo refers to the more Japanese oriented arts.

There is confusion on this point as there is not agreement. Further, there is not always common lineage. That said, Kenpo, although believed to mean ‘Fist Law,’ is actually ‘Quanfa,’ which means Kung Fu.

The main types of the Kenpo in the USA come from James Mitose. Master Mitose is sometimes a controversial teacher, for he was tried and convicted of murder and extortion. He served his time in Folsom Prison.

Mr. Mitose taught William Chow, who taught Ed Parker. Mr. Parker, as has been described, popularized the art of Kenpo. Students of Mr. Chow include Adriano Emperado, Ralph Castro, Sam Kuaho, and others.

Names of the arts taught by these people include Shaolin Kenpo, Kajukenpo, American Kenpo, Kara-Ho Kempo, and many other arts. There is an abundance of secondary students who were taught by these people. Kenpo has also continued to grow conceptually, drawing from many other arts for kata, self defense applications, and so on.

Though Kenpo grew at a tremendous pace, and though the lineage is sometimes difficult to follow, as is the art itself, there is much value in it. Many people ‘wet their feet’ in the convenient ‘Strip Mall Dojos,’ and then continue their studies elsewhere. Still, to define the true system of kenpo, and to list the roots and influences that resulted in that art can be a daunting task.

Matrix Kung Fu…Monkey Boxing, simplifies and condenses Chinese Kenpo Karate. Head on over over to Monster Martial Arts and make sure you pick up a free book while you’re there.

HAVE A GREAT WORK OUT!

Al

PS ~ you should sign up for the blog at
https://alcase.wordpress.com

It’s expensive to pay Mailchimp and I want to cancel it.

Don’t forget to check out the interview
https://anchor.fm/dale-gillilan/episodes/S1E10—Al-Case-e12e3np

You can find the following books on such places as Thriftbooks, Barnes and Noble. If you can’t find them there they will be on Amazon.

The Last Martial Arts Book
A book on Nine Square Diagram Boxing. You won’t need another martial art after this one! Five hours of video!

Advanced Tai Chi Chuan for Real Self Defense!
Another book on Nine Square Diagram Boxing.

How to Fix Karate! (1)
Analyzes and presents the original self defense techniques of Karate! Five hours of video between book one and two.

How to Fix Karate! (2)
Analyzes and presents the original self defense techniques of Karate! Five hours of video between book one and two.

Five Martial Arts
The forms, two man forms for five different arts, shows how the arts progress from one to another.

Black Belt Yoga
Arranges the asanas in the correct order. Makes the art quickeer and easiere to learn.

The Book of Matrixing
Includes three books describing exactly what Matrixing is and how to use it. This is the science behind the martial arts.

The Book of Neutronics
Includes five books which describe exactly how Neutronics works. This is the science behind the science of matrixing.

MORE COMING!

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