Short History of Kenpo

Of all the major Martial Arts systems, Kenpo’ s origin and history are the least understood and the most confusing.

Kenpo is a mixture of five cultures: First and most important, Chinese; second Japanese; followed by Okinawan, Hawaiian (before Hawaii became a state) and American.

The greatest confusion regarding "Kenpo" is the origin and meaning of it’s name. Despite it’s birth in China, the art called "Kenpo" was passed down through the Mitose family, who studied the original art in China in the 1600's and brought it back to Japan. Since the Mitose family was Japanese, they naturally used the Japanese language rather than the Chinese to describe their family system, which was later named "Kosho- ryu" (Old Pine Tree Style): "Ko" (Old) "Sho" (Pine Tree) "Ryu" (School/Style)

The original or more proper term is "Ch’uan Fa" (Fist Law) or "Ch’uan Shu" (Fist Art). Originally the martial arts in China were referred to as "Ch’ uan Fa" meaning "fist law". The Japanese pronounce these same written characters "Kenpo" or "Kempo". In modern usage, "Kenpo" spelled with an "N" indicates the original Chinese origin; when spelled with an "M" it indicates its incorporation into the Japanese culture.

It was James M. Mitose’s family, moved from Japan to Hawaii, who established the spelling of "Kenpo" with an "N" in the art we teach today. Kenpo was taught in the Britannia Mission of Hawaii by Mitose during World War II. William K.S. Chow was one of Mitose’s students who continued to spread his teaching of Kenpo. We can attribute the teaching’s of Kenpo here in the continental United States to Edmund K. Parker, who was a student of Chow.