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Adkisson's Martial Arts Academy
| Lil history of our styles Chinese Kenpo The origin of Chinese fighting arts can be traced as far back as 1100 B.C. In the 6th century A.D., the art would later earn its notoriety as Chinese Boxing or Chuan-Fa. By the 1500s, Chuan-Fa was to become more notable through the fame of the five Shaolin Temples, one located in each of the five Chinese provinces: O-mei Shan,Wu-tang, Fukien, Kwantung and Honan. All five temples used the five basic animal forms as part of their training – tiger, crane, leopard, dragon and snake – the foundation of Chuan-Fa training today. In the late 1500s, the great Shaolin Temples were burned to the ground by the Imperial army and destroyed. But over the centuries, the fighting systems survived and expanded out of China to Okinawa, Japan, setting the stage for their introduction to and eventual melding in Hawaii. It was in Okinawa that the Shaolin art of Chuan-Fa first became known as Kenpo, the Japanese translation for Chuan-Fa. It also was in Japan that a new term, kara te, meaning “Chinese hands” or “empty hands,” came into use in martial arts, replacing the older term te, or “hand.” In Hawaii, one of Mitose’s students was William K.S. Chow. Chow would later combine his Mitose- influenced Kosho-Ryu Kenpo with that of traditional five-animal Kung-Fu into the new art of Chinese Kenpo practiced today. William Chows’ Kenpo was a quick, vicious style that allows a defender to defeat more than one attacker simultaneously. Chow, only 5’2” in height, was nicknamed “Thunderbolt” for his quickness and skill. In addition to his reputation of a deadly combatant, Chow was reportedly both a great martial artist and innovator. American Kenpo The modern history of American Kenpo began in the 1940s, when Great Grandmaster James Mitose (1916–1981) started teaching his ancestral Japanese martial art, Kosho-Ryu Kenpo, in Hawaii. Mitose's art, later called Kenpo Jiu-Jitsu, traditionally traces its origin to Shaolin Kung Fu and Bodhidharma. Kenpo Jiu-Jitsu emphasizes punching, striking, kicking, locking, and throwing. Mitose's art was very linear, lacking the circular motions in American Kenpo. William K. S. Chow studied Kenpo under James Mitose, eventually earning a first-degree black belt. He had also studied Chinese Kung Fu from his father. Chow began teaching an art, which he called Kenpo Karate, that blended the circular movements he had learned from his father with the system he had learned from Mitose. Chow experimented and modified his art, adapting it to meet the needs of American students. The system known as American Kenpo was developed by Ed Parker as a successor to Chow's art. Parker revised older methods to work in modern day fighting scenarios. He heavily restructured American Kenpo's forms and techniques during this period. He moved away from methods that were recognizably descended from other arts (such as forms that were familiar within Hung Gar) and established a more definitive relationship between forms and the self-defense technique curriculum of American Kenpo. Parker also eschewed esoteric Eastern concepts and sought to express the art in terms of scientific principles and western metaphors. Ryukyu Kenpo Ryukyu Kempo consists of two areas that are not included in Modern Karate and most other modern Martial Arts: Kyusho Jitsu is the vital area, or acupuncture pressure point, striking encompassed with the art. More than simply knowing where a pressure point is, one must know how to strike the point as well as with proper angle and direction. Utilizing Kyusho in fighting techniques allows one to incapacitate the opponent quickly through body kinetics, pain compliance, knock outs, joint releasing (leading to hyperextensions or breaks), and more. Tuite, or "hand grab". This refers to the grappling and joint manipulations contained in Ryukyu Kempo. Everyone's body is weak in the same manner. These weaknesses occur near joints, nerves, tendons, and muscles. Tuite should not be thought of as an art unto itself. Tuite works in conjunction with Kyusho- Jitsu in that the pressure points are the keys to releasing the joints attacked by Tuite. Small Circle Jujitsu The Japanese combat techniques of Jujutsu (also commonly known as Jujitsu and other spellings) date back at least 2000 years. The exact origins of jujutsu are unclear, as most of it's history was only passed on in the oral tradition. The few early written references show that it's origins date back to mythology. Jujutsu was formalized and most popular during the Edo period of Japan. This was the era of the Samurai. Jujutsu was the samurai's main set of combat techniques, after the sword that is. There have been many, many styles (or ryu) of Jujutsu throughout the history of Japan and more recently the rest of the world. The origins of Small Circle JujitsuTM are based on the 2000 year old classical jujitsu, but the revelation of the small circle emphesis dates back to approximately 1944. The founder, Professor Wally Jay studied a style known as Kodenkan Jujitsu from Professor Henry S. Okazaki in Hawaii. Professor Okazaki had studied classical jujutsu styles of yoshin, kosagabe and iwaga, as well as studying Okinawan karate, Filipino knife fighting, Hawaiian lua, the art of throwing a Spanish dirk, boxing, wrestling and kung fu. Professor Okazaki was somewhat of a rebel, as he broke away from tradition on several occasions. He developed his own style of jujitsu called Kodenkan Jujitsu, as well as teaching non-Japanese, which was unheard of. Professor Jay had studied boxing, weightlifting, judo and jujitsu from various instructors before 1944, when he received his black belt in Kodenkan Danzan Ryu Jujitsu from Okazaki. Professor Jay became aware of the fact that there was something missing with Jujitsu, the way he learned it. The knowledge he gained from the other disciplines and Okazaki's own multi- disciplinary background gave him the perspective to see how classical jujitsu could be improved. It was his two years of judo study under Ken Kawachi that gave him the key to small circle. Sensei Kawachi stressed the use of the wrist action to gain superior leverage. Wrist action is the key to Small Circle Jujitsu. Over the years he made radical changes in the jujitsu techniques he acquired, believing that this was what his teacher, Professor Okazaki would have wanted. A point in fact is that Professor Okazaki himself was somewhat of a rebel, as he broke away from tradition on several occasions. He taught non- Japanese as well as developing his own style of jujitsu, called Kodenkan Jujitsu. Professor Jay's years of experience in classical jujitsu, judo, boxing, weightlifting, wrestling, aikido, kung fu, other martial arts training, and many periods of trial and error, led him to develop his theory known as Small Circle Theory. His goal was to refine and improve upon the techniques by combining the best of everything he learned in different disciplines. The small cirle theory is a proven scientific method that rapidly became accepted by the martial arts world as an acclaimed and accredited system. The small circle theory is not only applicable to jujitsu, but it blends in beautifully with other styles of martial arts. In fact, Professor applied the small circle theory to his judo teaching and led his team to become a winning team. In 1960 he was voted Northern California Judo Coach of the Year by Hokka Judo Yudanshakai. Throughout the 60's and 70's he produced national champions and team winners in Hawaii, Canda, USA, and Mexico. In 1978 Professor Jay, Willy Cahill, John Chow-Hoon and Carl Beaver created Jujitsu America. They seceded from the Hawaiian based American Jujitsu Institute (which was the Kodenkan organization) because they had conflicting ideologies and methodologies. This group represented the mainland jujjitsuka who decided to break away from the old organization. The Hawaiian leaders wished to perpetuate the traditions of the kodenkan system while the statesiders, being modernists, wanted to update and improve their fighting skills to reflect certain modern realities. This Small Circle Theory improved and cummilated until 1987, when it offically became recognized as a complete jujitsu style on it's own, now known as Small Circle JujitsuTM. Many had recognized the small circle system as being a seperate style for many years, but after an article in Black Belt magazine, it was official. Professor Jay's small circle jujitsu techniques are smooth and functional because of his creation of the flow, which interchangeable techniques are used to counterattack the moves of the attacker. Small Circle JujitsuTM evolved from combining many sources and elements, and continues to evolve as Professor Jay and others enhance the style with their knowledge. Taekwondo It combines combat techniques, self-defense, sport, exercise, and in some cases meditation and philosophy. In 1989, Taekwondo was claimed as the world's most popular martial art in terms of number of practitioners. A type of sparring, has been an Olympic event since 2000. |
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