Born and raised in Hawaii. Started my martial arts journey at 10 years old with Karate, Boxing and Escrima. At 15, joined Kajukenbo and at 26 I got my black belt in Kajukenbo. Also trained in Muay Thai and a couple styles in Kung Fu. Taught a bunch of people along the way. Kinda semi retired from teaching, my only student now is my 16 year old son. I would love to start up a school again, but most people want to learn boxing, Muay Thai or BJJ. I’m in my 50’s now and still love Kajukenbo more than the other styles. I teach my son Kajukenbo, boxing, kick boxing, and the Kung Fu styles that I’ve learned. I also put him in bjj. I taught my son kickboxing first because I wanted him to spar. In Kajukenbo there are more drills or scenario training than sparring…and the sparring just turns into kicking and punching anyway. Someone can appreciate the drills more if they actually sparred or have been in a street fight. Sparring fine tunes timing, speed, power, footwork, angles, etc…which you can’t do as well with drills or scenario training. Keep spreading Kajukenbo guys 🤙🏽👊🏽
I trained in Kajukenbo & got my bb about the same time as you did, also in the SF Bay Area, under SGM Emil Bautista. It sounds like a lot has changed in Kajukenbo over the years. We trained very hard, & sparred hard & often & no shadow sparring, or pretend fighting maneuvers were used. We used medical tape on our hands & balls of our feet instead of using heavy, awkward safety equipment when sparring. We tended to get injured a lot due to the intensity of training, but we taught ourselves & our students to “shake it off”, unless they had an injury that needed rest or medical attention.
@@dennismiles1 yes, we trained hard as well in the 80’s. Had multiple black eyes, fractured ribs, etc. We stopped training hardcore in the 90’s for fear of lawsuits. These days, students barely spar or make contact.
@@jakemorrison548 That’s sad but true. In the 70’s & 80’s we had no problem going hard, but a fear of lawsuits has watered down many fighting schools currículum.
@@ghiblinerd6196 Lol his mentor and coach is John Hackleman! Hawaiian Kenpo master and owner of the infamous "Pit MMA" gym. Liddell is a longtime Karate guy, starting in Koei Kan Karate and later to Hawaiian Kenpo with Hackleman. "Kickboxing" is a vague and generalized term and applies to the format. You can apply your Kenpo to "kickboxing" rulesets. That's where Mike Winklejohn from Greg Jackson's academy comes from too.
@@AztecUnshaven let’s just say I would respect kempo a little more if someone can pull off “shielding hammer” or “clashing eagle” in the ring or cage. Or even upper, middle or hammer down blocks come to think of it.
@@ghiblinerd6196 there are fighters that already used hammer blocks, it happens in a split second in the middle of a fight, it's easy to miss when it happens in a drawn out bout.
Griffins Kajukenbo seems to be the stronghold, at least in Mass. Solid school that regularly has kids pressure testing the kickboxing/karate side of the spectrum, at least when I was going.
Studied under Sifu Al Dacascos in Portland Oregon in the late 80's. He developed his own system called Wun Hop Kuen Do and he was one of Adriano Emperado's (founder of kajukenbo) original students.
As a 25+ yr. student & teacher of the more “old school” style of Kajukenbo, we trained very hard, & sparred nearly full-contact at least several times a week. Having gone to & fought in many tournaments in the SF Bay Area & N. Ca. in the 80’s-90’s. Al Dacascos students were always tough adversaries, & very strong competitors. Street fighting depends to a certain extent on an individuals training, but it’s often more about a fighter having some “natural ability”including the aggression in choosing to throw the first strikes in an explosive offense, (as a strong, preemptive “defense”). Having an inborn “auto-fight reflex”, that uses your adrenaline to it’s best advantage, for increased speed, agility, & it’s ability to greatly lower the pain response, are big pluses. These issues often determine who’ll win a street fight, or who will walk away after an unwelcome assault attempt.
Kajukenbo was my first style and while I only got my Green belt it still influences my my martial arts and my training greatly. I agree that there is an issue of knowing when am I good at this that shows up when you go to a different school/style that has different sparing rules. One thing I have found is that I have a good foundation from which to build on in several different styles, and as a result am able to pick up things more quickly.
Sport and defense are two different animals. Sport is violence with rules. Street Defense systems are the opposite. No rules, quick and relentless. There have been situations of Karate black belts or professional MMA fighters murdered in the streets by a gun, by a knive, sudden multiple attackers. Kajukenbo is not a sport. It's strictly self defense. To focus on sport to gain adherents can eventually dilute the system to a sport. Rickson Gracie is trying to bring back BJJ's original self defense aspects through his organization. Krav Maga is practiced in some dojos as "MMA Lite". Sport is good for fun, fitness and, to a certain limit, self defense, but it's a bokken used in a sparring sessions. Kajukenbo, and others, is the sharp sword needed in war.
I been in Kajukenbo for 30 years on and off. Kajukenbo is supposed to be a evolving martial art. The problem is the old heads are stuck in the past..Kajukenbo is perfect to integrate Jujitsu and Boxing into the system. I would do away with most of the techniques and forms..and only concentrate on the most effective one's and fill in the empty space with grappling and Boxing or Muy Thai training. If not these people are right the art will die out or only be taught to little kids. When I first was learning little kids weren't even allowed to train. But it's where the money at. I think we should reinvent Kajukenbo to it will be here forever.
That may be your experience, but from what I've seen, Kajukenbo has a nice balance and already has integrated jujitsu, just not BJJ. Our focus with it is to get back to our feet to better handle a street fight. I remember my sifu, GM Gaylord and even Sijo Emperado, drilling into my head that if a fight went to the ground, i had 10 seconds to get back to my feet or i was dead, because by that time my opponent's friends most likely would have already stepped in to help him. Due to this mentality, we are not players, which what BJJ practitioners call themselves. We are fighters.
I totally agree with you. I remember back in the early 2000s I'm talking like 01 '02. I was training kajukenbo Georgetown tx. At the time I kept trying to add some groundwork my instructor didn't seem to care for it. But he did teach me a bunch of judo throws and stuff which is actually part of Kajukenbo.
"Kajukenbo is perfect to integrate Jujitsu and Boxing into the system" Jujitsu and Boxing IS part of the system. That is what the Ju and Bo stands for! You dont know that after 30 years of Kajukenbo?
@@Gieszkanne These were already integrated into the system. Original hard style has them. I trained in it. Very effective. Not sure why these were removed then you guys saying it should be brough it. But they were already in there.
Ive looked in indiana for a Kajukenbo and theres no school around. I would love to practice and train this, so hopefully something comes up in my area in the future. Much love to all martial artists and fighters ✊🏽 Always spread the love
Kenpo/KJKB or a major part of my roots, but what lead me in a different direction was the lack of what is sometimes known as sensitivity drills" like you see in Kali , Silat , Wing Chun etc. . That's just in the schools I was in of course , I don't know how others do it . They plug right in easy , theres already elements from those arts in KJKB . Just get things more hands on with partner based stuff so you build that muscle memory , use the techniques and katas as an expansion instead of the entire basis . That's pretty much exactly what I've been doing with a small group in a garage . It's NEVER been a question of is the art itself lacking to me , just the training methods I was exposed to . As for sparring , yes I think it's vital for most students, but not all of them.
I train Kajukenbo and supplement with BJJ. I have trained a little boxing as well. Train as much as you can but train for whatever context you want to train for. Whether it's for the art, combat sports, fitness, self-improvement or self-defense/self-protection.
Nice too see guys who in an honest way reflect on their style and try to find solutions, discussing the flaws of it. Trying to improve and adapt to the present times without thinking about the economical gain at all. Nice too see, and this is the way this style will evolve and survive.
I'm not sure how other schools train. Kajukenbo in Montreal Canada was where I started. We trained hard. From there, I had a base and an attitude that was tough. Eventually discovered kickboxing, boxing, thai boxing, bjj, and more. My Kajukenbo foundation I felt gave me an edge.
The early years of the UFC got millions of people around the world interested in MMA. Consequently, many TMAs (including Kajukenbo) fell by the wayside, unless they incorporated or outright "evolved into" MMA. The ongoing COVID pandemic which began in March of 2020, was the death knell of even more TMA schools.
Just attended my first kajukenbo seminar in fort Walton beach and it was awesome. It was kind of overwhelming because I have just started shotokun karate and have never done martial arts. The event was well attended with all ages well represented.
I did kajukenbo, I liked the style and it really helped me be efficient in violent situations in my life - however I have different spiritual beliefs (pagan) so I'm no fan of mainstream religion - the instructor always had us pray before & after training...I wasn't into that, so I left and many other students did too because of it - most folks have their own beliefs and are not interested in being converted. Mixing religion with martial arts is a no-go for me personally because other folks have their own beliefs so imposing or trying to convert someone who just wants to learn self defense is pretty rude.
Same. I have a good school like yours that doesn't have the prayer either - which is a one up for me because I'm a theistic Satanist and never could comply with the church or any other religious organization. 🤘👹 That being said: yeah kajukenbo has really good material to offer and I've actually had to use my training for real - it's definitely effective, any doubts I had before are gone!
My school was open for 17 years and that chunk on new students coming in and staying impacted a few years down the line when i lost a bunch of long term students to college. Also- many of the students that were there were not nearly as dedicated as i was as a kid . Soccer for instance was once a 1 practice a week , 1 game a week, 1 season a year for young kids… today even a rec level has multiple practices a week with games sometimes on both days a weekend . The push to move(*buy) up to the travel and elite level is a big push even creating “B” teams so that there is more room for travel/premiere level players.. soccer is no longer one season but 3 seasons and summer camp programs… I say soccer but the same push is on for all sports. The “college scholarship “ is also a push with these sports. Needless to say many of the students i did sign didn’t have the dedication in dojo practice let alone home practice . They wouldn’t progress in belts, they’d drop out.
I too got up to purple belt in Kajukenbo Abad style, before I had to leave to continue schooling. Always wanted to come back to get my black belt, but the school closed due to low student turn out. It's a good style and I loved learning it. Shout out to all my Kaju Ohana there.
Kajukenbo is a practical martial art for modern day fighting. However, I highly recommend you take Muay Thai, Boxing, wrestling or bjj for some time before going into Kajukenbo
@@CombatSelfDefense I'll try to make it as simple as possible. Many people I've seen who trained kajukenbo as a first martial art happen to be good. However, people who've had other experiences like MMA, happen to pick the pace quicker as they have some muscle memory which makes it easier to for them to adapt to Kajukenbo. Thanks to their footwork, hip work, keeping their guards up, and the ability to throw combinations. Add Kajukenbo to that, and you are prepared to face any situation when under pressure
@@adamcz3183 I do not. Kajukenbo exposed me to all the different ranges of fighting, and my gym also incorporated a lot of judo and kali so I’m glad I got to practice those arts. That being said, while I’m glad I learned kajukenbo, I wish, in terms of learning to fight, I’d learned something like boxing or mma first.
Like you were saying, at the very simplest breakdown a martial art lives or dies by how attractive it is to potential practitioners. It wasn't a good place for it in that conversation but I think it may be worth it to do a deeper dive into why those top 5-7 martial arts do so well. Sure aikido has a lot of old people, but why aikido instead of judo? I think a lot of it is marketing, whether it's intentional or not. Popular media has done more for kung fu and karate for centuries than any ad campaign could ever do. That has a lot more to do with historical Europeans/Americans finding eastern culture fascinating and obsessing over it. Korea has rapidly joined China and Japan in American weeb culture and tkd is already more ubiquitous in Korea than karate is in Japan. Aside from things like that, it really does feel a lot like finding the market for your product. But, like you say, how often do people really get into street fights when they aren't looking for them? I wonder how many styles of martial arts in history that were flowery and more philosophy minded died out in times of war/unrest, and vice versa for the hyper practical ones that died out in times of peace.
@@CombatSelfDefense Didn't it used to be though? It's hard to provide actual hardcore practicality and keep practitioners who aren't hardcore or always getting into fights, so adaptations to continue the tradition develop naturally, like with jiu jitsu once samurai became obsolete. Kind of like you said in the video, different directions dojos take with what "practical" and "traditional" means can be vast, but they still sell it like it's the same "sparring isn't over until there's blood on the mats" mentality.
@@californiacombativesclub202 Obviously that's subjective depending on who's answering. In general, I meant a hard style that trains you intending to prepare you for actual fights in real life as soon and as capably as possible. As opposed to styles that are ostensibly teaching you these skills but are more interested in the hierarchy or the philosophy or maintaining a good reputation to get more students. You may learn skills that, if in a real fight, could help you beat someone, but that's not their priority. Which makes sense to do; people nowadays don't usually get into martial arts to kick a lot of ass. They get into it as a hobby or for exercise or the culture. If you aren't providing the students paying you what they want, you won't be able to run your dojo long.
@@hopelesslydull7588las artes marciales duras quedan muy pocas,por lo que comentas, yo soy mayor 62 años,entreno de lunes a viernes kajukenbo en plan serio,mis compañeros van tres horas a la semana, no cogen mucho nivel porque la mayoría va a pasar el tiempo y quieren cosas suaves, yo empezé a los 14 años ..karate Goyo ryu,taekwondo 4 dan, hapkido 1 dan, Muay Thai dos años, wing chun tres años,ahora llevo tres en kajukenbo,quiero decir que soy de los de antes ,si entreno entreno duro ,mi condición física es excelente,entreno al mismo nivel que los de 30 años,pero llevo toda la vida,me encanta el kajukenbo y la eskrima.un saludo,al final me he enrollado!!
Yo 25 años practicando taekwondo y compitiendo,tenía buen nivel, después practiqué wing chin y ahora práctico kajukenbo,de todas he aprendido algo por mi trabajo me meto en muchos problemas en la calle y todo funciona si está muy entrenado,con dos horas a la semana ,no se coge nivel, pero el kjkb se funciona bien,tiene muchos a los genitales,ojos,y son golpes contundentes y bien aplicados....no es competitivo porque le quitarías el 80 x ciento de su arsenal defensivo ,para adaptarse a las reglas..un saludo... sé que lo va a leer poca gente...
I was a purple belt at kajukenbo … I asked my si mu to teach me street fighting when I was on the streets. I told her I didn’t care about a belt. She put me against two black belts in a back room no lights … she gave me a black belt I denied it …I was 15 at the time. I’m from Juarez kajukenbo…I stoped when she died of cancer..she was … my si mu. Sorry Dolores was her name.
Sensei Hojlo was my master back in San Leandro California on Washington ave. He was 18 and I was 7. Back then I was the one with a mohawk, and he had long hair. Oh yeah this is Sai. Jadys younger brother. I still see Niko every now and then
Everything evolves with time. The Wing Chun of today is different from 200 yrs ago. A great example is to look at Ed Parker's Kenpo in old films, to the late 70's and early 80's to today. Western Boxing also has developed and changed
Years ago, there was an episode of Fight Quest, where a Kajukenbo guy yelled: “No grappling allowed! This is Kajukenbo, not Jiu-Jitsu!” When I heard that, I knew that Kajukenbo’s days were numbered.
If you look up Jimmy Smith (one of the hosts of the show and a former fighter/fight commentator) he says that the reason that rule existed is because he as a bjj purple belt was trashing the kaju guys on the floor, and they didn’t want the fights to end too soon.
I would love to connect with you. You are a great speaker. You are very interesting and depressing at the same time. I think that's good, but I would love a pow wow with you. I'll come to you or you come to me in San Diego.I have a love/hate concept of sport fighting and Self Defense. MMA has really taking the ego and claim to be Self Defense, but it's not. Weight classed, tapping out, no multiple attackers, element of surprise, environmental weapons..... Tons to talk about. You are great man. Lets talk some deep stuff.
PLEASE SOMEONE START A KAJUKENBO SCHOOL IN PHILLY!!!I hate that Kajukenbo is not in Philadelphia. As a matter of fact, no good traditional martial arts school are in Philly. They are all either never established or don't last long. Only tkd and mma are left here and it sucks.
Obviously the physical portion of self defense is a tiny fraction of the overall picture, but I think a good test or your ability to physically defend yourself is to get a big untrained guy who would reasonably be attacking you, and tell him to try to beat you up, meanwhile you try to control him without relying on submissions or ground and pound. Basically defeat a bigger opponent while keeping your hands clean in the eyes of the law. EDIT: THIS IS NOT A RECCOMENDEATION. Just because it would be a good test does not mean you should do it. Even in a controlled environment fighting can lead to permanent injury or death, not to mention the legal repercussions of hurting someone in an unsanctioned fight.
I think kajukenbo is not dying but dissolving into the multitude of styles and methods that have derived from it. I also think that the founders created kajukenbo aware of how it should evolve over time. Kajukenbo was born on concepts and based on those concepts it is possible to develop techniques. if the various schools of kajukenbo respect these concepts, the differences do not matter. there is only one kajukenbo.
Everything taught in Kajukenbo has been street proven. What is wrong with Kajukenbo today is politics and promoting the wrong people who have turned away from original teachings.
That’s probably the most disingenuous argument I’ve ever heard regarding any martial art. I don’t expect to change your mind as the ignorance is too far gone to save however, this response is for the young impressionable minds looking up to “TH-camrs” for advice on fighting. 1. “There’s no real way to know if you’re good at Kajukenbo.” The answer is competition. How does one know if you’re a good boxer? Go compete against another boxer, locally, nationally or internationally. Don’t go compete against a BJJ practitioner. Fight a boxer. The same applies to Kajukenbo. Go to Karate tournaments of all styles, preferably ones that do full contact continuous fighting. Start at the local level and branch out. 2. “I only know that my instructor tells me when my belt gets dark enough and I’m good enough at grabbing another guy’s nuts. I am good at Kajukenbo.” If you got your black belt at a McDojo just say that. However, don’t slander all Kajukenbo schools based on your anecdotal experience. 3. “You go to another gym and you’re not good at any of the things they’re doing.” Again, McDojo black belts tend to not translate well. I’m sorry you had to go through that. 4. “Saying other self-defense based systems address the need for self defense more than MMA, is like saying that ketchup and buns makes a burger more than the meat does. MMA makes the meat of a hamburger.” Terrible analogy lol. MMA is not a martial art, it is a combination of previously existing martial arts. Therefore MMA would be the burger, and the individual martial arts themselves would be the meat, buns and ketchup. For some their “meat” of choice is Karate as their base, for others it’s wrestling, BJJ, etc. No different than someone preferring turkey burgers, hamburgers, etc. 5. “Krav Mama gyms look like MMA gyms, it’s evolving.” When’s the last time you’ve been to an actual Kajukenbo tournament? There is full contact continuous sparring (aka Kickboxing rules), grappling/BJJ, as well as the traditional weapons, forms etc. Most traditional martial arts are evolving in general. 6. “It’s not growing because you don’t have to worry about someone randomly attacking you in the streets.” Just say you grew up in the suburbs and haven’t had many street fights, it’s ok. However, don’t speak it as fact. That statement is purely anecdotal. 7. “You can’t kick them in the groin in sparring”. Again, when’s the last time you’ve been to a real Kajukenbo tournament. Everyone knows groin kicks have and always continue to be allowed.
I disagree with MMA being the “ultimate self defense” art. 1- MMA isn’t even an art or style. It’s mostly derived from Vale Tudo rules, and it’s just a Jack of All Trades, Master of None, with a tad bit more emphasis on BJJ 2- in the streets, because of the slightly heavier focus on BJJ in “MMA”, people forget that chances of you fighting 1-1 are slim, so single holds are mostly out of the question, and you’ll be fighting on solid possibly concrete ground which will injure and hamper you as much as your attacker.
The overwhelming majority of violent assaults are domestic violence situations, particularly a male partner on his female partner. The myth that “it’ll never be one-on-one”’is disproven by police and fbi statistics. Not knowing how to fight a bigger, stronger opponent who wants to put you on the floor is a fantasy
@@CombatSelfDefense we're talking about the streets here, not at home. Also, the chances of any martial art helping a small woman defend against a much bigger abusive spouse are slim to none.
Happy new year...i live in greece im greek and i believe covid put end in all...so dying cause no one famous for example actors practitioner kajukenbo and is one thing about this
How bout you're good at KJK when you can execute pieces of the drills in sparring session. The problem is that knobody tries the techniques during sparring.
I’m a 3rd degree black belt under Al Dacascos and I’ll tell you why it’s dying: Kajukenbo has too much Politics !!! Too much change, not enough structure, too much shit talking, self promoting and not enough actual fighters.
The problem I think is that the art has gone from hard-core art to trying to be popular. When the system was created in Hawaii it had a sole purpose. You can't teach kids today, because kids today are soft. Kaju is a self defense art, no rules. Your target audience needs to be those wanting easy ways to defend yourself.
Kajukenbo is not as popular as American Kenpo HOWEVER that has been a blessing that has maintained the integrity of the art as opposed to Soeakman 5.0 which has become a MCDOJO.
@Combat Self Defense It's an unfortunate fact. Sprakman was never and still isn't the most capable Kenpoist BUT as the face of Kenpo people think that he is the best because of his movies. Having been on the floor and worked out with numerous big names in Kenpo like Larry Tatum, Paul Dye, Barbara Hale and Jeff Speakman, Jeff was the only one who had nothing to show and was the least impressive of them. Does a business need to survive? Absolutely but not at the expense of the art.
Aikido is for old people huh? Try my Sensei. Martial arts are like so many other things, or perhaps everything. They need to change and evolve or they become stagnant or die. It's not just JKD, it's all of them.
@@CombatSelfDefense I made it to brown belt, to be honest. I just wish I could have finally made it to black. But it's been almost 20 years and honestly I don't remember a lot of the forms or anything. I do like the fact you cut all the BS out. I'm pretty close to round Rock so that would be a small drive but I guess it's never too late. I'm in my late '30s I wish I would have stuck with it back then.
@@adamcz3183 you’re more than welcome to come try out my class if you’re ever down south. Otherwise I believe Moses Williams and Ben Calvo are active kajukenbo schools in north Austin
@@CombatSelfDefense That's crazy. Ben Calvo was my original teacher in Georgetown. I haven't seen him in years though. I had no idea he was still teaching. I will try to find him. Thanks.
Shotokan had the benefit of having a strong founder and successor who pushed it into academia, and whose training methods attracted a lot of people. Kajukenbo, while it may be “better,” doesn’t have those things, so it still operates as kind of a niche martial art. At the same time, it’s very tough in today’s age for anything that ISNT mma or BJJ based to really get a foothold.
Born and raised in Hawaii. Started my martial arts journey at 10 years old with Karate, Boxing and Escrima. At 15, joined Kajukenbo and at 26 I got my black belt in Kajukenbo. Also trained in Muay Thai and a couple styles in Kung Fu. Taught a bunch of people along the way. Kinda semi retired from teaching, my only student now is my 16 year old son. I would love to start up a school again, but most people want to learn boxing, Muay Thai or BJJ. I’m in my 50’s now and still love Kajukenbo more than the other styles.
I teach my son Kajukenbo, boxing, kick boxing, and the Kung Fu styles that I’ve learned. I also put him in bjj.
I taught my son kickboxing first because I wanted him to spar. In Kajukenbo there are more drills or scenario training than sparring…and the sparring just turns into kicking and punching anyway. Someone can appreciate the drills more if they actually sparred or have been in a street fight. Sparring fine tunes timing, speed, power, footwork, angles, etc…which you can’t do as well with drills or scenario training.
Keep spreading Kajukenbo guys 🤙🏽👊🏽
I wish you live in my country the Greece to teach us in this great art
All the best give the flame of kajukenbo in next generations
I took kajukenbo in the early 80s in CA. Traveled to Hawaii in 82 and met Emparado , my instructor was Joe Halbuna.
I trained in Kajukenbo & got my bb about the same time as you did, also in the SF Bay Area, under SGM Emil Bautista.
It sounds like a lot has changed in Kajukenbo over the years. We trained very hard, & sparred hard & often & no shadow sparring, or pretend fighting maneuvers were used. We used medical tape on our hands & balls of our feet instead of using heavy, awkward safety equipment when sparring. We tended to get injured a lot due to the intensity of training, but we taught ourselves & our students to “shake it off”, unless they had an injury that needed rest or medical attention.
@@dennismiles1 yes, we trained hard as well in the 80’s. Had multiple black eyes, fractured ribs, etc. We stopped training hardcore in the 90’s for fear of lawsuits. These days, students barely spar or make contact.
@@jakemorrison548
That’s sad but true. In the 70’s & 80’s we had no problem going hard, but a fear of lawsuits has watered down many fighting schools currículum.
Shout out to the OG's of Kajukenbo that brought it to the UFC, John Hackleman and The Iceman Chuck Liddell! Much respect to the Pit!
Chuck Liddell used kickboxing and relied on pterodactyl wingspan arms and great takedown defense. Not kempo
@@ghiblinerd6196 Lol his mentor and coach is John Hackleman! Hawaiian Kenpo master and owner of the infamous "Pit MMA" gym. Liddell is a longtime Karate guy, starting in Koei Kan Karate and later to Hawaiian Kenpo with Hackleman.
"Kickboxing" is a vague and generalized term and applies to the format. You can apply your Kenpo to "kickboxing" rulesets. That's where Mike Winklejohn from Greg Jackson's academy comes from too.
@@AztecUnshaven let’s just say I would respect kempo a little more if someone can pull off “shielding hammer” or “clashing eagle” in the ring or cage. Or even upper, middle or hammer down blocks come to think of it.
@@ghiblinerd6196 there are fighters that already used hammer blocks, it happens in a split second in the middle of a fight, it's easy to miss when it happens in a drawn out bout.
I didn't know that, thanks for educating me however, I'm just learning about this art and I respect its practicality.
Kajukenbo is almost nonexistent in the East Coast of the US. Such a great system but so hard to find on this end.
Griffins Kajukenbo seems to be the stronghold, at least in Mass. Solid school that regularly has kids pressure testing the kickboxing/karate side of the spectrum, at least when I was going.
Jimmy McCann
Primal Jym
Hamilton NJ
5th Degree
I'm getting more interested in Kajukenbo after learning that my great uncle, Peter Choo, was one of the founders.
that's pretty cool! You should definitely join some of the kaju groups on Facebook - there's a lot of love for your great uncle in there.
Studied under Sifu Al Dacascos in Portland Oregon in the late 80's. He developed his own system called Wun Hop Kuen Do and he was one of Adriano Emperado's (founder of kajukenbo) original students.
As a 25+ yr. student & teacher of the more “old school” style of Kajukenbo, we trained very hard, & sparred nearly full-contact at least several times a week. Having gone to & fought in many tournaments in the SF Bay Area & N. Ca. in the 80’s-90’s.
Al Dacascos students were always tough adversaries, & very strong competitors.
Street fighting depends to a certain extent on an individuals training, but it’s often more about a fighter having some “natural ability”including the aggression in choosing to throw the first strikes in an explosive offense, (as a strong, preemptive “defense”).
Having an inborn “auto-fight reflex”, that uses your adrenaline to it’s best advantage,
for increased speed,
agility, & it’s ability to greatly lower the pain response, are big pluses.
These issues often determine who’ll win a street fight, or who will walk away after an unwelcome assault attempt.
All modern martial arts should be MMA, remember MMA is not a style it's just a blend of effective techniques.
Kajukenbo was my first style and while I only got my Green belt it still influences my my martial arts and my training greatly. I agree that there is an issue of knowing when am I good at this that shows up when you go to a different school/style that has different sparing rules. One thing I have found is that I have a good foundation from which to build on in several different styles, and as a result am able to pick up things more quickly.
Food for thought - is that the Kajukenbo foundation or is that just having a martial arts background in general?
@@CombatSelfDefense
That is a valid point and possible. I always thought of it as being the Kajukenbo because of the mix/blend of styles.
Sport and defense are two different animals. Sport is violence with rules. Street Defense systems are the opposite. No rules, quick and relentless.
There have been situations of Karate black belts or professional MMA fighters murdered in the streets by a gun, by a knive, sudden multiple attackers. Kajukenbo is not a sport. It's strictly self defense. To focus on sport to gain adherents can eventually dilute the system to a sport. Rickson Gracie is trying to bring back BJJ's original self defense aspects through his organization. Krav Maga is practiced in some dojos as "MMA Lite".
Sport is good for fun, fitness and, to a certain limit, self defense, but it's a bokken used in a sparring sessions.
Kajukenbo, and others, is the sharp sword needed in war.
@@frankignatius2507
My KaJu training has saved my life more than once. You get more out of it the longer & harder you train.
I been in Kajukenbo for 30 years on and off. Kajukenbo is supposed to be a evolving martial art. The problem is the old heads are stuck in the past..Kajukenbo is perfect to integrate Jujitsu and Boxing into the system. I would do away with most of the techniques and forms..and only concentrate on the most effective one's and fill in the empty space with grappling and Boxing or Muy Thai training. If not these people are right the art will die out or only be taught to little kids. When I first was learning little kids weren't even allowed to train. But it's where the money at. I think we should reinvent Kajukenbo to it will be here forever.
I totally agree with you. I started training in Kajukenbo in 1984. Old school no Matt’s. But it seems to have involved into Mc Dojo’s money makers😐.
That may be your experience, but from what I've seen, Kajukenbo has a nice balance and already has integrated jujitsu, just not BJJ. Our focus with it is to get back to our feet to better handle a street fight. I remember my sifu, GM Gaylord and even Sijo Emperado, drilling into my head that if a fight went to the ground, i had 10 seconds to get back to my feet or i was dead, because by that time my opponent's friends most likely would have already stepped in to help him. Due to this mentality, we are not players, which what BJJ practitioners call themselves. We are fighters.
I totally agree with you. I remember back in the early 2000s I'm talking like 01 '02. I was training kajukenbo Georgetown tx. At the time I kept trying to add some groundwork my instructor didn't seem to care for it. But he did teach me a bunch of judo throws and stuff which is actually part of Kajukenbo.
"Kajukenbo is perfect to integrate Jujitsu and Boxing into the system" Jujitsu and Boxing IS part of the system. That is what the Ju and Bo stands for! You dont know that after 30 years of Kajukenbo?
@@Gieszkanne These were already integrated into the system. Original hard style has them. I trained in it. Very effective. Not sure why these were removed then you guys saying it should be brough it. But they were already in there.
As a former kajukenbo student, I truly miss thus sport I had step as brown belt due to the pandemic. Thank you sifu ray
Ive looked in indiana for a Kajukenbo and theres no school around. I would love to practice and train this, so hopefully something comes up in my area in the future. Much love to all martial artists and fighters ✊🏽 Always spread the love
Kenpo/KJKB or a major part of my roots, but what lead me in a different direction was the lack of what is sometimes known as sensitivity drills" like you see in Kali , Silat , Wing Chun etc. . That's just in the schools I was in of course , I don't know how others do it . They plug right in easy , theres already elements from those arts in KJKB . Just get things more hands on with partner based stuff so you build that muscle memory , use the techniques and katas as an expansion instead of the entire basis . That's pretty much exactly what I've been doing with a small group in a garage . It's NEVER been a question of is the art itself lacking to me , just the training methods I was exposed to . As for sparring , yes I think it's vital for most students, but not all of them.
I train Kajukenbo and supplement with BJJ. I have trained a little boxing as well. Train as much as you can but train for whatever context you want to train for. Whether it's for the art, combat sports, fitness, self-improvement or self-defense/self-protection.
Nice too see guys who in an honest way reflect on their style and try to find solutions, discussing the flaws of it.
Trying to improve and adapt to the present times without thinking about the economical gain at all.
Nice too see, and this is the way this style will evolve and survive.
Here’s hoping
I'm not sure how other schools train. Kajukenbo in Montreal Canada was where I started. We trained hard. From there, I had a base and an attitude that was tough. Eventually discovered kickboxing, boxing, thai boxing, bjj, and more. My Kajukenbo foundation I felt gave me an edge.
The early years of the UFC got millions of people around the world interested in MMA. Consequently, many TMAs (including Kajukenbo) fell by the wayside, unless they incorporated or outright "evolved into" MMA. The ongoing COVID pandemic which began in March of 2020, was the death knell of even more TMA schools.
Just attended my first kajukenbo seminar in fort Walton beach and it was awesome. It was kind of overwhelming because I have just started shotokun karate and have never done martial arts. The event was well attended with all ages well represented.
A lot of my friends were at that seminar! Glad you enjoyed it
I did kajukenbo, I liked the style and it really helped me be efficient in violent situations in my life - however I have different spiritual beliefs (pagan) so I'm no fan of mainstream religion - the instructor always had us pray before & after training...I wasn't into that, so I left and many other students did too because of it - most folks have their own beliefs and are not interested in being converted. Mixing religion with martial arts is a no-go for me personally because other folks have their own beliefs so imposing or trying to convert someone who just wants to learn self defense is pretty rude.
I agree 100%. Never liked the kajukenbo prayer and felt it only cut in to training time
Same. I have a good school like yours that doesn't have the prayer either - which is a one up for me because I'm a theistic Satanist and never could comply with the church or any other religious organization. 🤘👹
That being said: yeah kajukenbo has really good material to offer and I've actually had to use my training for real - it's definitely effective, any doubts I had before are gone!
My school was open for 17 years and that chunk on new students coming in and staying impacted a few years down the line when i lost a bunch of long term students to college.
Also- many of the students that were there were not nearly as dedicated as i was as a kid . Soccer for instance was once a 1 practice a week , 1 game a week, 1 season a year for young kids… today even a rec level has multiple practices a week with games sometimes on both days a weekend . The push to move(*buy) up to the travel and elite level is a big push even creating “B” teams so that there is more room for travel/premiere level players.. soccer is no longer one season but 3 seasons and summer camp programs…
I say soccer but the same push is on for all sports. The “college scholarship “ is also a push with these sports.
Needless to say many of the students i did sign didn’t have the dedication in dojo practice let alone home practice . They wouldn’t progress in belts, they’d drop out.
I too got up to purple belt in Kajukenbo Abad style, before I had to leave to continue schooling. Always wanted to come back to get my black belt, but the school closed due to low student turn out. It's a good style and I loved learning it. Shout out to all my Kaju Ohana there.
Kajukenbo is a practical martial art for modern day fighting. However, I highly recommend you take Muay Thai, Boxing, wrestling or bjj for some time before going into Kajukenbo
I’m curious what makes you say kajukenbo is highly practical yet you should take another martial art first
@@CombatSelfDefense I'll try to make it as simple as possible. Many people I've seen who trained kajukenbo as a first martial art happen to be good. However, people who've had other experiences like MMA, happen to pick the pace quicker as they have some muscle memory which makes it easier to for them to adapt to Kajukenbo. Thanks to their footwork, hip work, keeping their guards up, and the ability to throw combinations. Add Kajukenbo to that, and you are prepared to face any situation when under pressure
@@CombatSelfDefense so do you feel you wasted your time learning it?
@@adamcz3183 I do not. Kajukenbo exposed me to all the different ranges of fighting, and my gym also incorporated a lot of judo and kali so I’m glad I got to practice those arts.
That being said, while I’m glad I learned kajukenbo, I wish, in terms of learning to fight, I’d learned something like boxing or mma first.
Like you were saying, at the very simplest breakdown a martial art lives or dies by how attractive it is to potential practitioners. It wasn't a good place for it in that conversation but I think it may be worth it to do a deeper dive into why those top 5-7 martial arts do so well. Sure aikido has a lot of old people, but why aikido instead of judo?
I think a lot of it is marketing, whether it's intentional or not. Popular media has done more for kung fu and karate for centuries than any ad campaign could ever do.
That has a lot more to do with historical Europeans/Americans finding eastern culture fascinating and obsessing over it. Korea has rapidly joined China and Japan in American weeb culture and tkd is already more ubiquitous in Korea than karate is in Japan.
Aside from things like that, it really does feel a lot like finding the market for your product. But, like you say, how often do people really get into street fights when they aren't looking for them?
I wonder how many styles of martial arts in history that were flowery and more philosophy minded died out in times of war/unrest, and vice versa for the hyper practical ones that died out in times of peace.
I think the issue with Kajukenbo is that it markets itself as hardcore, true self defense when it just...really isn't.
@@CombatSelfDefense Didn't it used to be though?
It's hard to provide actual hardcore practicality and keep practitioners who aren't hardcore or always getting into fights, so adaptations to continue the tradition develop naturally, like with jiu jitsu once samurai became obsolete. Kind of like you said in the video, different directions dojos take with what "practical" and "traditional" means can be vast, but they still sell it like it's the same "sparring isn't over until there's blood on the mats" mentality.
@@hopelesslydull7588 well what is hardcore? People that spar regularly don’t need to hype it that way
@@californiacombativesclub202 Obviously that's subjective depending on who's answering. In general, I meant a hard style that trains you intending to prepare you for actual fights in real life as soon and as capably as possible.
As opposed to styles that are ostensibly teaching you these skills but are more interested in the hierarchy or the philosophy or maintaining a good reputation to get more students. You may learn skills that, if in a real fight, could help you beat someone, but that's not their priority.
Which makes sense to do; people nowadays don't usually get into martial arts to kick a lot of ass. They get into it as a hobby or for exercise or the culture. If you aren't providing the students paying you what they want, you won't be able to run your dojo long.
@@hopelesslydull7588las artes marciales duras quedan muy pocas,por lo que comentas, yo soy mayor 62 años,entreno de lunes a viernes kajukenbo en plan serio,mis compañeros van tres horas a la semana, no cogen mucho nivel porque la mayoría va a pasar el tiempo y quieren cosas suaves, yo empezé a los 14 años ..karate Goyo ryu,taekwondo 4 dan, hapkido 1 dan, Muay Thai dos años, wing chun tres años,ahora llevo tres en kajukenbo,quiero decir que soy de los de antes ,si entreno entreno duro ,mi condición física es excelente,entreno al mismo nivel que los de 30 años,pero llevo toda la vida,me encanta el kajukenbo y la eskrima.un saludo,al final me he enrollado!!
Kajukenbo student here, I can safely say its not dying its still very much alive and still growing 😁
I wish it
Yo 25 años practicando taekwondo y compitiendo,tenía buen nivel, después practiqué wing chin y ahora práctico kajukenbo,de todas he aprendido algo por mi trabajo me meto en muchos problemas en la calle y todo funciona si está muy entrenado,con dos horas a la semana ,no se coge nivel, pero el kjkb se funciona bien,tiene muchos a los genitales,ojos,y son golpes contundentes y bien aplicados....no es competitivo porque le quitarías el 80 x ciento de su arsenal defensivo ,para adaptarse a las reglas..un saludo... sé que lo va a leer poca gente...
I was a purple belt at kajukenbo … I asked my si mu to teach me street fighting when I was on the streets. I told her I didn’t care about a belt. She put me against two black belts in a back room no lights … she gave me a black belt I denied it …I was 15 at the time. I’m from Juarez kajukenbo…I stoped when she died of cancer..she was … my si mu.
Sorry Dolores was her name.
Sensei Hojlo was my master back in San Leandro California on Washington ave. He was 18 and I was 7. Back then I was the one with a mohawk, and he had long hair.
Oh yeah this is Sai. Jadys younger brother. I still see Niko every now and then
Everything evolves with time. The Wing Chun of today is different from 200 yrs ago. A great example is to look at Ed Parker's Kenpo in old films, to the late 70's and early 80's to today. Western Boxing also has developed and changed
Years ago, there was an episode of Fight Quest, where a Kajukenbo guy yelled: “No grappling allowed! This is Kajukenbo, not Jiu-Jitsu!” When I heard that, I knew that Kajukenbo’s days were numbered.
If you look up Jimmy Smith (one of the hosts of the show and a former fighter/fight commentator) he says that the reason that rule existed is because he as a bjj purple belt was trashing the kaju guys on the floor, and they didn’t want the fights to end too soon.
I would love to connect with you. You are a great speaker. You are very interesting and depressing at the same time. I think that's good, but I would love a pow wow with you. I'll come to you or you come to me in San Diego.I have a love/hate concept of sport fighting and Self Defense. MMA has really taking the ego and claim to be Self Defense, but it's not. Weight classed, tapping out, no multiple attackers, element of surprise, environmental weapons..... Tons to talk about. You are great man. Lets talk some deep stuff.
Send me an email to robcombatsd@gmail.com
PLEASE SOMEONE START A KAJUKENBO SCHOOL IN PHILLY!!!I hate that Kajukenbo is not in Philadelphia. As a matter of fact, no good traditional martial arts school are in Philly. They are all either never established or don't last long. Only tkd and mma are left here and it sucks.
I would love to train Kajukenbo but there are no dojos near me..Only TKD, Aikido and MMA. At 58 I`m a bit old to do Thai Boxing..
Respecting that I don’t know you at all, I would say your mind is your limitation, not your age. You can take any martial art you want.
There is a way! excellent point!
é uma arte marcial muito similar ao kenpo do hawai, tem muitos set katas
Simple answer to that question of why some are dying.... people don't want to make the commitement to time and effort necesary any more...
Where i can find the whole conversation?
th-cam.com/video/R-WUeCCIucA/w-d-xo.html here you go!
Obviously the physical portion of self defense is a tiny fraction of the overall picture, but I think a good test or your ability to physically defend yourself is to get a big untrained guy who would reasonably be attacking you, and tell him to try to beat you up, meanwhile you try to control him without relying on submissions or ground and pound. Basically defeat a bigger opponent while keeping your hands clean in the eyes of the law.
EDIT: THIS IS NOT A RECCOMENDEATION. Just because it would be a good test does not mean you should do it. Even in a controlled environment fighting can lead to permanent injury or death, not to mention the legal repercussions of hurting someone in an unsanctioned fight.
I think kajukenbo is not dying but dissolving into the multitude of styles and methods that have derived from it. I also think that the founders created kajukenbo aware of how it should evolve over time. Kajukenbo was born on concepts and based on those concepts it is possible to develop techniques. if the various schools of kajukenbo respect these concepts, the differences do not matter. there is only one kajukenbo.
Awesome hamburger analogy :D
Everything taught in Kajukenbo has been street proven. What is wrong with Kajukenbo today is politics and promoting the wrong people who have turned away from original teachings.
That’s probably the most disingenuous argument I’ve ever heard regarding any martial art. I don’t expect to change your mind as the ignorance is too far gone to save however, this response is for the young impressionable minds looking up to “TH-camrs” for advice on fighting.
1. “There’s no real way to know if you’re good at Kajukenbo.”
The answer is competition. How does one know if you’re a good boxer? Go compete against another boxer, locally, nationally or internationally. Don’t go compete against a BJJ practitioner. Fight a boxer.
The same applies to Kajukenbo. Go to Karate tournaments of all styles, preferably ones that do full contact continuous fighting. Start at the local level and branch out.
2. “I only know that my instructor tells me when my belt gets dark enough and I’m good enough at grabbing another guy’s nuts. I am good at Kajukenbo.”
If you got your black belt at a McDojo just say that. However, don’t slander all Kajukenbo schools based on your anecdotal experience.
3. “You go to another gym and you’re not good at any of the things they’re doing.”
Again, McDojo black belts tend to not translate well. I’m sorry you had to go through that.
4. “Saying other self-defense based systems address the need for self defense more than MMA, is like saying that ketchup and buns makes a burger more than the meat does. MMA makes the meat of a hamburger.”
Terrible analogy lol. MMA is not a martial art, it is a combination of previously existing martial arts. Therefore MMA would be the burger, and the individual martial arts themselves would be the meat, buns and ketchup. For some their “meat” of choice is Karate as their base, for others it’s wrestling, BJJ, etc. No different than someone preferring turkey burgers, hamburgers, etc.
5. “Krav Mama gyms look like MMA gyms, it’s evolving.”
When’s the last time you’ve been to an actual Kajukenbo tournament? There is full contact continuous sparring (aka Kickboxing rules), grappling/BJJ, as well as the traditional weapons, forms etc. Most traditional martial arts are evolving in general.
6. “It’s not growing because you don’t have to worry about someone randomly attacking you in the streets.”
Just say you grew up in the suburbs and haven’t had many street fights, it’s ok. However, don’t speak it as fact. That statement is purely anecdotal.
7. “You can’t kick them in the groin in sparring”.
Again, when’s the last time you’ve been to a real Kajukenbo tournament. Everyone knows groin kicks have and always continue to be allowed.
I disagree with MMA being the “ultimate self defense” art.
1- MMA isn’t even an art or style. It’s mostly derived from Vale Tudo rules, and it’s just a Jack of All Trades, Master of None, with a tad bit more emphasis on BJJ
2- in the streets, because of the slightly heavier focus on BJJ in “MMA”, people forget that chances of you fighting 1-1 are slim, so single holds are mostly out of the question, and you’ll be fighting on solid possibly concrete ground which will injure and hamper you as much as your attacker.
The overwhelming majority of violent assaults are domestic violence situations, particularly a male partner on his female partner. The myth that “it’ll never be one-on-one”’is disproven by police and fbi statistics. Not knowing how to fight a bigger, stronger opponent who wants to put you on the floor is a fantasy
@@CombatSelfDefense we're talking about the streets here, not at home. Also, the chances of any martial art helping a small woman defend against a much bigger abusive spouse are slim to none.
Happy new year...i live in greece im greek and i believe covid put end in all...so dying cause no one famous for example actors practitioner kajukenbo and is one thing about this
How bout you're good at KJK when you can execute pieces of the drills in sparring session. The problem is that knobody tries the techniques during sparring.
Sooo... is it?
I’m a 3rd degree black belt under Al Dacascos and I’ll tell you why it’s dying:
Kajukenbo has too much Politics !!!
Too much change, not enough structure, too much shit talking, self promoting and not enough actual fighters.
The problem I think is that the art has gone from hard-core art to trying to be popular. When the system was created in Hawaii it had a sole purpose. You can't teach kids today, because kids today are soft. Kaju is a self defense art, no rules. Your target audience needs to be those wanting easy ways to defend yourself.
Why are you talking about kenbo while wearing a muay shirt
Because people can have multiple shirts?
@@CombatSelfDefense Because you like Thai more...
Kajukenbo is not as popular as American Kenpo
HOWEVER that has been a blessing that has maintained the integrity of the art as opposed to Soeakman 5.0 which has become a MCDOJO.
your words, not mine. But I agree.
@Combat Self Defense It's an unfortunate fact. Sprakman was never and still isn't the most capable Kenpoist BUT as the face of Kenpo people think that he is the best because of his movies. Having been on the floor and worked out with numerous big names in Kenpo like Larry Tatum, Paul Dye, Barbara Hale and Jeff Speakman, Jeff was the only one who had nothing to show and was the least impressive of them.
Does a business need to survive? Absolutely but not at the expense of the art.
We used to use the groin shots to beat the taekwondo fighters.
Beat them at what
@@CombatSelfDefense kumite.
eh yah just let it go. its evolution just like anything else its effectiveness is hugely speculative anyway.
Guess we all know how bartitsu felt
Aikido is for old people huh? Try my Sensei. Martial arts are like so many other things, or perhaps everything. They need to change and evolve or they become stagnant or die. It's not just JKD, it's all of them.
I guess it is dying. I trained it 20 years ago and I can't find a school nowhere in Austin that teaches this stuff anymore.
If you’re in the south Austin area, my combatives program incorporates a lot of Kajukenbo elements but does away with all the forms and punch counters
@@CombatSelfDefense I made it to brown belt, to be honest. I just wish I could have finally made it to black. But it's been almost 20 years and honestly I don't remember a lot of the forms or anything. I do like the fact you cut all the BS out. I'm pretty close to round Rock so that would be a small drive but I guess it's never too late. I'm in my late '30s I wish I would have stuck with it back then.
@@adamcz3183 you’re more than welcome to come try out my class if you’re ever down south. Otherwise I believe Moses Williams and Ben Calvo are active kajukenbo schools in north Austin
@@CombatSelfDefense That's crazy. Ben Calvo was my original teacher in Georgetown. I haven't seen him in years though. I had no idea he was still teaching. I will try to find him. Thanks.
So …… how long can something as useless as Shotokan last ? Kjkb looks much better
Shotokan had the benefit of having a strong founder and successor who pushed it into academia, and whose training methods attracted a lot of people.
Kajukenbo, while it may be “better,” doesn’t have those things, so it still operates as kind of a niche martial art. At the same time, it’s very tough in today’s age for anything that ISNT mma or BJJ based to really get a foothold.