Background information

Modern kenpo karate jutsu (China hand fist method fighting art) is a fast powerful martial art with an emphasis on realistic street applications. Although coming from traditional roots the style has been updated for the needs of the modern world. Sharing common ground with Chinese Gung fu and Japanese Ju jutsu which are two of its most prominent contributors there are over 100 different versions of the art with each style and teacher emphasizing and teaching their own preferred methods.

Modern Kenpo was originally born from the older Ryukyu Kenpo of Okinawa, this was the system that originally came from China and was mixed with indigenous methods of Okinawan martial arts known until then by various names such as Tuite; Okinawa Te; Bushi no Te. The Okinawans had shown great ingenuity by taking their original fighting arts and mixing them with the combat styles of their neighbouring countries from around the Southeast Asian archipelago, travellers; monks; warriors and adventures from countries such as China; Japan; Korea; Indonesia; Thailand and the Philippines all ended up on the island of Okinawa where their fighting styles where carefully analysed before being added to the melting pot of Okinawan fighting systems.

China and Japan as well as the Philippines where probably the biggest contributors to the art of Kenpo, due to the long term agreement between China and Okinawa an agreement which placed the Okinawans under the direct rulership of the middle kingdom many Okinawans had the chance to travel to China and actually study Chinese Kenpo (better known as Gung fu/Wu shu) in its birthplace, these students then brought that knowledge back home with them to Okinawa.

Japan too played a great role in the shaping of Kenpo. When the Japanese Shimazu Samurai clan invaded and conquered the island in 1609 they banned the ownership of all weapons.  Although this ban did not overly effect the common people who were already prohibited to bear arms by their own rulers, it greatly affected the noblemen who up until then had been exempt from the sword ban. This led to a new development - the emphasis of unarmed fighting techniques (Ryukyu Kenpo) and the use of everyday items which could be used as covert weapons (Ryukyu Kobujutsu).  It would be fair to say that whilst the covert weapons techniques may have been practiced by some of the nobility, the Ryukyu Kobujutsu found itself the practice of the common people - the farmers, fishermen and merchants, whilst the unarmed fighting styles became the domain of the nobles who had more time and money to throw in to their practice. Some Okinawan nobles where given permission to study the martial arts of their Samurai overlords collectively known as Bujutsu.   This incorporated the use of the sword, spear, glaive, and long bow as well as hand to hand combat (Jujutsu/Aikijutsu).  As time went by these styles to where added to the mix of systems which were becoming the fledgling art of Ryukyu Kenpo karate jutsu – the Okinawan peoples Chinese fist method martial art – a fighting style which may have been one of the first true mixed martial arts.

It would be naive to imagine that as well as China and Japan the Okinawans would not have taken on board the techniques of other fighting peoples, and with Okinawa being one of the greatest ports in the Southeast Asian sea they had ample opportunity to study those styles. Mariners from Indonesia and the Philippines regularly put in to dock at the ports of Tomari and with sailors being what they are fights and brawls where often inevitable.  The Okinawans took on board all they could and mixed it together with information taken from other sources and tied it all together with a set of basic principles which made the art of Kenpo more than just a collection of unrelated techniques.  Instead it became a complete fighting system based on instinctive natural reactions to aggressive stimuli (which modern self defence experts refer to as BAR or body alarm reaction) and a core set of fighting techniques with which to combat nearly any form of attack.

The Modern Kenpo Karate jutsu style was created by Sensei Ted Clare after 26 years in the martial arts.  It is not a reproduction of any original Ryukyu Kenpo style as such, rather it is a fighting system which takes as its inspiration the martial arts of Okinawa.

Just as the ancient Okinawan warriors showed their ingenuity in blending together the fighting styles of many countries to create their own system, so too is modern Kenpo a synthesis of different martial arts studied by its founder and then linked together with a set of universal principles, hence the name Modern kenpo.  This denotes that whilst this is based upon older practices it is very much a martial art for today.  This does not mean that it is a made up style.  Far from it, indeed its fighting base is to be found set upon a firm base of Ryukyu kenpo.   What has been added or subtracted has been done to keep the art up to date with modern needs.