Kajukenbo techniques are battle-tested in actual combat or experi-
ments. For example, Adriano D. Emperado got a job as a janitor in a fu-
neral home to get access to the corpses. He is said to have hung bodies up
and practiced joint breaking and striking techniques.
The philosophy of Kajukenbo, like its physical techniques, is derived
from a variety of sources. The influences of family and Christianity are ev-
ident, as is the desire to maintain a symbolic tie to the Chinese heritage of
the art. Practitioners characterize Kajukenbo as a family system. This goes
beyond the hierarchy based on the family model, which is described above,
to signify that there are powerful loyalties to the founders and among the
practitioners, many of whom are related by blood and law. The founders
of the art paid homage to their Christian faith in a prayer that was said be-
fore each practice session. The “Kajukenbo Prayer” paid homage to the
“one true God,” asked His blessings for the United States, which was iden-
tified as “a nation founded on Christian principles,” and sought blessing
for practitioners and their martial arts efforts.
Although Kajukenbo is a recent coinage composed of syllables from
its parent arts, members of the system have used the rendering of these syl-
lables in Chinese characters both as a means of maintaining ties to this el-
ement of their heritage and as a means of expressing the philosophy of the
art. Following this translation, in Cantonese kameans “long life,” jû
means “happiness,” kenmeans “fist,” and bomeans “way.” The English
translation is given as, “Through this fist way, one gains long life and hap-
piness.” A similar rendering of the Kajukenbo philosophy appears in the
motto “To train strong, we will remain strong.”
Ronald A. Harris
See alsoKenpô
References
Barlow, Jeffrey, and Morgan Day. 1993. “Ethnic Strife and the Origins of
Kajukenbo.” Journal of Asian Martial Arts2: 66–75.
Bishop, John. 1994. “Adriano Emperado: The Force behind Kajukenbo.”
IKF Presents,March, 54–61.
———. 1994. “Lua: Hawaii’s Ancient Fighting Art.” IKF Presents, March,
28–35.
Forbach, Gary. 1984. “Professor Adriano D. Emperado.” Inside Kung Fu
11, no. 2: 30–36.
Harris, Ronald A. 1990. “Emperado’s Black Belt Society.” Inside Kung Fu
17, no. 4: 68–71. Kajukenbo Self-Defense Institute.
———. 1992. “The Hidden Eskrima of Kajukenbo.” Inside Karate30, no. 9:
30–74.
———. 1995. “KSDI Open Tournament, Seminar, and Birthday Luau,
Souvenir Program.” San Jose, CA: Author.
Kodenkan Yudanshakai. 1999. http://www.danzan.com/HTML/ESSAYS/
kdky.html.224 Kajukenbo