The following FAQ is for the
Kempo/Kenpo
arts in general and is not specific to one particular Kempo/Kenpo school.
Most of the history and information has a focus towards Kempo systems descending
from James Mitose's Kosho-Ryu Kempo. There are other Kempo systems mentioned
in this document. In most cases, throughout this FAQ, the word "Kempo" is
used, though either Kempo or Kenpo could have been used. The reasoning is
explained in this FAQ. Remember that this document is a "Frequently Ask
Questions" list. It is not intended as in in depth study, just a starting
point. Most of the URL's of sites linked in this document can be found near
the end of the document. Please send any feedback, questions, complaints,
etc. about this FAQ to the
maintainer.
Please note, that this FAQ, in no way (just in case anyone thinks it is),
was not meant to be offensive and if you think it is...well...sorry! Any
corrections to any information given, as well as additions, is much appreciated.
A common conversation is the Gi's worm by Kempo students. All students beginning
in Kempo wear the traditional white gi. But, as they progress, they are allowed
to wear a Black Gi as a sign of rank. It is common, for many high-ranks to
wear either Black or White Gi and at Black Belt levels to combine the two
such as white top and black pants. I can find no historical sense in the
use of the Gis, although I know that Mitose often wore a Black Gi and his
students wore White.
In Great Grandmaster James Mitose's book What is True Self Defense, he list the color of uniforms as...
If you live in North American, the odds are good that there will be a Kempo school in your vicinity. There are about 130 Villari Martial Arts Centers
teaching Shaolin Kempo, as well as a hundreds of schools teaching various forms of American Kenpo. As far as Europe is concerned, the scope is a bit
smaller, but still numerous. In Toronto, Canada where Bryan lives, he knows of 7 or 8 Kempo schools of various types. In the Worcester, MA area, there
are at least four Kempo organizations (Villari's Martial Arts Centers, Masters Self-Defense Centers, Cerio Kenpo, American Kenpo), with at least 10 schools
teaching three Kempo styles (Villari's Shaolin Kempo, Cerio Kenpo, Parker's American Kenpo).
Older versions of this document are scattered around. I, even, had an offer
to translate it to French, but I lost the message. If the person who wrote
reads this, please contact me again.
This document can also be accessed through the redirect URL:
This page is maintained and operated by
Mark Urbin. The
contents of the Kempo/Kenpo FAQ may only be reproduced for non-profit, personal
use of students and teachers of Kempo. I request that you inform me if you
wish to link to this site, as well as mention the site, or reproduce its
contents when using this material. If you are going to clone the site anyway,
please at least provide a link back, do not remove the version number or
author's names, and don't put your copyright on it.
