Universal Kempo Karate Schools Association (UKKSA)

**patfromlogan** · Posted On: 11/30/2006 12:30pm

Professor Martin Buell founded this school in 1981, a split off from Kajukenbo. He trained in the Emperado Method under Professor Emperado. Some of the professor's other instructors were Paul Seronio, Al Reyes, and Walter Godin.

First from one of their sites:
"The vision of the instructors at the Kea'au branch is to create successful adults, teens, and children through the training and disciplines of kempo karate. Through the building of strong, balanced individuals comes happy families, and a positive change in our communities.

Universal Kempo Karate Schools focus on the art of self defense at all levels, from on the ground grappling to stand-up street fighting. Adults are encouraged to challenge themselves each time they step into the training area whether it be in competition sparring, physical endurance, or in changing a negative attitude into a positive outlook. Children's classes focus on the development off attitude, coordination, strength training and endurance along with their martial arts program. This enables them to transit to other sports prepared."

I include this because I think that they take the idea of strong happy people seriously. A response to the somewhat third world status and stress found in Hawaiian heritage, IMHO, mixed with Hawaiian culture, Kano's olympic ethos (mind, body, spirit), Mitose's odd spirituality + Chow + Okazaki etc etc etc. Kajukenbo was founded by mixed race men, many the sons of immigrants. The attitude in class is great. A very positive vibe is shown. I've trained under Prof. Guiang, and he is a calm, funny, five foot man who expects and gives respect. He is tough and self assured, moves like a cat and doesn't tolerate any bs in class.

*personal note*
He's calm and curtainely a "local." Yet funny like when doing a RNC on a giant Hawaiian, commented drily as he hung a couple feet off the ground and kicking his legs in the air, "Not a good technique for a small man." Then he drppped to the floor and looked at me with his eyebrows raised so I volunteer'd to be the next dummy and he quickly swung around me, took my legs out, got my back and applied the RNC with my head in his gut, saying, "One must bring the large man to one's level." While I tapped to the sound of the class laughing away.

I've trained in the Kailua branch and the Kalihi branch. In Kalihi, a lower economic area, I notice Prof. Guiang emphasized brotherhood and fellowship. He makes it very clear that we are brothers in Kempo, and doesn't need to say that this is important because we are all from different races and economic status, and we just finished hitting each other. We held hands and yelled PEACE! Then knelt and gave the prayer and then shook hands and thanked each other. A good thing, as some of the local toughs looked like people I wouldn't normally be social with, and I might cross the street to avoid!

The Kailua branch has a lot of students and has the best kid's class I've ever seen. They have several instructors (upper ranks help out), and several stations with small groups of kids at each one. The stations varied from ground work on mats, striking drills, exercise group, self-defense, and such. It was paced fast and the kids looked like they were having a great time. I've taken some of their ways back to Utah because the quick pacing and small groups keep all the kids working out hard, not standing around waiting to hit a bag or drill or putting up with bs talk talk talk like shitty schools do.

The training starts with jump rope and fast paced warm ups. They prety much ignore the slow stretching and lectures I've seen in a lot of mainland schools. Sometimes they stretch during a workout as a breather. We often do things to warm up like moving across the cafeteria floor (cement) doing shrimping and reversals/sweeps. Being a Hawaiian Kempo school, self defense is the primary goal (other than building character, that is). Therefore lots of emphasis is given to striking drills using pads and one on one attack sequenses, with the typical ke?po multi strike responses. Unlike AK, though, there is very little nonesense. Cups are manditory. Prof stopped class once and demonstrated a sd technique that ended with a loud "crack' as he struck the man's groin. "I want to hear it everytime!" he called out. Kata is there, but not much time is spent on it, and even less emphasis is given on kata than in Kyokushin, where it was definitely a side light.

Sparring varies, as would fit a school with a mixed group (Kalihi is more late teen to early thirties male; I was the oldest guy there by far). They have a bull in the ring Kajukenbo type sparring drill where a candidate for black (who'd crossed trained BJJ, by the way) took on up to five bbs at the same time. Continuous moderate contact, with a break or two for the purpose of asking, "Are you OK," when someone got hit hard or looked twisted or went down hard etc etc. They use head gear, cups, gloves, boots, and there are sometimes sparring sessions of two minutes, then change partner, repeated on and on. So one might go from the 45 year old little Japanese woman to sr bb, to 20 year old brown every tow minutes.

They have some sort of ground training that I wasn't priviledge to. I don't know anything about it, didn't see it, but I heard that they do some sort of modified ground competitions and the chubby old n00b (me) didn't seem to fill them with the desire to get me in there and slow down the class, I guess.

I like the school because it's five minutes from my brother's house in Kailua, AND because it's inovative. Since I've been working out with them a few days every six months or year for several years I've seen their training change to somewhat more mma/BJJ type of thing. Unlike the Kyokushin dojo, their style is not a Bible. They steal techniques that work from everyone, and keep a strong Kempo core.

The mainland branches may by more Bullshido'd than in Hawaii. Most martial arts in Hawaii, for that matter,are pretty real. The McDojo strip mall schools aren't to be seen.

**patfromlogan** · Posted On: 11/30/2006 8:16pm

Hey, I've been editing it, working hard, and GIVE ME SOME RATINGS! How the hell can I win the gi if you fuckers don't jump up and salute this post???

**Phrost** · Posted On: 11/30/2006 8:18pm

You can rate it yourself you know. Just don't forget to check the box.

**patfromlogan** · Posted On: 11/30/2006 8:29pm

Originally Posted by Phrost

You can rate it yourself you know. Just don't forget to check the box.

Oh, ok, I guess I'm confused by the author rating and member rating. I thot it was for others to rate the thread. How would they know how good the school is?

**Phrost** · Posted On: 11/30/2006 8:51pm

Yeah, I need to nuke that field so that all the ratings are the same.

**Kungfoolss** · Posted On: 12/03/2006 4:58am

Originally Posted by patfromlogan

Hey, I've been editing it, working hard, and GIVE ME SOME RATINGS! How the hell can I win the gi if you fuckers don't jump up and salute this post???

Pat, how I hate doing this to your articles, but I must stay true to giving a more objective view to the topic. History of an art doesn't really mean terribly much to me, so 90% of that review gets tossed out with the trash. It's nothing but a lot of fluff with little to no relevance, especially on a site such as Bullshido. So, what do I know about Universal Kempo other than seeing their stickers on the back of automobiles driving around the island of Hawaii? Enough. You can learn a lot about this particular kempo art if you were viewing it on a weekly basis on cable acess as I had many years ago. From what I could gather, Universal kempo's training was as drab as the color of their uniforms.

Universal's kempo's training appears to be no different than any other TMA one is likely to waste their time participating in. Everything from boring katas to monotonous self defense drills flies in the face of the 'aliveness' score given by Pat. Repetitiveness and rote training is not 'aliveness' regardless of the spin you attempt to place on it. In other words, if you're memorizing worthless empty hand or weapon dance routines, those are 'dead' patterns, not aliveness. This goes for the repetitive self defense drills in Universal kempo. When the video footage shows a group of 7 instructors taking turns -one after the other- demonstrating the same exact counter, to the same exact attack, then moving on to self defense technique #2, repeating the formula over and over again, that's not 'alive.' Another thing, hand speed seems to always be a big thing for TMA and Universal kempo instructors are no exception. During their rote self defense drills, once the attacker is down after the simulated assault, the kempo guy is striking his downed foe 6 times a second, striking the body in very rapid succession. Let me tell you something, nobody that can really hit, strikes like that. One, the faster you move your hands, the less power and drive you’re going to have. Basically, you’re hitting like a sissy. Two, if this were such an effective way to finish off a downed opponent, why don’t we ever see it being done in a mma or nhb match. The reason you won’t ever see it is due to the very simple fundamental truth, if you want to take another man out, you better hit him hard. Rapidly moving sissy hand strikes just isn’t going to cut it junior.

Is this what Pat considers to be ‘aliveness?’ Apparently so, but then again, he’s using a historic backdrop to make his case while I am only referencing what I’ve seen on tv. Another aspect of the TMA’s I find disturbing is the little comedy/party skits you will never see bjj, mma other aliveness systems doing. One Universal kempo demonstration showed a young lady beating up three male attackers -in slow motion- all the while lip syncing to Aretha Franklins, ‘Respect’ which played loudly in the background. Somehow, I don’t see Rickson, Renzo or Royce Gracie ever debasing their art just to entertain spectators or students in this fashion. But maybe this is an essential part of Universal kempo’s ‘aliveness’ concept in becoming a more competent martial artist, frankly I see it as another facet of flawed reasoning and cultish behavior. However, if they want to waste their time jacking around under the pretence of actually accomplishing something worthwhile, well, more power to them.

Finally, their excursions into the woods is a bit ninja-esk and comical. I’d say it’s reminiscent to the footage of systema cultists playing their child games in the woods, just on a larger scale. Universal kempo’s warm ups begins with them crawling around on the ground simulating military boot camp. After they’ve dirtied their uniforms thoroughly, the 100 or more local misfits then practice the usual TMA crapola - stationary punches and kicks then progress onto repetitive self defense drills. I enjoyed some of the footage in this video, I got a kick out of seeing the ego of a lot of instructors showing off their abilities to groups of fawning students sparse as they were. Although they wore black belts,you could quickly tell, half these idiot kempo instructors couldn’t fight to save their lives. Eventually, the Universal kempo stylists unleashed the fury of their deadly reverse punches on the hapless trees surrounding the camp site. They broke for lunch and once sated of their hunger, they then sit motionless beneath the very same trees they physically abused in silent meditation. It's most unlikely not one of the hundred or more participants there ever stopped and contemplated the stupidity of their actions that day.

Well, I think I’ll quit while I’m ahead. If I spend anymore time discussing Universal kempo practices, I’m liable to vomit all over my keyboard.

**GoldenJonas** · Posted On: 12/03/2006 8:29am

I decided to honor it with me new avatar. :hijackp:

**patfromlogan** · Posted On: 12/04/2006 12:05am

Well Kungfoolss, since you haven't taken the time to work out with Prof Emperado's KSDI, you haven't taken the time to work out with Prof Guyiang in Universal Kempo, and you haven't taken the time to work out with Shihan Lowe's Kyokushin dojo at the Kanewai rec center on Dole Street, what exaclty do you know about any of the schools that I've attended on O'ahu?

Oh, you watched a tv show...

I missed the tv show, I've worked out in many schools, perhaps you could try it. "It" being working out in various schools. Some have been bs, some have been good. but I don't think watching a tv show exaclty is the same thing as fighting black belts on their turf, in their school, and going as hard as you can. Perhaps someday you will have the courage to actually "test drive your skills," as Meex put it, by walking in and asking a respected instructor if you could join in to work out. It's not some tv show, it's reality.

Kalihi
8th Degree Assistant Professor Eric S. Guiang
Kalakaua Recreation Center
720 McNeil Street
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: (808) 545-8063

Wednesday & Friday:
Youth: 5:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m.
Adult: 6:15 p.m.–7:30 p.m.
---------
Kailua
8th Degree Assistant Professor Eric S. Guiang
Kailua Intermediate School Café
145 Kainalu Drive
Kailua, Hawaii
Phone: (808) 545-8063

Tuesday & Thursday:
Youth: 5:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m.
Adult: 6:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m.
--------

So, Kungfoolss, I'll be on O'ahu from 12/18/06 to 01/08/07 with a break to Maui after Xmas for six days. What night do you want to come down and workout?

I'm sorry, it won't be on tv.

**Kungfoolss** · Posted On: 12/04/2006 1:48am

Originally Posted by patfromlogan

Well Kungfoolss, since you haven't taken the time to work out with Prof Emperado's KSDI, you haven't taken the time to work out with Prof Guyiang in Universal Kempo, and you haven't taken the time to work out with Shihan Lowe's Kyokushin dojo at the Kanewai rec center on Dole Street, what exaclty do you know about any of the schools that I've attended on O'ahu?

Yes, I get the same spiel from the systema cultists as well.

Oh, you watched a tv show...

systema cultist: "Oh you watched a video clip online..."

I missed the tv show, I've worked out in many schools, perhaps you could try it. "It" being working out in various schools. Some have been bs, some have been good. but I don't think watching a tv show exaclty is the same thing as fighting black belts on their turf, in their school, and going as hard as you can.

Hmm, none of which disputes my views which you are failing to address with your counter argument here.

Perhaps someday you will have the courage to actually "test drive your skills," as Meex put it, by walking in and asking a respected instructor if you could join in to work out. It's not some tv show, it's reality.

I don't need to drive a piece of crap car to know it's going to handle like a piece of crap. It's not my problem if you aren't able to provide a thoughful line of reasoning to my commentary above. Fact of the matter is, by purposefully avoiding my points, you have only strengthened my position. Everything I stated previously -regardless of its source- is factual and cannot be disputed.

So, Kungfoolss, I'll be on O'ahu from 12/18/06 to 01/08/07 with a break to Maui after Xmas for six days. What night do you want to come down and workout?

I'm sorry, it won't be on tv.

I got the same offer from systema's, RobG, I told him I wasn't interested as I never am. Trust me, I've got more important things to do with my free time than to participate in cultish activities.

**GoldenJonas** · Posted On: 12/04/2006 7:00am

Originally Posted by patfromlogan

So, Kungfoolss, I'll be on O'ahu from 12/18/06 to 01/08/07 with a break to Maui after Xmas for six days. What night do you want to come down and workout?

I hate you, I hate you, I hate you...did I mention I hate you...sounds like an episode of the OC, lucky bastard.