history of kenpo and martial arts

The Law of the Fist: Kenpo

The term Kung Fu, or Chuan Fu is defined as ‘the law of the fist’. The Okinawa pronunciation of the phrase is "Kenpo" : Ken = fist & po=law. Many Okinawa Masters have referred to their art as Kenpo or Kempo, and the basic understanding of the word is "law of the fist".

                    The Ryukyu Islands & the Martial Arts

In, what is now, modern day Japan there is a chain of islands called the Ryukyu Islands, the largest of which, Okinawa, is less than 70 miles long.
This island was perfectly situated as a crossroads for major trade routes.
First discovered by the Japanese it soon became the hub for southeastern Asia, trading with Japan, China, Indo China, Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines. The Ryukyu Islands also known as Okinawa is a strategic location in relation to the rest of the orient.

Okinawa is the perfect stepping stone for mercantile aims, religious conversions or invasion. Over the Centuries, it's been used for many purposes. The Ryukyu Islands had been influenced by the Chinese Martial Arts, Japanese martial arts, and Buddhist, Taoist, and Shinto’s monks, priests and nuns who came to share their given philosophies. Soldiers from the various nations also brought their military skills to the island chain as well. There were many masters who learned the Chinese Skills of kung fu, and others who learned the Japanese Martial Arts from the Japanese invaders that would occupied the islands of Okinawa.

                        Okinawa Te Do: Karate-do
The indigenous closed fist fighting martial art in Okinawa was known as Te, which means Hand and was weaponless with an emphasis on hand, fist, elbow, arm, leg techniques. Over the years Okinawa’s indigenous martial arts systems were united by a common name Karate. The original meaning of the word Karate was Chinese Fist. However, the kanji for the word Kara  can also mean empty, thus karate is also called empty hand, or the art of the empty hand, karate-do.

In 1609, the Japanese clan of Satsuma, who had been exiled from Japan, invaded the island led by the Daiamo, Shimazu. The reigning King of the dynasty raised an army for repelling the invasion and the Ryukyuan warriors achieved some early success due to their bravery and skills, however an unexpected landing by Shimazu’s forces resulted in defeat and the Sansura clan of Japan took control of Okinawa. An edict banning weapons was promptly reissued.
To-de’ societies banded together to resist the Japanese and many were sent to China to train in combat arts. Because a lot of trade was done with the Fukien province, where Chinese Kenpo was prominent, many were trained there and subsequently brought it back to the islands.

A Chinese military officer named Kusanku arrived at the Okinawan Palace as an envoy, though occupied by Japan some Chinese attachés were permitted to come and go, no doubt due to the economic benefits that trade brought. Kusanku taught Chinese fighting to a guard there named Sakugawa. The Royal Classes were permitted to study To-de’ as were their guards. Sakugawa traveled many times with Kusanku to China and eventually combined Chinese Ch’uan fa with Te’ and formed Okinawa Te’ or To-de’. By this time To-de’ was his nickname. Two high level Katas were named for Kusanku, Kusanku Sho and Kusanku Dai. Obviously named in his honor from techniques he used, as he taught no Kata. These were modified versions of one Kata known just as Kusanku, which is very long and very difficult.

The Kara Kingdom and the meaning of Karate

Regarding the use of the name karate: In China, there was a province by the name of Kara, which was responsible for unifying the old country. It is believed that during the period of the Kara Kingdom, Chinese martial art leaked out to many satellite countries (Japan, Okinawa, Korea, etc.). There are two ways of writing in kanji, one of the three alphabets in Japan, the characters for the word karate. When written one way, it reads "Chinese hands", and when written the other way, it reads "empty hands". It is this author's belief that the kanji for the "Chinese hands" may also be interpreted as "Kara hands", or "hand of the Kara Kingdom". The Japanese have changed the kanji that read "Chinese hands" to the kanji that reads "empty hands".

Over the years Te developed separately in the thee major cities of Okinawa, Shuri developed Shuri-te, Naha developed Naha-te, and Tomari developed Tomari-te. Collectively the styles of fighting inOkinawa were known as Okinawa-te or To-de’. Okinawa Kenpo Karate descends from the classical styles of Shuri-te and Naha-te, Master Shigeru Nakamura studied both and Katas from each are found in his original 12 Katas.

Because these cities were few miles apart the art of each was not very different from another. Ultimately developing along two paths, the art around Shuri and Tomari developed into Shorin-ryu, and the art around Naha became Shorei-ryu. Shorin-ryu was quick with natural breathing and Shorei-ryu stressed steady, rooted movements, while breathing in synchrony with the movements. Chinese Kung Fu also has two main schools whose differences closely follow this definition

Buddhism and the Developement of the Art Kung Fu

In the early 6th century AD, Siddhartha Gautama, an Indian Monk and Knight of the Kshatriya Warrior Class, brought preachings of " Zen Buddhism" and Indian fighting techniques from India, to China. Buddha was an extraordinary being, the prime source for all Martial Arts styles, which have traced their roots back to the fabled Shaolin Temple. Today, Siddhartha Gautama, Buddha, is an ongoing source of inspiration to Karate practitioners throughout most of East Asia, and is acclaimed as the spiritual father of Buddhism, which reached Japan in the 12th Century AD.

Known by many names, the monk 'Da Mo' (pronounced Ta Mo), Dharma in 'Sanskrit' and Daruma Daishi to the 'Japanese', Bodhidharma, Buddha, was an enlightened Indian-Hindu Prince responsible for reviving Buddist philosophy in China.

While only fragments of historical record exist on Siddhartha Gautama, it is believed that he was born in 483 AD, the 'Prince of Kanchipura', in Southern India, to the Royal Sardilli family. The third child of King Sugandha, Buddha was a member of the 'Kshatriya Warrior Caste'; until some years later, he was drawn to a small Buddhist province south of Madres. In the midst of his education and training to follow in his father's footsteps as King, Buddha encountered the 'Buddhist' original teachings. He immediately found enlightenment in Buddha's words and decided to forfeit his inheritance and esteemed position as a Prince in order to study with the famous Hindu teacher 'Prajnatra', in religious Hindu teachings.

Buddha Travels to China

Under his Master's guidance, the Buddha grew wise and advanced in the way of Buddhist practice-gifted the name, 'Buddha-dharma'. After the death of his mentor, Prajnatra, some 20-years later, Buddha heard news that Buddhism had resurged in China, but to Buddhism's authentic detriment, in a different form. He resigned himself to the personal mission of traveling toChina to correct this. In contrast, other historic records have suggested that this mission was alternatively bestowed to him by Prajnatra while on his death bed.

Buddha arrives in China and Greets Emperor Wu

Buddha arrived at the capital of Liang (Ching-lung), in the Chinese province of Canton in 527 AD. Invited to preach by the Liang Wu Emperor (502-550 AD) during the reign of the Liang Dynasty, the Emperor requested an audience with Buddha and during their initial meeting, asked Buddha what merit he had achieved for his deeds. Buddha informed him that he had accrued none. Before long, the Chinese Emperor decided he did not like Da Mo's Buddhist theories, and requested that he leave. To no avail and sullen by his attempts, Buddha left 'Liang Palace' and set out for the Loyang Tse River, and climbed Bear's Ear Mountain in the Sung Mountain range before entering China's Hunan Province. This region was the home of the Shaolin Temple of Songshan, where he would go on to make Martial Arts history.

The Shaolin Temple Monks are Weak and Sickly

Buddha's sadness grew once he reached the famed Shaolin Temple; for Prajnatra's telling was true. The priests were weak and sickly. The Monks had become accustomed to a detrimental practice of long-term meditation, which made them spiritually stronger; however, they did little of anything else, which made them physically weak and unable to finish their meditative journeys. Many of the Monks would often fall asleep in meditation.

The Birth of Kung Fu

Because of this, he created a series of exercises derived from the Vajramushti, one of the more famous exercise was known as Shih Pa Lo Han Sho, meaning the 18 hands of the enlightened man. Once the monks were strong enough he decided to teach the monks there his unique method of meditation, known as Chan (pronounced Zen in Japanese).Because the temple was at the mercy of bandits at this time, Buddha showed the monks how to use these movements in combat. This new art was referred to using a combination of Dharma (meaning "truth of Buddhism") and Mushti (meaning "fist"). In Chinese, Dharma is Ho and Mushti is Chuan. Thus, the art was called Chuanfa ,Kung Fu, the law of the fist, which is pronounced 'kenpo' in Japanese/Okinawa.

The Birthplace of Martial Arts

India has been long-since hailed as the birthplace of Buddhism and bare-handed Martial Arts. From 1000 BC until approximately 300 AD, an ancient Indian Martial Art called, 'Sanskrit', was commonly practiced by the, 'Kshatriya', a primordial Hindu Warrior Class-somewhat similar to the Samurai of Japan or the Knights of Medieval Europe-who were responsible for upholding justice and social order within India, and who were additionally sworn to protect Hindu Royalists against outside foreign invasion.

Indian Martial Art forms were additionally developed into a sophisticated Hindu art called, the 'Kalaripayat-Kerala'. Believed to have originated during the early 4th Century AD, the Kalaripayat is unofficially the World's oldest form of recognized Martial Art. The Kerala trained in the art of Yoga to develop flexibility and sharpen reflexes for unarmed combat and complex body movements. The Kalaripayat style was characterized by very high kicking, foot sweeps, and low stances.

Kerala weapons used in combat, included: mace, spears, daggers, sword and shield. The Kalaripayat also encompassed the use of a unique and lethal weapon called, the 'Urumi', or flexible sword, which could be concealed inconspicuously around a Kerala Master's waist, beneath a belt.

Another staple of the Kalaripayat training system, as represented in modern Karate techniques today, involved the Kalari's defined use of a technique called 'Marma', which identified the key vital nodal points (marmas) of the human body (107 of them in all). The application of this art was by pressing and nudging particular nodal points to correct and control various muscular and neurological problems. Additional Marma massaging techniques often involved a subject standing full length on top of the patient and applying pressure with body weight and feet.

Chinese and Okinawan Relationship

The Chinese and Okinawans began their relationship, officially, in 1372 when Okinawa's King Satto formed an alliance with the Ming Emperor of China. This alliance would increase the Chinese influence on Okinawa. Then in 1392, as part of a cultural exchange, 36 Chinese families immigrated to Okinawa and settled in a village outside of Naha named Kume. It is known that among the immigrants from China, there were experts in Chinese kenpo that helped to build the interest in the martial arts among the Okinawans.

In 1429, an Okinawan, by the name of Sho Hashi, united what was known as the three kingdoms: Hokuzan (north), Chuzan (middle), and Nanzan (south), and made his capital in the city of Shuri. In 1477, Sho Hashi was succeeded by Sho Shi, who put a stop to all feudalism on Okinawa by making all of the Anji (feudal lords) move to the capital city of Shuri and imposed a ban on all weapons.