HISTORY OF THE MARTIAL ARTS
Chronological examination of the earliest forms of Martial Arts, are very challenging due to the lack of documentation. Certain artistic creations by way of paintings, statues and rare writings such as the I-CHIN-SUTRA have allowed historians to peace together this puzzle of Martial Arts origin. The term MARTIAL ARTS means WAR LIKE and is attributed with any organized system of PERSON-TO-PERSON COMBAT. In a loose sense, almost all cultures have had some form of Martial Arts. However, Martial Arts as we think of them today tend to relate to fighting skills and systems of Asiatic descent.
It would appear that the first Martial Art evolved in India around 5000 B.C. with the Kshatriya Warrior Class and there discipline known as VAJRAMUSHTI. But, other records seem to link Martial Arts even back to the time of the EGYPTIAN EMPIRE. It would seem that there was no evidence of any Martial Arts in China until 2674 B.C., when the Yellow Emperor Huang Ti had his solders train in what Westerners refer to today as KUNG FU. It should be noted that the term KUNG FU is really a general word denoting MASTERY or EXCELLENCE. The fighting aspect of KUNG FU is WU SU or GWA SHU. These are part of a more general expression called CH’AUN FA. The Japanese term for Chinese Martial Arts is KEMPO / KENPO. Two distinct forms of KUNG FU where developed starting with the influence of TAOISM (Founded by Lao Tsu in 600 B.C.), which created a “SOFT or INTERNAL” (Esoteric) school and later an influence of BUDDHISM (Brought to China from India by Budhidharma in 527 A.D.), which stressed a “HARD or EXTERNAL” (Exoteric) school of thought. Many systems of KUNG FU evolved such as TAI CHI CH’AUN, SIL LUM, CHO LI FAT, SHAOLIN FIST and HUNG GAR to name a few. With China being a cultural center in the Far East it had a great influence in the development of most Eastern Martial Arts systems.
During the T’ang Dynasty period (618-906 A.D.), Chinese Martial Arts also traveled to a small island south of Japan called Okinawa (Part of The Ryu Kyu Islands). It was there that early forms of KUNG FU or CHINESE KEMPO / KENPO were combined with the native’s abilities and CHINESE KEMPO / KENPO was renamed TODE or TANG SHU. In 1372 China assumed control of the island. Okinawan history records a great sovereign named Sho-Ha-Shi, who controlled Okinawa under one entity, about five hundred years ago. During this reign, he ruled the government with the sole purpose of establishing a cultural country, and so prohibited the carrying of arms. In the year 1609, Shimazu, a Japanese feudal lord, under the influence of the rules of Satsuma Province of Japan invaded Okinawa and took it into his possession. He then, clamped an even firmer restriction on the use of WEAPONS by the Okinawan natives to prevent retaliation. Thus, the Okinawans were forced to practice their Martial Art of “TE” in secret (The CHINESE KUNG FU practiced in Okinawa prior to 1901-1902 was renamed “TE” meaning HAND). Because “TE” was practiced in many different towns, the name of each town preceded the word “TE” in order to distinguish their individual styles of “TE”. The three major cities where “TE” could be found were Shuri, Tomari and Naha, thus creating SHURI-TE, TOMARI-TI and NAHA-TE. Nationally, they referred to their Martial Art as OKINAWA-TE, as a salute to the Chinese T’ang Dynasty during which the Empty Hand Arts flourished. The Okinawans changed their “TE” and renamed their Martial Art KARATE. Understand that originally, the Okinawan connotation of “KARA” was CHINA, but has since taken the Japanese word KARA meaning EMPTY. This was the golden period, which brought about an upsurge in the advancement of this Martial Art. Through their efforts and practice, many improvements developed, which eventually brought about the art or KARATE. However, it was not until 1902 that Okinawa began to openly teach KARATE to the general public. Up to that time KARATE was reserved for only the upper class of people.
In the late 1800’s a young Okinawan named Gichin Funakoshi studied with different masters from Shuri and Naha and then created his own form of KARATE called SHOTOKAN. His original purpose for training was to practice the KARATE movements in a sequence known as KATA for health purposes. In 1922, Gichin Funakoshi introduced his style of KARATE to Japan and established a teaching center in Tokyo. After its introduction by Funakoshi, many other Okinawan KARATE men followed him, spreading KARATE outside of the confines of Tokyo. By 1930 almost every school in Japan had a KARATE department.
Japan, although some evidence suggests that a system known, as CHIKARA KARABE existed in 220 A.D., really had little Martial Arts until as late as the 16 century A.D. when JUJITSU came into being. It was a combination of JAPANESE WRESTLING (Sumo) and CHINESE KUNG FU (Kempo / Kenpo). Many sub-systems have evolved from JUJITSU over the last hundred years such as JUDO (1882 Jigaro Kano) and AIKIDO (1900). Other Japanese Martial Arts systems including KENJITSU, BUJITSU and NINJITSU (hired assassins) have played an integral part in Japanese history.
It is said that Korea had its first Martial Art known as SOO BAK brought to them by the original followers of Budhidharma. SOO BAK was later renamed SOO BAK DO, and was mandatory for all soldiers to study who were under the command of General Choi in Yi Dynasty. At the time of the Sino Japanese War of 1894, TAE KWON DO and TANG SOO DO (Art of The China Hand) were the major systems. After the liberation of Korea in 1945, TAE KWON DO became the national sport. From TAE KWON DO, MOO DUK KWON was developed.
It is very important to understand that all Martial Arts systems over the centuries have continued to change, so that what is practiced today, even if the systems are using the same names, are different from what was originally taught. With the introduction of these systems there was resurgence of interest in the study of Martial Arts in the Far East by Easteners. People of Non-Asiatic descent were not exposed to these Eastern disciplines for the purpose of study. There were two major sources of the West being introduced to Eastern Martial Arts. The first involved wars such as World War II and the subsequent American occupation of Japan, Okinawa, and the Korea War, etc. During these times servicemen were introduced to the Martial Arts combative skills. The second source was the immigration and the emigration of Easterners to the West and Westerners to the East. The major stop-off point during these times was Hawaii. Hawaii became a cultural melting pot and thus provided a forum of Asian Martial Artists of different Systems and Styles. Some would often compare, exchange and often steal knowledge and techniques from one another.
Martial Arts in North America had been practiced in secrecy in the late 1800’s amongst the Asian communities only (Related to The Railways and Mining). Publicly however, Non-Asians were not introduced to the Martial Arts until the late 1950’s. In the early years, men mostly populated commercial Martial Arts schools in the United States. The training was hard-core and receiving a Black Belt was based on learning the most lethal skills and being very physically tough.
KARATE’S height of popularity grew during the era of Japan’s Military expansion and lasted up to the end of World War II. Because of its lethal qualities and its adoption by the former Japanese Military, KARATE was officially banned August 11, 1951 by a special occupational directive. However, after Japan regained its status with the United States, the ban on KARATE was lifted and the Art has since been revised. Since its introduction into Japan, KARATE TECHNIQUES have been modified and improved, with many JUDO holds being incorporated into the Art. Compared to Japan’s national sport of JUDO, KARATE is still an obscure Art, but judging from the rapid increase of KARATE schools that had been spreading throughout Japan and Hawaii, it was fast developing into a major sport. In China, the term KUNG FU is divided into two major forms, and there are many variations of these forms, with each borrowing from the other. Some schools in China place great emphasis upon the use of their FINGERS when applying their TECHNIQUES, while others place emphasis on the KNUCKLES or FEET. This is also found to be true in many schools of KARATE today. However, whatever the differences are, the forms are still similar in context, and are only distinguished from each other by a few individual features.
History of Hawaiian Kenpo Karate
There are many “styles” of Karate. Some, like many Korean styles, emphasize long-range kicking. Others, like Chinese Kung Fu (the “original Karate”), emphasize circular movements and fighting methods modeled after animal behaviors. Aikido and Jujitsu use leverage and joint locks to manipulate aggressors. Japanese Karate styles are often closely linked with Japanese Shotokan Karate with a short forward stance and strong punches, kicks, and blocks. Our style, Kenpo, emphasizes “closing the gap” and in-fighting, with many short-range punches, kicks, and elbow strikes. Another unique facet of our Hawaiian Kenpo style is the incorporation of Judo, Jujitsu, and Aikido techniques (Grandmaster Bill Ryusaki also holds a 7th degree black belt in Judo).
Karate is a martial art. “Martial” comes from the Latin martialis, meaning “pertaining to Mars”, the ancient Roman god of war. Obviously, when training people in potentially deadly techniques, a great deal of control must be exercised over students to prevent injuries. The person who both teaches and watches over us is our Sensei (pronounced “SEN-say”), a Japanese word meaning “teacher”. To become a Sensei, one must first be promoted to the rank of black belt.
Partly because of the subject matter, and partly due to the traditions passed down to us from its Japanese heritage, Karate requires strict obedience, careful attention, and respect for the instructor. The teacher, or Sensei, may dismiss anyone from activities at any time if he or she feels that that individual is creating a disturbance or otherwise endangering the safety of themselves or of other students. If you or your child are students in our dojo, please take a few minutes to go over the “RULES OF THE DOJO”. While some regulations may seem strict when compared with your previous experiences, please remember that the ultimate outcome of following the rules is ensuring everyone’s safety and enjoyment of the classes.
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Our Belt Ranking System:
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ADVANCED:
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INTERMEDIATE:
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BEGINNER:
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Black
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Green
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Orange
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Brown
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Blue
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Yellow
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Purple
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White
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A BRIEF HISTORY OF OUR STYLE (CLICK HERE FOR RULES OF THE DOJO)
Please be aware that there are MANY versions of the history of Karate. You will find other variations and even completely different histories from other sources. The following was worked out of multiple text and internet references, and is as accurate as I can make it. Just don’t be shocked if you hear something different from other Karate practitioners - after all, very few things were written down before this century.
Unfortunately, as in many area of highly specialized training, Karate is not strictly a sea of brotherly love. Some beginning students like to believe that somehow the local martial arts method that they have taken up is "better" than any other style. On television, you may watch expert proponents of divergent styles fight it out for prizes and recognition. You may even hear some karateists theorize that their system is innately superior to all others, and that their way of doing Karate is somehow the only correct method, or that other schools do not practice "true Karate".
In our dojo, Sensei Ivan encourages the participation of students and Senseis from any and all styles. We have had "guest Senseis" with entirely different backgrounds, such as Grandmaster Bill Thurston, teach class. If you ask any experienced martial artist what the "best style" is, he or she will tell you that we are all climbing the same mountain, perhaps by different paths, but all towards the identical goal - that of perfecting ourselves. We are all brothers and sisters in this common pursuit, and we really should continually strive to offer all aid and assistance to those students climbing the slopes behind us, no matter what race, sex, creed, religion, national origin, or specific Martial Arts style.
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Dharuma, founder of Zen
and of ancient-day Karate:
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Around 40 years after Dharuma’s death, a Chinese monastery was attacked by outlaws, which was a very common occurrence in those days. What was unusual was the appearance of a man only known as the “begging monk”, who used a collection of hand and foot techniques to drive away the attackers. The other monks were very impressed by this display, and requested instruction in this method of self defense. This fighting art became known as Chuan Fa, or the “Fist Method”.
In the 3rd century A.D., a Chinese surgeon developed a new fighting system by combining Kempo with older physical conditioning methods and with the movements of the tiger, bear, deer, monkey, and bird. This was later modified to follow the fighting spirits symbolized by the tiger, crane, dragon, leopard, and snake to become the Shaolin fighting arts. As was the case with most martial art styles of the time, these techniques were handed down verbally from master to student, were jealously guarded, and were never written down. Another story is told about a Chinese Buddhist monk named Ta Mo who returned from India around 526 A. D., and began teaching Zen Buddhism in the Shaolin Temple in Northern China. He noticed that his frail student monks tended to fall asleep during his lectures, so he taught them a set of exercises he called the “eighteen hands”, updating the existing Kung Fu fighting movements. These exercises became known as “Eighteen Monk Boxing”, and the Shaolin Temple became a center for Kung Fu study.
Around 700 A.D. a priest named Chueh Yuan revised Ta Mo’s “soft” (“internal”) system into 170 actions, which became the “hard” (“external”) school of Shaolin Kung Fu. Graduation from the Shaolin monastery evolved into passing three tests: first an oral exam, then combat with other monks, and finally passage through a labyrinth of 108 mechanical dummies equipped with knives, spears, and wooden fists. The final exit through the front gate of the temple was blocked by a 500-pound red-hot urn, which when lifted out of his way would brand the student with a dragon on his right arm and a tiger on his left. The man who could pass these tests was then a Shaolin priest, who went out into the world to defend the poor and the weak, and to right the wrongs of Chinese feudal society.
There was no uniform style practiced by the Buddhist monks; instead, over 400 individual styles branched out from the original art. Despite the secrecy shrouding these unarmed fighting methods, Kung Fu fighting techniques eventually leaked out into the general population, and during the Yuan Dynasty and the Ch’ing Dynasty thousands of unarmed Chinese rose up in revolt. Between 1898 and 1900, an ultra-nationalist Chinese movement tried to rid their country of foreigners; utilizing hand-to-hand combat techniques, this revolt became known as the Boxer Rebellion.
Although weaponless fighting methods spread out all over Asia, they reached Japan last due to its geographic isolation. The oldest Japanese combat technique was called Tekoi, and later became Sumo Wrestling. In the thirteenth century, Jujitsu separated from Sumo and developed strangle holds, strikes, and throws. In the seventeenth century, when Japan conquered the Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa) midway between China and Japan, their warriors were exposed to an Okinawan unarmed fighting system called Te. In 1882, a Japanese educator and sports enthusiast named Jigaro Kano synthesized the sport of Judo from several Jujitsu methods. It was not until the twentieth century, in 1922, that Gichin Funakoshi brought together several fighting systems including Okinawa-Te, Jujitsu, Korean Chabi, and ancient Chinese Kempo, to develop Shotokan Karate, now considered the “classic” form of Japanese Karate. And despite its current popularity, Aikido was not developed until 1942, by Morihei Ueshiba, as a highly stylized form of Jujitsu, using body rolls with wrist, elbow, and shoulder twists.
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Gichin Funakoshi,
the father of
Shotokan Karate:
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Our own style branched out at the beginning of the seventeenth century, when two Japanese families (Kumamoto and Nagasaki) brought a version of Chinese Kempo (Chuan Fa, which is mentioned above) to Kyushu in Japan. This style was maintained within their families, and was gradually modified over the next 200 years to become Kosho Ryu Kempo, or “Old Pine Tree School”. In 1916 a five year old boy named James Mitose was sent from his home in Hawaii to Kyushu Japan to learn his ancestor’s art of Kosho Ryu Kempo from this uncle Choki Motobu, a Kempo master. James Mitose returned to Hawaii in 1936 to open the “Official Self-Defense” club in Honolulu, and thus is credited as the first to bring Kempo to the United States. His first students to be promoted to black belt included Thomas Young (who took over his school), William K. S. Chow, Edmund Howe, Arthur Keawe, Jiro Naramura, and Paul Yamaguchi.
William Chow had four brothers; all trained in Jujitsu. Knowledgeable authorities claim that he may have incorporated some of these Jujitsu techniques into Mitose's style of Karate, and did not borrow any circular movements of Kung Fu, to form the style he eventually called Chinese Kara-Ho Kempo Karate. He does seem to have opened his own dojo in 1949 in a local Hawaiian YMCA, and according to some, was the first to use the Kenpo spelling to signify his break from the Mitose style of Kempo. William Chow, also known as Professor Chow, passed his knowledge on to a great many students, before he died in 1987.
One important note - there really is no huge difference between Kenpo and Kempo karate. While some say that William Chow was the first to use the term “Kenpo” Karate, others state that the confusion between the two results from a difference in the translation from the original Kanji to English. Using the rules of the Kanji language, the spelling is Kenpo, while the pronunciation is “Kempo”. Some will argue that Kenpo and Kempo should be pronounced the same, and both mean “The Law of the Fist”.
Students of William Chow included Adriano D. Emperado (founder of Kajukenbo), Ed Parker (founder of American Kenpo), and Bill Ryusaki [pronounced “RHEE-you SOCK-ee”], our own Sensei.
Grandmaster Bill Ryusaki
Sensei Bill Ryusaki was born in Kamuela on the big island of Hawaii. Sensei Bill’s father, Torazo Ryusaki, held black belts in both Judo and Shotokan Karate, and required all his seven sons (he also had four daughters) to train in two martial arts. At the age of 8, Bill Ryusaki began training in Judo. While his brothers chose Kendo (Japanese sword fighting) and Aikido, Bill selected Judo and Kenpo Karate, and was taught by William Chow and Sonny Emperado, students of James Mitose. In the late 50’s, Sensei Bill came to southern California, and worked with Ed Parker. In 1962 he opened the original Ryu-Dojo in North Hollywood, but moved his studio to his home in Van Nuys in 1979. Sensei Bill became a frequent “guest Sensei” in the Racquetball World Kenpo Karate class over the last eight years. In July 1994, with his former student Sensei Otto Estuardo Schumann leaving for Guatemala, Sensei Bill took over his well established Kenpo Karate school at Racquetball World. Recently, Sensei Bill decided to leave Racquetball World and start a new Ryu Dojo school in Chatsworth. Sensei Bill is a regular guest Sensei in the world famous House of Champions located in California.
Grandmaster (GM) Bill Ryusaki is one of the true pioneers of Kenpo in the United States. After coming to the mainland in the late 1950's, he started training with Ed Parker in his garage. He also trained with Ed Tabian, a student of Ed Parker's. He then trained with John Leoning (a black belt under Adriano D. Emperado), the first Kajukenbo instructor on the mainland, in 1957. GM Bill Ryusaki received his black belt in Kajukenbo/Kenpo from John Leoning in 1961. Sensei Bill's first black belt was Dan Guzman. In 1988 I [Sigung John Bishop] gathered this information from GM Bill Ryusaki, Otto Schumann, Cecil Peoples, Ed Parker and Dan Guzman. They all have copies of my thesis "The History and Evolution of Chinese Kenpo Karate". Although Sijo Emperado told me he never trained GM Ryusaki directly, his student Marino Tiwanak and his instructor William Chow trained GM Ryusaki in Hawaii. GM Ryusaki also trained with Chow's student Bill Chun while in Hawaii.
Sensei Bill has appeared in numerous films as an actor and stuntman, including work with Bruce Lee on the “Green Hornet”, and in “Hawaii 5-0”, “Wild, Wild West”, and with David Carradine in “Kung Fu” (remember the assassin sent over from China?). Other credits include “Knots Landing”, “China Beach”, “Planet of the Apes”, “Above the Law” with Steven Seagal, “Rambo - First Blood Part II”, “Karate Kid II”, “Showdown in Little Tokyo”, “Robocop II”, “Police Academy II)”, “Black Rain”, “Double Impact” (where he shot it out with Jean Claude Van Damme), “Welcome to Paradise”, and “Universal Soldier” (one of the men rappelling down the face of the dam was Sensei Bill!). You may also have recognized our Sensei getting his nose punched in by Bridget Fonda in “Point of No Return” (Sensei Jim is the karate student doing the fist-hammer in the same sequence). Sensei Bill has appeared in "Beverly Hills Ninja" with Chris Farley, and he is the co-star of "The Beginner", a short subject film which also features many of our Sensei instructors.
Sensei Bill has taught his art to thousands of students, including Senseis Otto Estuardo Schumann, Benny “The Jet” Urquidez, and Cecil Peoples. Being the head of our style, Sensei Bill holds a 10th-degree (Ju-dan) black belt in Hawaiian Kenpo Karate, and a 7th degree black belt in Judo.
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| Adriano D. Emperado |
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| Bill Ryusaki |
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