History of Kenpo
(last updated January 22, 2002)

Introduction Into Kenpo....

There are over 300 styles of martial arts in China and they are referred to as
Quan fa in Mandarin (also spelled in the Wade-Gilles system as Ch'uan fa), and Kuen Fat in Cantonese, meaning "fist law".

In Japanese, the Kanji (Japanese word for Chinese written ideograms or characters) for Quan fa is pronounced Kem Po (spelled Kenpo). There are many styles or systems of Kenpo, as Kenpo/Quan fa is a generic 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. There are several hypotheses surrounding the advent of this sytem of Kenpo in the West. Unfortunately, none can be collaborated. The true origins are probably lost to antiquity forever.

 

Orgins of Kenpo....

1. 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 Gong fu (Quan 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.
   
   
   
2. 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 Okinawan Kempo Tode Jutsu for some time under Choki Motobu and studying Koga-ryu Ninjutsu and Sato-ryu kempo under Seiko Fujita.
   
   

   Fujita Seiko was the last Koga-ryu Ninpo grandmaster. He died in a car crash in the 1960's with his three top students. He was the grandmaster of Koga-ryu Ninjutsu and 14th Soke of Sato-ryu Kempo.

   The Choki Motobu family style can be called Motobu-ryu. It is rumored that Choki Motobu ended up becoming James Mitose's uncle through marriage, this has not been verified. The Motobu family art of Motobu-ryu continues today, as it was learned from his father, by Chosei Motobu.
   
   
   

3. I have also heard rumours that Mitose may have intentionally put clues in his Kenpo as to the "true" origins of his system of Kenpo, and that the Kosho-ryu and the Kosho monk he spoke of may have been the Chinese Gong fu master Kusankun (also known as Koshokan and Koshankun). This would explain the Okinawan connection, i.e. Motobu, makiwara training, etc., as well as the Chinese influence.

   According to Patrick McCarthy, in what is know as the "Oshima Incident", Confucian scholar Tobe Ryoen compiled a cronical about a disaster which took place in 1762, when an Okinawan tribute ship en route to Satsuma was blown off course during a typhoon and drifted to Oshima beach in the jurisdiction of Tosa-han (Kochi Prefecture) on Shikoku Island.

   In a discussion with the Okinawan officer in charge of warehousing the kingdom's rice supply, reference is made to a Chinese named Kusankun.

   He is described as an expert in Kenpo, or more specifically kumiai-jutsu, it is believed that Kusankun, with a few personal disciples, traveled to the Rykyu Kingdom with the Qing Sapposhi Quan Kui in 1756. Shiohira's description of Kusankun's Kumiai-jutsu demonstration leaves little to question.

   Oral tradition maintains that Kusankun was one of the teachers of the great Okinawan master Sakugawa Chikudan Pechin (the father of Okinawan karate). There is also a hypothesis that Kusankun or Sakugawa may have been responsible for bringing the Bubishi (Wu Bei Zhi in Mandarin) to Okinawa, which directly was the largest influence on karate. The Bubishi is known as the Bible of karate and is a classic Chinese work on philosophy, strategy, medicine, and techniques as they relate to the martial arts, including the obscure technique called the Dian Xue (Dim Mak in Cantonese), and cavity striking.
   

    

So which version is true...? 

1. 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 13th century. The majority of the ryuha that claim pre-15th century origins, in fact, can be traced back only to the 18th, 19th, or 20th centuries.
   
   
2. 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.
   
   
3. James Mitose was supposed to be the 21st generation descendant of the founder. The Katori Shinto-ryu is the oldest proven ryu, founded in the 1400s, and they are only on the 20th 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.
   
   
4. 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.
   
   
5. 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...? 

A.  They were both in Japan from 1921-1936.

B.  It is rumored Choki Motobu was James Mitose's uncle through
      marriage.

C.  Both Motobu and Mitose used the same family crest
     (which is pictured at the top of this page).

D.  They both emphasized Makiwara use (an Okinawan method, neither       Japanese nor Chinese).

E.  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...?

Another person who had a huge impact on the development of the Kenpo practiced today in the West, was William Kwai Sun Chow.

William K.S. Chow studied Kenpo under James Mitose for several years and in 1949 opened a school of his own at a local YMCA, to teach students his own variation of Kenpo (one of those students being Edmund K. Parker). To distinguish his system from James Mitose's Kenpo Jiu-jitsu, Chow referred to his art as Kenpo Karate.

It is unknown what William K. S. Chow's martial arts background was prior to his involvement with James M. Mitose. That in it's self has been an ongoing debate for some time.

Although many times throughout his life William Chow claimed that Mitose was his only "Teacher", Chow observed and exchanged information with several different instructors, one very notable teacher was professor Henry Seishiro Okazaki in Danzan-ryu Jujutsu

 

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 or system! 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
Quan fa in Mandarin
Kuen 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 Chinese/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 (see figure 3). The Japanese 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 then what had bean brought from China and mixed with Okinawa's "Bushi No-Te" (Warrior’s Hands) or Okinawan-Te. It was no longer Chinese; it was now a new style!?

Note: 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 Tang--pronounced "tong"--referring to the Tang Dynasty). In the second meaning, which is more commonly used now, Kara means "Empty." Thus, Karate became "Empty Hand." Note that Kara is pronounced the same regardless of which character is used.

For an overview of the people involved in the history and future of Kenpo, please visit the  Who's Who of Kenpo page. 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.

 

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