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White
Tiger Kenpo Jujits History of
Kenpo
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There is much mystery surrounding the true origins of the
art we call KENPO. Jim Rathbone the founder of the White Tiger Kenpo Jujits has been in
the martial arts (war arts) for over thirty years. During these years, he has read and
heard many wonderful Stories about the origins of our art. Even though he is not certain
which of these legends is the most accurate, however the following seems to be the most
logical from the evidence available today.
Centuries ago The Buddhists had
many temples, or monasteries. The most famous of these is the Shoalin Temple, in the
province of Hunan. Shoalin is pronounced “Sil Lum” in Cantonese and
“Shorin” in Japanese. The Shoalin Monastery was made famous by the 1970s
television series “Kung Fu” as well as the new series on the Fox Network. The
Shoalin priests were Buddhists monks, known for their knowledge of medicine and the
healing arts, as much as, or more than their martial arts skills. The priests were
considered “Kung Fu” or one who is learned, similar to our term
“Doctor”. The monks were politically active against the oppressive government of
the Manchu Dynasty, which brought about the destruction of the temple by the Manchu army
in about 1300.
All but five monks were killed. One
surviving monk, Chih Shan Chan is believed to have to have escaped to the Shorin temple in
southern Japan. He taught a system of the martial arts he called, “Hung Tai Kuan or
Hun Chi Chuan”. Later versions of this
art were known by practitioners as “Luk Ah Tsia”, from which Hung Gar or Tiger Crane kung Fu Originated. Tiger Crane
Kung Fu is still a part of what we teach today almost 700 years later. The Tiger Crane
form is still a requirement for 2nd Brown Belt today. Chinese, Japanese and Okinawa
systems of martial arts, all have had an influence on the system of self-defense I teach
in the White Tiger System.
There is much mystery surrounding the true origins of the
art we call KENPO. Jim Rathbone the founder of the White Tiger Kenpo Jujits has been in
the martial arts (war arts) for over thirty years. During these years, he has read and
heard many wonderful Stories about the origins of our art. Even though he is not certain
which of these legends is the most accurate, however the following seems to be the most
logical from the evidence available today.
Centuries ago The Buddhists had
many temples, or monasteries. The most famous of these is the Shoalin Temple, in the
province of Hunan. Shoalin is pronounced “Sil Lum” in Cantonese and
“Shorin” in Japanese. The Shoalin Monastery was made famous by the 1970s
television series “Kung Fu” as well as the new series on the Fox Network. The
Shoalin priests were Buddhists monks, known for their knowledge of medicine and the
healing arts, as much as, or more than their martial arts skills. The priests were
considered “Kung Fu” or one who is learned, similar to our term
“Doctor”. The monks were politically active against the oppressive government of
the Manchu Dynasty, which brought about the destruction of the temple by the Manchu army
in about 1300.
All but five monks were killed. One
surviving monk, Chih Shan Chan is believed to have to have escaped to the Shorin temple in
southern Japan. He taught a system of the martial arts he called, “Hung Tai Kuan or
Hun Chi Chuan”. Later versions of this
art were known by practitioners as “Luk Ah Tsia”, from which Hung Gar or Tiger Crane kung Fu Originated. Tiger Crane
Kung Fu is still a part of what we teach today almost 700 years later. The Tiger Crane
form is still a requirement for 2nd Brown Belt today. Chinese, Japanese and Okinawa
systems of martial arts, all have had an influence on the system of self-defense I teach
in the White Tiger System.
James Masayoshi Mitose
The
more modern and better-known part of our history begins with James Mitose. Mitose was born
December 30, 1916 on a coffee plantation in Kona, Hawaii according to legend; a visiting
Chinese monk brought Kenpo to his family's monastery in Kumamoto, Japan in the 15th
century. Rinzai Zen Buddhism was taught at the monastery along with martial arts,
calligraphy, poetry, flower arranging and archery.
This form of Shoalin Chuan Fa Kung
Fu, brought by their Chinese visitors, was blended with the jujitsu that was common in the
area. This blend of Chinese and Japanese arts became known as “Kosho-ryu Kempo”
or family School Fist Principle, as Kosho was family name of the Mitose Clan. In Mitoses
Book “What is Self Defense, Kenpo Jujits” published in 1953, Mitose states he
was taken by his grandfather to Japan to study at the family monastery as there was no
other formal education system at the time. In 1936 at age 14 he became the 21st
grandmaster of Kosho-ryu Kempo, returning to Hawaii, in 1942 he began to teach what he
called Kenpo Jujits.
This account from Mitoses’
book is doubted by many who believe that Mitose was actually a student of famed Okinawa
karate master Choki Motobu, however the true story died with Mitose in 1981. Before World
War 2, Mitose began teaching a few students from his garage. After the war, Mitose opened
a school he named the “Official Self - Defense Club” Mitose taught there until
he retired in 1953.
In 1956 he moved to southern California, during the time he taught in Hawaii, he only
ranked five individuals to Black Belt. Edward “Bobby” Lowe, Dr. Arthur
Keawe,
Paul Yamaguchi, Thomas “ Tommy” Young and William Kwai Sun Chow.
William Kwai Sun Chow
Mitoses most famous and prolific student was William
K.S. Chow, Chinese Hawaiian, born July 3rd 1914. His father, Hoon Chow, taught Chow the
family’s Kung Fu system. A Buddhist monk who trained him in a system based raised
Hoon Chow in Shanghai on a southern Shoalin system. William K.S. Chow began martial arts
training with his father, at age seven. Later when Chow heard of a new style being taught,
he sought out Mitose and began training. During his Kenpo training, Chow recruited
students on his own and began a school at the YMCA in Honolulu. He began to blend the
circular moves of his Kung Fu training with the linear and grappling moves of Mitose
martial art system. Chow’s most famous and popular student was native Hawaiian,
Edmund Kealoha Parker.
Edmund
Kealoha Parker
Born March 19th 1931, Ed
Parker has done more than any other Kenpo Master to popularize and publicize the art of
Kenpo. Parker received his Black Belt from William K.S. Chow left for Hawaii in 1951 to
attend Birmingham Young University. In 1956 he started teaching Kenpo at the Hollywood
Health Club. He instructed many of the Hollywood stars, from Elvis Presley to William
Shatner (Star Trek’s Captain Kirk). In 1956 he open his first professional school in
Pasadena, California. Parker Americanized Kenpo by bringing many innovations into the art.
He started one of the largest and most prestigious tournaments, “Ed Parker
International Karate Championships” at which he introduced Bruce Lee to the public.
Ed Parker died while on a trip to Hawaii to visit his mother in 1990. Jim and Al Tracy
where two of the first students of Ed Parker.
Jim and Al Tracy
These two brothers were third and fourth students to receive
black belts under Ed Parker in the Pasadena school. They were quite conscientious about
their training and kept daily notes. They recorded each technique they learned and a 3 X 5
card and filmed the techniques with an 8mm camera. These provided the material from which
the brothers organized Kenpo into today’s belt system. When they opened their own
Kenpo School in They also created the trigger names of many of the techniques we still
teach, Parker saw the value of this and copied what they had done in their school. That is
the reason that Parker's school and Trays schools use different names for the same
techniques.
Jim
Rathbone
Jim’s
training began in 1963 under Hanshi (tenth degree Black Belt) Lou Angel (Louis Anthony
Angelopolis); Jim would sneak off his paper route in order to take the lessons. Lou had
just returned from Japan where he had just received his Third Black Degree Belt under the
legendary Great Grand Master of Goju, Gogin “Cat” Yamaguchi. Lou received his
black belt in 1961 In New York under the famous Peter Urban. By 1969 Jim had obtained a
brown belt and began teaching for Lou Angel. Jim opened a school in Joplin Missouri, were
he was attending college. While attending college at Missouri Southern State in Joplin
Missouri actor and Kenpo stylist Jeff Speakman began his training in this school under Lou
Angel.
A short time later after Jim received his Black Belt he left Goju, still
searching, for what he wasn’t sure. Jim began training with a college buddy, now life
long friend, Fred Fairchild, a Shotokan stylist. Shotokan is another Japanese system,
which is very similar to Goju. In fact the founder of Japanese Goju, Gogin Yamaguchi,
studied with the founder of Shotokan, Gichin Funakoshi. About a year later Jim was
accepted to teach in the Tracy’s franchise system. Jim thought he had died and gone
to karate heaven, Kenpo was what he had been looking for. Kenpo was no nonsense self
defense system that had many street worthy organized techniques.
Jim also trained at the other Tracy school across town in St. Louis headed by Rodney Hard.
Rodney was the son of Christian Missionaries and had grown up in Korea. Rodney trained in
Hapkido while in Korea and obtained a black belt before returning to the U.S. Jim got an
introduction to joint manipulation techniques and some of the kicks of Hapkido. Jim also spent hours learning the techniques of
knife throwing; he also learned how to stick anything with a point including maps and
thumbtacks.
The next place the Tracy's sent Jim was to David
Meredith’s (now a municipal judge) school in St. Petersburg, Florida. Jim took over
operations while Dave returned too central training, in Orange New Jersey at that time,
for business training. While in Florida Jim was fortunate to meet Dave Meredith’s
instructor, J.T. Will. J.T. was a great
fighter and a student of both Ed Parker and Al Tracy. After several months
in Florida, Tracy’s had Jim take over operations of a company owned school in
Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. Vancouver, a city of three million has a Chinese
population greater than San Francisco, California. While there he began to train with Wai
Doo, now Great Grand Master of White Tiger Kung Fu. Then just another martial artist about
his own age to trade techniques with. Jim studied both Kung Fu and herbal medicine
including the poisons used for Chinese weapons. White Tiger Kung Fu greatly influenced the
way Jim viewed the martial arts and the system Mr. Rathbone teaches today.
The greatest benefit of being part of the Tracy's system in the 70’s was the money
generated from the franchise chain was spent improving the system. Tracy’s hired the
World Heavyweight Champion (FULL CONTACT) Joe Lewis, to train instructors, in the method
of freestyle sparring. Joe’s system covered both competition and full contact
application. Joe studied privately with Bruce Lee and together they built a system that
kept Joe world champion for ten years. Very few of Joe's competitors survived past the
second round and at over fifty, he still a formidable fighter. In 1992 Joe fought a full
contact exhibition matches with his good friend the famous Bill “Supper Foot”
Wallace, it was quite a fight much of what we teach in our one on one sparring classes is
the system devised by Joe Lewis and Bruce Lee.
Centuries of Woo Shu, forms and patterns, past from generation to
generation. We have a system second to none, We believe the most street effective
self-defense being taught today anywhere and Mr. Rathbone has seen hundreds of styles and
systems.
Welcome to White Tiger Kenpo Systems
Leann Rathbone 2nd
Dan
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