KOSHO RYU KEMPO - This style of Kempo was brought by visiting monks to the Mitose family in the 15th century. Over the centuries this form of Shaolin Chuan Fa was blended and refined with forms of Jujitsu that where common to the area; as well as Rinzai Zen philosophy, Kyudo, and other arts. Kosho, the name of the Mitose clan, means "Old Pine Tree" and the Kempo art is referred to as "The Old Pine Tree Style."
SHAOLIN KEMPO KARATE - The Shaolin Kempo Karate system was founded by Fred Villari, a student of Kajukenbo as well as other martial arts. Fred Villari's system tends more towards the Kung-Fu element and utilizes the techniques of the 5 animal Chaun Fa to a large extent. Added to the Kempo system was White Tiger Chin Na techniques, as well as various Aikijujitsu projections and immobilizations. Shaolin Kempo Karate is taught across the United States and Canada.
AMERICAN KENPO KARATE - An offspring of William Chow's Chinese Kenpo Karate, Ed Parker's American Kenpo system is of the larger systems. Parker took what William Chow taught him and organized every technique and movement into a format that could be broken down into levels for all students. Parker felt that the innovations he added to his Kenpo eventually made up 85% of the system and, thus, he renamed it American Kenpo Karate. The American Kenpo system can be seen in the movies The Perfect Weapon, and "Street Knight" starring 5th dan, Jeff Speakman, head of the American Kenpo Karate Systems and former student of Ed Parker.
KAJUKENBO, - Kajukenbo was synthesized in the Palama settlements of Hawaii during the years 1949-1952. Five practitioners of their respective martial arts developed Kajukenbo to complement each others styles, to allow effective fighting at all ranges and speeds. The man credited with the founding of Kajukenbo is Siju Adriano D. Emperado, who practiced Kempo and Escrima. It was decided that Kempo would be the scaffolding around which Kajukenbo was built. The arts drawn upon to found Kajukenbo are Tang Soo do (karate), Judo, Ju-jitsu, Kempo, and Chu'an Fa Gung Fu (Chinese boxing); hence the name Ka-ju-ken-bo (Tang Soo Do was shortened as a form of Karate, even though that is technically incorrect. There are some students of Kajukenbo history, who state that the Karate part of the system is actually Shotokan. The practioner was Korean, not the art he practiced).
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Topic: Kenpo or Kempo
"From the literature I have read, I believe the letter n, represents Japanese style and the letter m represents Chinese style? Please reply if you have any information on this subject. Thank you."
Brewer
There is a lot of confusion about the use of kenpo with an "n" versus kempo with an "m." First it should be said that from a Japanese linguistical point of view, kenpo and kempo are entirely interchangeable. The Japanese don't distinguish between the sounds "ken" and "kem." It's one and the same to them, no matter what the character is. And when you hear it in Japanese, you should hear kenpo, not kempo, but Japanese speakers seem to say both. It makes no difference to them because it is the same.
In Japanese there are quite a few kanji (characters) with this same pronunciation. You may find some dialectical differences, but ken is ken. "N" is the only final consonant sound that exists in Japanese, although the sound is influenced somewhat by the sound of the following syllable. When the Japanese are speaking amongst themselves, they are able to make the distinction either by the context of the conversation, or they ask, and describe the kanji of the word they are talking about. It is confusing sometimes, but they are used to it. You'll often see them writing on their hand to explain a point when it isn't clear.
How you write it (kenpo or kempo) in the West, however, depends on which romanization system you use. Both "Ken" and "Kem" represent the same hiragana or kanji character in Japanese. It is similar to how the Japanese sound "sha" used to be written "shya" by some. Thus, as noted above, while different groups in America use the different transliterations to identify their styles, they are the same thing in the original Japanese.
Some Western martial arts groups, however, do consider the differences important. Kempo with an "m" is often used to refer to Chinese and Okinawan branches of the karate or kung fu, whereas Kenpo, with an "n," has come to be accepted by many as referring to Mitose's Karate (Chow, Parker et al. See below). In fact some Western groups as well as Okinawans get upset if you describe what they do as Kenpo (such as Okinawan Kempo founded by Shigero Nakamura and Ryuku Kempo groups, which includes several different organizations).
Kempo is also often used as an alternative for Ch'uan fa, or what is better known today as Kung Fu. Many Western writers, however, often prefer to use the term Chinese Kempo. Included are the many styles that influenced development of karate on Okinawa including the Shaolin Kung Fu and Fujian Kung Fu styles (White Crane, Monk Fist, Five Ancestor Fist and many others).
The translators of several early karate books written by Okinawan masters also chose the spelling "Kempo." This included Funakoshi's (founder of Shotokan Karate) 1922 book Ryukyu Kempo: Tode (Okinawan Fist Fighting Karate), the 1926 book by Motobu, Okinawan Kempo Tode-jutsu Kumite (Karate Techniques for Sparring), and the 1930 book called Kempo Gaisetsu by Hotakada Mizu.
As noted above, the Kenpo transliteration or spelling (of Japanese Characters) was chosen by some American groups to identify their style and its derivatives. "Ken" is translated as fist, and "po" means the way. Thus Kenpo was used instead of Kempo when adopted by Kosho-ryu Kenpo (a family art of Ch'uan Fa said to be based on Shaolin Kung Fu) as brought to Hawaii from Japan in (1939-1941) and taught by James Mitose. William K. S. Chow (a student of Mitose and one of only five who Mitose promoted to black belt) also started teaching his own Kenpo Karate (Fist Way) in 1944. He trained many students (beginning in 1949) including Ed Parker (often referred to as the Father of American Kenpo) who founded his own Kenpo Karate organization and Joseph Emperado, a co-founder of Kajukenbo (a combined art of karate, Judo, jujutsu and Chinese Boxing).
However, some such as Kuda Yuichi OShinsh, head of Matsumura Kenpo in Okinawa prefers the term "kenpo," although he acknowledges both "Kenpo" and "Kempo" are interchangeable terms. He prefers "ken" since it has to do with the meaning of fist. He also notes, however, that either term (kenpo or kempo) indicates that the art being described has its roots in the Chinese arts.
It should also be noted that many Western writers also use the term kenpo to refer to the " Japanese sword arts." As to the art of fencing (kenjutsu), "ken" is often used as a general term meaning sword. More specifically, however, "ken" refers to an ancient double edged sword with a center ridge. "Po" refers to way. Donn Draeger in his works more narrowly refers to kenpo as a medieval form of kenjutsu in the tradition of Maniwa Non Ryu.
Other Western authorities, however, don't really distinguish between the two terms, although one is usually chosen for consistency. John Sells, for example, in his book Unante uses Kempo, although he notes it is just another spelling of Kenpo. For Sells, the Kempo is used in two ways -- as a Japanese equivalent for Chinese Ch'uan Fa which in modern days is better known as Kung Fu (also a general term referring to Chinese martial arts but most commonly represented by the Shaolin heritage) -- and to describe the interchangeable terms referring to the Okinawan arts, such as karate, te, tode and unante. On the other hand, Mark Bishop in his book Okinawan Karate uses the "n" spelling when he refers to the book Kenpo Haku as an illustrated Chinese Boxing Manual (the Japanese name for the Bubishi.)
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I study Ed Parker Kenpo
