history of modern kempo jiu jitsu - VMA Long Island

Kempo: The Law of the Fist

It was the dawn of the 20th century. Hundreds of immigrants hailing from the Orient and the Pacific—from China to Japan to the Philipines—migrated to the Hawaiian Islands, bringing with them countless styles of martial arts. They created a real melting pot that soon transformed into the martial arts capital of its time.

In 1916 at the age of four, a young Hawaiian named, James Mitose, traveled to Kyushu, Japan to learn the family art of Kosho Ryu Kempo. After years of rigorous training, the now 20-year-old returned to his home in Hawaii, bringing back his new knowledge to share with his community. So in 1942, he opened up his own Self Defense Club and began spreading his wisdom of the Kempo system with the public.

Very few students mastered Mitose's demanding style; however, one of the few who did was the legendary William Kwai Sun Chow, one of only six students to ever earn his black belt under Mitose. Together, the two men began to evolve the system. Even as a visual break they introduced wearing black gis for higher ranks—differentiating the Kempo style, a war art, from the increasingly popular, sport-orientated karate styles that utilized white gis.

At this time, many people were still looking for a pure traditional style. These people did not embrace the idea of mixing styles together. Regardless, Kempo continued to evolve, embracing and incorporating fighting principles from many different arts. Mitose was ahead of his time; his style could now be considered an original Mixed Martial Art. Mitose and Chow had planted the roots for a system that incorporated all the ways of fighting into one.

A pioneer of Kempo, Grandmaster Fred Villari realized, because of his varied wealth of experience and his dedication in seeking the ultimate fighting system, that each fighting system offered something unique, and each also had its glaring weaknesses that could make a fighter vulnerable. After studying and mastering many different styles and ways of fighting, Grandmaster Villari concluded that there really were only four ways of fighting.

Fight with your hands—punching and striking with an open or closed hand—and using your entire arm, like your elbows and forearms.

Kick and strike with your entire leg—from your feet and knees to shins and thighs.
Knock your opponent off his feet by throwing, tripping, pulling, pushing, shoving or scooping him.

Once your opponent is on the ground, grapple by either wrestling or holding, or by breaking and locking bones or joints against nerve centers.

Grandmaster Villari understood that the ultimate in self-defense lay not in one way or style of fighting. By combining the "Four Ways of Fighting." he devised and developed ways to integrate diverse methods of fighting into one.