Kajukenbo

[Jozen-Bo]

Hello,
I have a little time and was eager to check up. I noticed that Complete made an inquiry about Kajukenbo. Good question!!!
Kajukenbo was devised back in the 1950's in Hawaii. During this time the islands were flooded with immigrants. Many were from Asia, Japanesse,Thailand, Chinese, Korean,..you name it. Well...this caused a lot of tension , as these immigrants brought their styles with them and off course they got into fights. There were neighborhoods that were very dangerous to visit. Mugging and killing became common place.

Amidst this mayhem several masters decided to learn from each other rather then fight, to put together something new. One teacher was a Karate Master, one a Kenpo Master, one a Chinese Boxing Master, one a Judo Master, and one a Jujutsu Master. They met in secret for over two years in abandoned building and fought! And fought! And Fought! During this process they worked together to observe what was working and what was easily countered. They kept the goods and discarded the rest. Amongst these men was a man names Professor Emporado. Thats our uber Sigum, he is something like a 13th degree.

Professor and the others gave the new art a name with a little bit of each style incorporated into the pronunciation. KA is for karate, KEN is for kenpo, JU is for Judo and Jujutsu, BO is for chinese boxing (also known as kung-fu..I think?)northern and southern style. My name Jozen...adds the Bo!!! Jozen-Bo! It has a lot of different meanings. Jo Zen Bo. My birth name is Joseph, everyone used to call me Joe as a youth, so the transition to Jozen-Bo feels quite natural. Enough about my name...

Kajukenbo took off! Hawaii has always had some strange connection to the west coast and so Kajukenbo entered the main land shortly after. It has proven many times over that it is a extremely effective and aggressive fighting style. We would go to tournaments and I would notice the Kajukenbo students where without mercy, they were usually forcing reaction and taking initaive in nearly every match I saw. There were off course many accidents...bloody as they were.

The first day I walked into a class and saw what they where teaching I thought...DAMN!!! It was so vicious and brutal I had to learn it. Tearing arms out of the socket and tying people into pretzels, it looked very interesting. I found the training to be very intense, Sifu wasn't easy. He would hit me when I wasn't looking and we sparred every Sunday for a couple of hours, as well as other days. The training is a good mix.

Getting a belt in Kajukenbo is not easy. They make you fight for it and prove yourself entirely. If you mess up, it will be some time before you get another chance. No one has a chance before 6 months to get their first sash (that what we called the belts). It went like this...Orange, Red, Blue, Purple, Brown, and then Black.

Sifu used say lots of useful stuff and he would often pretend he wasn't paying attention when he was. Kajukenbo involves a lot of street fighting concepts. Sifu would say if you are in a fight and your life is in danger, do what it takes to live. He also told the students that real fights aren't pretty or fancy, everyone is going to get some damage if both fighters are really fighting for their life (well...almost always). Even a amatuer can be a good fighter, giving the right amount of direct experience. Kajukenbo gives a lot of direct sparring, they emphasize the need to improvise quickly.

I had two nicknames in class; Gummy and daddy-long legs. I am rather tall and extremely flexible so both names fit well. Note to JoaNor...Daddy Long Legs walks by quietly while grasshopper hops about. And...Daddy Long Legs is the most poisonous spider on earth, it just can't bite humans (fortunately). Hehehe. I was giving the name by my Sifu's partner of the school. Sifu called me Gummy when not calling me Jo.

I will have to cover more about Kajukenbo soon enough, this post is getting too long to read! I also want to present a device that trains the eyes, and does much more then that. I have noted that I perceive time units as passing by WAY SLOWER then ever since I have been working with this. I believe if one can master it (which is damn near impossible...I am not even close) they would have a ultra unfair advantage in a fight. Why? Because...A it trains the eyes to see several moving thing very quickly...things that move in confusing patterns and that can be very hard to follow. B...it slows down subjective experience of time more then anything else I have ever worked with. C...Since I have been working with it I see and feel energy like never before! I can see chi all over the place, I see people's thoughts coming out of their heads from time to time, and I have identified of 50 distinct kinds of energy. This is no joke at all. There are also DEFGHIJ...etc. other things its does, and some of them would also enhance fighting skills. I will now start a thread and present it so you guys can know better what I am talking about. Be prepared, this gets heavy!

I will continue to discuss Kajukenbo here if there are any more questions? OR...it could have its own topic, since its growing in use all the time. Police, Military, and normal people alike are training more and more on the west coast in Kajukenbo...at least they were in the 90's. So...on to the Mind Portal!

[complete]

This should be its own topic so I moved it.

[Joemoplata]

My brother in law is a black belt in Kajukenbo and teaches a class up on the North Shore. My sister and his kids also train there. I attended one of the classes last time I was there and it looked not bad.

[Jozen-Bo]

Originally Posted by Joemoplata

My brother in law is a black belt in Kajukenbo and teaches a class up on the North Shore. My sister and his kids also train there. I attended one of the classes last time I was there and it looked not bad.

Did you get a chance to spar or train with him? Its quite an experience to spar an experienced Kajunkenbo master. They are so snapping quick and all over the place. You would learn a lot if you did. I have always been impressed with the Old Pine Tree Kenpo within Kajunkenbo- as well as the purer form. Its awesome as what ever you hit breaks your weapon...be it a fist, foot or other body part. Nasty but so effective!



Note:THANK YOU FOR GIVING KAJUKENBO ITS OWN PLACE!!! I SALUTE AND MY SIFU WOULD SALUTE IF HE WAS HERE, SO I SALUTE YOU AGAIN FOR HIM!!!

[Joemoplata]

Originally Posted by Jozen-Bo

Did you get a chance to spar or train with him? Its quite an experience to spar an experienced Kajunkenbo master. They are so snapping quick and all over the place. You would learn a lot if you did. I have always been impressed with the Old Pine Tree Kenpo within Kajunkenbo- as well as the purer form. Its awesome as what ever you hit breaks your weapon...be it a fist, foot or other body part. Nasty but so effective!



Note:THANK YOU FOR GIVING KAJUKENBO ITS OWN PLACE!!! I SALUTE AND MY SIFU WOULD SALUTE IF HE WAS HERE, SO I SALUTE YOU AGAIN FOR HIM!!!

We have traded some techniques, yes. He helped me with some striking I helped him with some submissions.

My roommate is also a BB in Kajukembo and a very good Purple Belt in BJJ as well. His father was apparently reanked high in Kajukembo.

[souldrum71]

Just curious, but, since this style (or blending of styles) originated in Hawaii, does it contain any aspects of the Hawaiian martial art called lua?

[Shinobi_Kokujin]

i never got to train with any Kajukebo people. but ive seen dudes get knocked out by them in the street when i was stationed in Hawaii.

thats an intimidating combination.... Big Burly Samoan+ Kajukenbo.....or Lua

good to see the art covered here

[Shinobi_Kokujin]

Originally Posted by souldrum71

Just curious, but, since this style (or blending of styles) originated in Hawaii, does it contain any aspects of the Hawaiian martial art called lua?

i would assume so because some practitioners also do Lua. but im not sure

[The End]

Anyone catch the episode about it on Fight Quest? Looked awesome. Although to me, it looked almost identical to Jeet Kune Do.

[XDEATHGOD]

yes i watch. did remind me a little of JKD.

[Zipper]

My Sifu studied under Sifu Emperado (my Sifu would refer to Emperado as Sifu) when he was assigned to the US Navy SEALs and earned his black belt from him. My Sifu is also my best friend and SCUBA diving partner. I can't continue my training with him though as he would need more people for me to spar with so I was never able to achieve my black belt in Kajukenbo but I did learn A LOT for our sessions together. It does strike me as having a great deal in common with Jeet Kun Do. There is a school in St. Louis close to where I live but I just need to get off this darn second shift to attend the classes. But until then I just practice my Katas and basic forms and techniques and someday I to will earn my black belt. I am not giving up hope.

I do find it funny when a Kajukenbo move sneaks out when I Kumite with a Shotokan student. He/She is like "where in the hell did that come from".

Kajukenbo can be a very vicous streetfighting art as they train and teach you that every part of your opponents body is a target. Sifu always tells me that you do what you have to do to survive.