Learn about Kajukenbo - US Martial Arts Style

Kajukenbo is an American martial arts that combines techniques from many different martial arts such as Judo, Karate, Eskrima, etc.

It was designed to be effective in real world self-defense situations and street fights.

History of Kajukenbo

According to John Bishop's Kajukenbo, Kajukenbo is "America's first martial art system, having been founded in 1949 in the U.S. Territory of Hawaii. One of today's foremost instructors in kajukenbo is Gary Forbach from San Clemente, California. According to him, kajukenbo's inception came about in 1947 when five Hawaiian martial arts masters calling themselves the "Black Belt Society" started on a project to develop a comprehensive self defense system. These five men of vision were Peter Choo, the Hawaii welterweight boxing champion, and a Tang Soo Do black belt. Frank Ordonez, a Sekeino Jujitsu black belt. Joe Holck, a Kodokan Judo black belt. Clarence Chang, a master of Sil-lum Pai kung fu. And Adriano D. Emperado, a Kara-Ho Kenpo black belt and Escrima master… After it was decided that kenpo would be the base to build on, it was a daily three year process incorporating the tang soo do kicks, jujitsu joint locks, judo throws, and sil-lum pai circular techniques into a complete system. Now all the system needed was a name. Joe Holck suggested that the name should be "Kajukenbo", ka for karate, ju for judo and jujitsu, ken for kenpo, and bo for Chinese boxing (kung fu)."

References

1. John Bishop's Kajukenbo, History of Kajukenbo, http://www.kajukenboinfo.com/kajukenbohistory.html, Added - 8/7/13