WHAT KAJUKENB0
Kajukenbo is a hybrid martial art that combines Western Boxing, Judo, Jujutsu, Kenpo Karate, Eskrima, Tang Soo Do, and Kung Fu. It was founded in 1947 in Oahu, Hawaii, at the Palama Settlement. The original purpose of the art was to deal with local criminals. The founders were Sijo ("founder") Adriano Emperado, Peter Young Yil Choo, Joe Holck, Frank Ordonez, and George Chang (sometimes mistakenly referred to as Clarence Chang) who called themselves the Black Belt Society. The founders of Kajukenbo wanted to develop an art that would "make them invincible in the most difficult streets of Hawaii".
Kajukenbo uses hard, fast strikes to vital points throughout the body, take-downs involving high impact throws, and many joint and limb destruction techniques, usually as follow-ups to take-downs. There are also blocks from attacks, such as punches and defenses and disarmament of offensive weapons. The name works in two ways: "ka" ("long life"), "ju" ("happiness"), "ken" ("fist"), "bo" ("style") or "ka" ("karate"), "ju" ("judo"/"jujutsu"), "ken" ("kenpo"), "bo" (Boxing and/or Chinese Boxing Kung Fu), leading to the art's philosophical meaning: "Through this fist style, one gains long life and happiness."
Kenpo emerged as the core around which this new art was built. Although uncredited by name, other influences included American Boxing (Choo was US Army Welterweight Champion) and Escrima (Emperado also studied Kali and Arnis Escrima). From its beginnings Kajukenbo was an eclectic and adaptive art. As time has passed Kajukenbo has continued to change and evolve. Currently there are four distinct "recognized" branches of Kajukenbo: Kenpo ("Emperado Method" or "Traditional Hard Style"), Tum Pai, Chu'an Fa, and Wun Hop Kuen Do. In addition there are numerous branches, including CHA-3 and Kenkabo. Students are not required to mimic the teacher, but are encouraged to develop their own "expression" of the art.
History
in the late 1940s, Palama Settlement was a violent area and fist-fights or stabbings were commonplace. In 1947, Adriano D. Emperado and four other martial artists made a secret pact to create a street fighting combination of their arts. The foundation would consist of the following:
Adriano Directo Emperado — Kenpo (Kosho Ryu) and Eskrima
Joseph Holck — Judo (Danzan Ryu Jujutsu)
Peter Young Yil Choo — Kaheka Lane Kenpo Karate (Tang Soo Do) and Boxing
Frank F. Ordonez — Kaheka Lane Danzan Ryu Jujutsu
George "Clarence" Chang — Chu'an-Fa Chinese boxing
When the Korean War broke out, Joe Holck, Peter Choo, Frank Ordonez, and Clarence Chang were drafted, leaving only Adriano Emperado to carry the system on. Sijo Emperado and his brother Joe introduced Kajukenbo to the public by opening the Palama Settlement School in 1950. They called the school the Kajukenbo Self Defense Institute (K.S.D.I.). The training there was notoriously brutal. Their goal was to be invincible on the street, thus the students sparred with full contact. Professor Emperado had a motto, "The workout isn't over until I see blood on the floor". He also said "the best teacher is pain". His philosophy was that if someone was afraid of pain they would be defeated the first time they were hit. Those who remained developed into tough fighters with a reputation for employing their art in street fights with little provocation. Several students who came out of the school would become very prominent martial artists themselves, such as Sid Asuncion, Aleju Reyes, Joe Halbuna, Charles Gaylord, and Tony Ramos
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In 1959, Sijo Emperado continued to add more Kung Fu into Kajukenbo, shifting the art to a more fluid combination of hard and soft techniques. Since then, Kajukenbo has proved to be an improvement-based, continuously evolving and open form, willing to accept whatever works. John Leoning, who taught Doug Bunda, the brother of Carlos Bunda, also helped bring out the "bo" of Kajukenbo. John Leoning pointed out that there should be no wasted motion.
The art slowly began to grow in popularity, and soon Emperado had 12 Kajukenbo schools in Hawaii, making it the second largest string of schools at the time.[citation needed] Joe Halbuna, Charles Gaylord, Tony Ramos and Aleju Reyes, who all earned a black belt from Emperado, brought Kajukenbo to the mainland(United States Main Land)[clarification needed] in 1960. They each opened Kajukenbo schools in California. In 1969 Tony Ramos trained with and exchanged ideas and methods with Bruce Lee. Tony's version of Kajukenbo became known as the "Ramos Method" and is kept alive by numerous instructors. Aleju Reyes died in 1977. In 1987 Ahgung Tony Ramos before retiring from his civil service job on Travis A.F.B. and moving back to Oahu Hawaii Ahgung turned his school over to his most dedicated and loyal student and son Sr. Professor Anthony Ramos Ahgung and Sr.Professor Anthony RAmos are the sole owner of the Tony Ramos Schools/Ramos Method. Ahgung appointed Professor Ramos as his successor of his schools/method. Professor Ramos Head Quarters is at Wahiawa Kajukenbo in Suisun City California
In a 1991 interview with Black Belt Emperado was asked who some of the Kajukenbo tournament stars were and said "Al and Malia Dacascos ( Professor Alex Cadang’s Teacher) won many tournament championships. Al Gene Caraulia won the 1st Karate World Championship in Chicago in 1963 when he was still a brown belt. Purple belt Victor Raposa knocked out world rated Everett "monster man" Eddy at the 1975 "World Series of Martial Arts". Carlos Bunda was the first lightweight champion at the Long Beach International Karate Championship (IKC) in 1964. Bunda once defeated TV star Chuck Norris in competition where he broke Chuck's cup involving a kenpo groin kick." According to Norris, in his book Against All Odds: My Story he won the middleweight title in 1967 at the Long Beach Internationals, then beat Bunda who had won the lightweight title.
Modern Kajukenbo
Kajukenbo, as it stands today, has more grappling moves than regular kenpo and incorporates joint-breaking, low blows, and combination attacks. While it does include some competitive elements its primary focus is on realism and practicality. It is generally thought that "unfair" moves, such as strikes to the eyes or groin, are perfectly acceptable as is whatever else the practitioner feels is necessary to get home that day. To test the effectiveness of their techniques the five founders would provoke fights in and around Hawaii's slum settlement of Palomas. If the techniques they used were consistent in helping them over come their opponents in street-fighting then that technique was kept as part of the system. From these fights came Kajukenbo's Quins (forms or kata), Natural laws (self-defense), Tricks (close-quarters fighting), and grab arts (escapes).
Training workouts emphasize cardio conditioning and functional strength. While individual schools may show variation, it would not be unusual to train with sandbags or boxing gloves. There are core self-defense techniques at the heart of Kajukenbo and most schools eschew impractical, flashy moves and acrobatics. Most kajukenbo curricula feature counter-attacks to punches, kicks, grabs, as well as using knives, sticks and guns. While this base of common knowledge will keep schools' styles similar, there is plenty of room for variation. Given how different the four foundational styles of Kajukenbo are it is impossible to fully incorporate everything and some specialization is inevitable. This openness tends to encourage schools to incorporate other arts, such as eskrima or aikido, into their practice.Kajukenbo uses all ranges of fighting. There are kicking techniques, punching techniques, trapping techniques and grappling techniques. Many schools of karate and Korean martial arts concentrate on kata, but Kajukenbo concentrates on self-defense movements because protecting one's self in a street-fighting situation is primary. As the martial artist reaches higher levels in Kajukenbo meditation and chi training begin.
Some schools of Kajukenbo feature 26 katas that are broken down into 13 "pinyans" (also called "Palama sets" in some schools) and 13 "concentrations". Each of the concentrations have their own name. For example concentration number one is titled "crane strike/tiger claw", as it features that particular strike. Katas are incorporated into Kajukenbo to help the student refine their skill. Every movement in the katas has a function. For example the first movement in pinyan 1 is a right outward block while stepping back into to a right forward stance. This movement would be used to block a punch. Some katas also focus on multiple enemy combat.
