American Kenpo Karate History

The earliest and, therefore, most speculative sources of our current American Kenpo Karate System are numerous:

1) Shang Dynasty through Han Dynasty (1600 B.C.-220 A.D.) Most Chinese martial arts styles can be traced back about 3,500 years to the practice of Shuai Chiao. Shuai Chiao developed from such influences as the grappling maneuvers of Mongolian wrestling; the footwork of horn butting (Chiao Ti); and the simple empty hands boxing being practiced by the feudal nobility. It took approximately 1800 years of development for Shuai Chiao to develop into some type of standard techniques (with variations from different regions of China). Shuai Chiao became a national pastime that was widely practiced by the nobility and the military. By the onset of the Han Dynasty, Taoism had developed as the main belief structure in China. The philosophy of yin and yang, force and counter-force, balance and counter-balance, and the philosophy of the Five Elements were incorporated into the people's Shuai Chiao. Taoist priests continued to work and develop internal power (qi or chi), breathing methods (nei gong), as well as moving and standing meditation [Canzonieri, Feb. 1996]. One such Taoist contributor was Hua T'o, a surgeon who proposed a series of health exercises involving animal postures (bear's neck, fowl's twist, etc.). He is the source of the southern long-hand forms. Hua T'o also introduced our animal attitudes as physical and mental models, as well as the Taoist breathing techniques.

2) Liang Dynasty through Sung Dynasty (500-1260 A.D.) Bodhidharma (Daruma Daishi, Tamo) was the 28th East Indian prince and the successor to Buddha. Bodhidharma traveled to China to preach Buddhism, i.e., that one must coexist with nature and the surrounding environment. After being rejected by the warring Chinese populace, he retired at the Shaolin Monastery. While attempting to teach the Shaolin monks, Bodhidharma found that many fell asleep during meditation. Bodhidharma introduced a series of hand and foot movements to strengthen the physical and spiritual natures of the Buddhist monks. The Shaolin monks used Bodhidharma's exercises as well as the fighting skills of body guards, temple guards, military generals, ex-soldiers visiting Shaolin and fellow monks (who came from poor backgrounds) to create the 18 Lohan Boxing style [Canzonieri, Feb. 1996]. From this beginning, the Shaolin monks continued to develop their martial techniques to aid in the protection and defense of the monastery from bandits. Bodhidharma's influence is preserved by us in his most famous quote, which is restated by Mitose: "...to fall down seven times, to rise eight times, life starts from now."

3) Yuan Dynasty (1260-1368 A.D.) During this Era, martial arts also became an integral part of the Chinese lifestyle. The martial arts were taught by only a select number of clans, who in turn passed on the deadly secrets to select clan members. The selected clan members were made, by their mentors, to swear never to disclose the secrets they received [Tindall, May 1996]. Around 1200 A.D., Genghis Khan began his conquest of China and in the process attacked a region containing one of the Shaolin temples. A high priest of the temple escaped to Japan where he met a Shinto priest whose name was Kosho. Kosho had already mastered a variety of fighting arts including: Kendo (Swordsmanship), Naginatado (Lance fighting), Kyudo (archery), fighting on horses and swim fighting. The high priest taught the Ch'uan Fa (Fist Law) system to Kosho. After becoming a master of all these systems combined, he changed his name to Mitose and began teaching his martial arts (Kosho-Ryu Kempo). Nearly 80 years later, a Buddhist descendant of Mitose (Kosho) founded the Kosho-Shorei (Old Pine Tree) temple in order to teach his philosophy of true self-defense (self-defense without body contact). Koshu-Shorei contained a complete system of wartime self-defense (Kosho Ryu) as well as s system of teaching religion, the arts, and humanities (Kosho-Shorii). The wartime art of Kosho-Ryu Kempo, was taught only to family members (insiders). Kosho-Ryu was passed on from generation to generation in order for the family members to be familiar with it and to be able to defend against it [Golub, Reference]. Through these Japanese generations, the ancient Chinese art was extensively modified from its original circular movements to the more strict linear format preferred by the Japanese. The linear movements and takedowns incorporated into the modern American Kenpo can be trace directly to Kosho-Ryu.

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