Kenpo Lineage
Kenpo Lineage
Embedded Files
Kenpo Lineage
Peichin Takahara
Shuri-te (Okinawan methods)
Kusanku
Ch'uan Fa (Chinese methods)
Kanga Sakugawa
To-de (blend of methods)
Sokon Matsumura
Shuri-te
Anko Itosu
Shuri-te
Kenwa Mabuni
Shito-ryu Karate
Choki Motobu
Motobu-ryu Kenpo
Kyohei Kosho
Kosho-ryu
(Connection to Itosu or Motobu, if any, is unknown, but Kyohei Kosho, whose family art was Japanese, purportedly lived at the same time as Motobu, who was Okinawan.)
Gichin Funakoshi
Shotokan Karate
James Masayoshi Mitose
Kosho Shorei-ryu Kenpo
(Mitose was influenced by Motobu's teachings, whether or not he studied directly under Motobu.)
Thomas Young
Kosho Shorei-ryu Kenpo
William K.S. Chow
Kenpo Karate/
Kara-Ho Kempo
Adriano Emperado
Kajukenbo
Ed Parker
Ed Parker's American Kenpo (EPAK)
Ralph Castro
Shaolin Kenpo Karate
Chuck Sullivan
EPAK
Huk Planas
EPAK
Kevin Lamkin
Elite Fighers System
Al Tracy
Tracy's Kenpo Karate
Jeff Speakman
Kenpo 5.0
Geoff Johnson
Geoff Johnson's American Kenpo (GJAK)
Within any given generation, many of the martial artists pictured above cross-trained with one another and with others not shown, and each martial artist above had multiple teachers, thus making it too cumbersome to depict all lineages on one page. I have chosen here to feature the Okinawan influence on my system of American Kenpo as that is where I find most of my inspiration.
Long ago in Okinawa, Choki Motobu developed a curriculum of short, powerful self-defense techniques, distinct from the karate styles of the time which emphasized many long, formal kata (Motobu Chōki - Wikipedia, Motobu Choki Kumite Drills, Motobu history). To highlight this distinction, Motobu referred to his fighting system as kenpo rather than karate.
Years later, William K.S. Chow was introduced to Northern Shaolin Kung Fu at an early age by his father before studying Kosho Shorei-ryu Kenpo under Mitose (James Mitose - Wikipedia). Chow would later go on to blend these styles together and develop his own Kara-Ho Kempo (www.karaho.com). With Chow, I see a big departure from the kenpo developed in Okinawa by Motobu. While Chow's, Parker's, Emperado's, Castro's, and Tracy's systems also focused on self-defense techniques, the techniques were numerous and lengthy, using many ancillary strikes performed against a single stationary opponent. Their systems also included many forms and sets. Some of the material was even a bit theatrical (Chinese Kara-Ho Kempo Karate, William K.S. Chow, Ed Parker Demo).
Based on the practical elements of Ed Parker's American Kenpo, and inspired by the kenpo developed in Okinawa by Motobu, the aim of my system is to return to a brief curriculum of short, modern, immediately applicable self-defense techniques utilizing powerful strikes.
At times, Chow, Parker, Castro, Tracy, and even Motobu each respectively referred to their systems as versions of "Kenpo/Kempo Karate," not simply "Kenpo," presumably for marketing purposes since the word karate was much more widely known. (Admittedly, I have included the word "karate" in the url of my webpages for this same reason.) However, "Kenpo Karate" is akin to "Ch'uan Fa Kung Fu" or "Kung fu Wushu." Chow and Parker did eventually drop the word "Karate" from the official names of their systems.
Some of the connections in the lineage above may be indirect, that is, there may be missing branches or descendants. For instance, there may be additional connections between Mitose and Motobu. If you are aware of any missing branches, or of inaccuracies in the practitioner names or their arts, please let me know!
Copyright 2020 Geoff Johnson. Any unauthorized reproduction or duplication of this website or its material, including pictures and logos, is strictly prohibited without permission. Contact Geoff Johnson's American Kenpo at KenpoGeoff@hotmail.com
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