Fighting Arts are probably as old as the human race. It is widely accepted however that Kempo originated from the Zen teachings of the Indian priest Bodhidharma, approximately 2,500 years ago.

The I-Chin-Ching formed the basis of the movements, which later underwent vast development in India and China, as individual animal movements and fighting methods were copied and developed.

There is no doubt whatsoever, that Karate and Kung Fu, stemmed from Kempo, and therefore must be considered Indian by origin. If is often thought that Japan originated Karate, Karate was not introduced to Japan till around 1912, Japan now openly admits that Karate is not its natural inheritance, but instead claims Judo and Kendo as its own. Now with the Kung Fu boom, many Westerners believe that Kung Fu originated in China, whereas  Zen Buddhism was introduced to the Shaolin temples by Bodhidharma, also known as Ta-Mo or Daruma Taishi (the Japanese equivalent) from India.

Around the year 1600, Kempo was introduced into Okinawa, the largest island in the Ryu Kyu chain, and was developed and changed to suit the local inhabitants.

Spreading throughout the islands during the various military confrontations, the Art divided into 3 main schools; Naha-Te, Shuri-Te, and Okinawa-Te. Funakoshi Gichin, introduced Okinawan Karate into Japan, and his style became known as Shoto-Kan. Shoto was the nickname of the Master and Kan means Hall.

Kenwa Babuni was also instrumental in spreading Karate under the name of Shito. Chojun Miyagi also spread the Art called Goju-Ryu in Japan. In more recent times, Master Ed Parker, and his Instructor Professor William Chow, took Kempo Karate from Hawaii to the United States. Today, Mr. Parker is widely recognized as the founder and father of American Karate.

NEW ZEALAND HISTORY

Michael McCashin: Kempo was introduced to New Zealand in the 1950’s by Michael McCashin. In 1958, he opened the first public school in the country, known as the ‘Hutt Valley Club‘. The school grew in strength and the name was changed to ‘Wellington Karate Club‘.

Robert Gemmell: At the time the Hutt Valley Club was opened Robert Gemmell enrolled as a student. In 1964, after a grueling test, Mr. Gemmell was declared the most advanced student in the school. He received his first Black Belt in 1968, after ten years of training. He then traveled to Japan and Okinawa meeting and training with Masters Magamine, Kame, and Uechi, while also studying weaponry under the famous Master Myotoshi.

Mr. Gemmell approached Mr. McCashin, who had retired due to health, with a view to open his own school. Mr. McCashin was enthusiastic and declared Mr. Gemmell the new head of Kempo in a special ceremony.

Mr. Gemmell opened his first club in Porirua assisted by his brother Ken. Originally named ‘Porirua Karate Club’, later the name was changed to ‘Kempo Bushido Karate Association of New Zealand’ and then to ‘Kempo Bushido Ryu’. Mr. Gemmell traveled extensively throughout the world searching for knowledge in the Martial Arts, visiting such countries as Japan, Okinawa, China, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan. He also trained in the U.S.A under personal instruction of the famous Grand Master Ed Parker, where he was awarded the title “Professor” and “Senior Master” by the International Kenpo Karate Association (IKKA). He was promoted to 6th degree black belt by the late Grand Master Ed Parker in 1979, and listed on the family tree as a first generation Kenpo black belt.

Mike Ryan: Mike Ryan is Robert Gemmell’s senior student (now retired) and is an important figure in the development of Kempo in New Zealand, particularly in Auckland. Originally instructed by Peter Dalimare, Mr. Ryan transferred his job to Wellington, specifically to train under Mr. Gemmell. Mr. Ryan opened the Barry’s Pt Rd dojo in 1976, which then moved to a full-time dojo in Glenfield in 1985. From there he opened several sub branches around Auckland – in Northcote Pt, Henderson and Mt Albert. In 1998, he was given the title Kyoshi and was graded 8th Degree in Kempo by his teacher, with the ranking endorsed by the International Shaolin Kempo Technical Panel. Mr Ryan was inducted into the Australian Martial Arts Hall of fame in 1999. He opened and took all classes at Mt Albert dojo as Head Instructor; other Auckland dojos were run by instructors under his guidance. In 1987 Melissa Allan, Philip Jordan, and Daniel Mesnage joined the Mt Albert Dojo and became the senior students of Mike Ryan. They were the first Students to be personally trained from White Belt through to Black Belt by Mike Ryan at that dojo.

Philip Jordan: Philip Jordan began his training in Kempo at Kempo Bushido Ryu under Mike Ryan in 1987, and trained directly under Mike Ryan through to his second degree black belt, after that the Dojo was run by Mr Jordan along with Mr Mesnage and Miss Allan. He has continued training as an instructor at various dojos since then and now holds his 4th degree black belt. In 2023 he opened his own dojo and school Kempo Koryu.

TRANSLATION: KEMPO VS KENPO

There exists a mild controversy over the correct spelling of the word Kempo, often confusing the student. Kempo also pronounced in Chinese as Chuan-Fa.

On the surface, it is usually explained that the difference in spelling is purely translation, as it is with the words Kung Fu and Gung Fu.

• kung fu is the Wade Giles spelling.
• gong fu is the Pinyin spelling (without tones)
• gōng fū is the Pinyin spelling (with tones)

Today, the Wade Giles system is in decline, and the Pinyin system is on the rise and is the official system in mainland China.

There are some facts about the words Kempo/Kenpo, that should be known however. Kenpo is the proper Japanese spelling. The Japanese do not say Kem, as they do not pronounce “m” in the soft, but hard, as in mawate or “ma”. They can say “Ken” using the “n” or “en” sound. Arts such as Nippon Kenpo or Japanese Kenpo, use the “n”

It is interesting though, to find, that many Japanese authors, such as Do Shin So, use the spelling “m”. In this case, Do Shin So, the modern day founder of Shorinji Kempo, (Shorinji is the Japanese equivalent to Shaolin) is believed to have studied Chinese Kempo. The Romanization to Kempo is from the traditional Hepburn Romanization system, which was first used in the 3rd edition of the Japanese – English dictionary in 1887, and named after James Curtis Hepburn. Master Parker also agrees that the term spelled with the “n” is the modern version that he chose to adopt to differentiate his art from others.