History of Shaolin Kempo
The Shaolin Temple was first built around 495 ad, by the Chinese emperor
Hsino Wen. It was in the great Shaolin temple in the songshan mountains
of central China that Buddharama, a sixth century indian monk first intro-
duced Buddhism and a form of mediation and fighting techniques. He
introduced a form of breathing exercises based upon animal movement
s
designed to strengthen and condition the body as well as the mind. The art of Shaolin Kempo Karate has developed from numerous styles of
the martial arts including: SHAOLIN TEMPLE BOXING, JIU JITSU,
KUNG FU, KEMPO, different styles of KARATE, as well as the secret
art of the WHITE TIGER (Chin Na). Each fighting system offers some-
thing both unique and special, but each also has it's weaknesses that
make a fighter vulnerable. The ultimate in self defense lay not in one way
or style of fighting, but by the integration of these methods of fighting
into one. The Shaolin Kempo Karate fighting system is one of the only system's that
incorporates the movements of the original five animals: TIGER, LEOPARD,
DRAGON, CRANE, and SNAKE. It is a system that promotes health
and wisdom. Shaolin's theory of fighting is based upon effective multiple
strikes off a powerful mobile base, with linear, angular and circular off-
ensive and defensive motions with simultaneous manipulation of the opp-
onent's upper and lower body masses. The art of Shaolin Kempo Karate with it's graceful movements for devel-
opment of the internal energy & balance of the body's external strengths
is the essence for producing a superior fighter. Shaolin Self Defense
Centers believes by applying the physical and mental aspects of the
martial arts into your personal lives, one will achieve harmony and balance. William "Thunderbolt" Chow
Chow, a Hawaiian kempo pioneer and instructor, began the study of martial arts at age 7 under the guidance of his father ( a kung-fu master). During his youth, Chow also studied boxing, wrestling, jiu jitsu, sumo, and karate. He learned Kempo from James Mitose and became one of only five students to attain a black belt under him. Chow started teaching in 1944. His first school was at the Nuuano YMCA in Hawaii. In his new school Master Chow made several modifications to the kempo that he learned from Master Mitose. These modifications enhanced the system's fluency, power development, and versatility. Chow went on to award the rank of black belt to a number of students since 1949. Among those, the most notable are Ralph Castro,
Edmund Parker, Nicholas Cerio, Paul Pung, and Adrian Emperado. This is a short demonstration that Prof. William Chow did at the 1982 California Karate Championship. At the time Prof. Chow was 68 years old! We want to thank Prof. Eugene Sedeno for providing this
piece of historic video. Click here for to view video in standalone player
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James M. Mitose (1916-1981)
At the age of five Mitose was sent from Hawaii to Kyushu, Japan for schooling
in his family's ancestral art of self defense (kempo). From 1921-1936 he studied
and mastered his families teachings which were based directly on Bodhidharma's Shaolin Kung-fu. According to Mitose family tradition, clan members in Kumamoto and Nagasaki brought the knowledge of Shaolin Kung-fu from China shortly before 1600. This art was modified by successive masters until Kempo was born. After completing his training in Japan Mitose returned to Hawaii in 1936. In 1942 he organized the official Self-Defense Club at the Brestania Mission in Honolulu. Only five of his students (Thomas Young, William K.S. Chow, Paul Yamaguchi, Arthur Keave, and Edward Lowe) had attained the rank of first degree black belt.
