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.
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.
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