HISTORY  |  CHARACTERISTICS  |  APPEARANCE

Origin & Purpose

ShorinjiKempo is a Japanese martial art. It is the practice method for a philosophy known as Kongo Zen. The art was founded in 1947 by Doshin So (known to us as Kaiso, meaning "the Founder"; photo at right). Kaiso studied martial arts in China for 17 years as a Japanese spy before and during World War Two. In time he was designated by his Chinese master, Wen Taizong, as the 21st-generation head master of a style known in Japanese as Kita Shorin Giwamon Ken (Northern Shaolin Giwamon Fist).

After witnessing the moral devastation of war, Kaiso had an epiphany that he expressed in a famous utterance, "The person, the person; everything depends on the quality of the person!" Kaiso dedicated himself thenceforth to the education of individuals who would be spiritually and physically fit enough to build a better world--ideally, a perfect world. But how would he do it? What would be a suitable method?

At the Shaolin Temple in Henan, China, Kaiso was moved by a mural depicting Chinese and Indian monks smiling as they together practice martial arts. He worked to see that scene reproduced by ordinary people.

Mural from Shaolin Temple that inspired our Founder

He carefully analyzed and systematized his spiritual philosophy and his knowledge of Chinese and Japanese martial arts, and dubbed this new system Shorinji Kempo--Japanese for "Shaolin Temple Boxing." He chose the name Shorinji Kempo less as a claim of pedigree as as an expression of his intent to follow the spirit of Bodhidharma (aka Daruma), the sage credited with introducing martial arts as an ascetic practice at the Shaolin Temple, as per the scene in the mural. For legal purposes, the formal name was changed to ShorinjiKempo in 2005.

While most schools or systems of martial arts can lay more or less legitimate claims to being moral and spiritual practices, ShorinjiKempo is explicitly and essentially such a practice. It is a way for people to learn to establish mutual trust and cooperation just as much as they learn physical skills and self-control.

Sohonzan Shorinji--the World ShorinjiKempo
Organization's headquarters, located in Japan

Characteristics

ShorinjiKempo is comprised of four integrated, inseparable parts:

Tetsugaku--philosophy; specifically Kongo Zen, a humanistic philosophy with roots in Buddhism;
Goho--"hard" techniques: punches, kicks, blocks, etc.;
Juho--"soft" techniques such as throws, locks, twists and pins;
Seiho/appo--the use of pressure points for therapy and/or combat.

The six key principles of ShorinjiKempo are:

Riki Ai Funi -- strength and compassion shall not be separated
Fusatsu Katsujin -- don't kill; preserve life
Shushu Koju -- defense is primary, offense is secondary
Ken Zen Ichinyo -- mind and body united in action
Go Ju Ittai -- hard and soft techniques are one
Kumite Shutai -- the primary form [of practice] is in pairs

It is not hard to see how these principles can apply to all parts of the system. The principle of fusatsu katsujin, while obviously a matter of philosophy, limits the range of possible techniques (goho and juho) while inspiring the use of pressure points (appo) to incapacitate opponents. Shushu koju similarly informs the kenshi's application of techniques. Kumite shutai supports the philosophical aim of promoting good citizenship through cooperation, consideration, self-control, etc., but also promotes the honing of technical skills--spacing, timing and accuracy--in ways that solo practice cannot. Riki Ai Funi is based on the idea that justice cannot be achieved without a balance of love and strength: power without compassion is just violence, but love without the power to support and protect is useless. "Mind and body united in action" (ken zen ichinyo) is a refinement of the cliche, "mind and body are one." Yes, our bodies respond to the impulses of our minds, while our brains themselves are physical organs that require good health and fitness to perform at peak ability. But why unite mind and body unless to achieve some purpose? It is the activation of the 'unit' that we strive to enable through ShorinjiKempo training.

Mind and body united in action!

Go ju ittai is perhaps a little hard to explain. Any given technique in ShorinjiKempo almost invariably includes both hard and soft elements: a grab-and-lock is preceded by a block and perhaps a strike to establish safe spacing (thus, soft follows hard), or a kick is used as a kind of punctuation mark after pinning an attacker (hard follows soft). Furthermore, pin and strike techniques are always designed around pressure points (cf. seiho) and body mechanics, especially principles of leverage, to maximize effectiveness and control while minimizing the need for strength; and even the respective hard and soft techniques themselves have important elements that are respectively soft and hard. For example, a simple punch requires trunk rotation, a twisting which is a soft technique. Philosophically, this principle is another expression of the idea of balance, applicable beyond self-defense to things like lifestyles and relationships.

What does ShorinjiKempo look like in practice?

A casual observer might say ShorinjiKempo looks like some kind of cross between karate and aikido. Compared with karate, the basic ShorinjiKempo stance looks looser, more rested back--a little like a boxer's, although the hands are not generally held up near the head. ShorinjiKempo movements are generally more round than straight or angular. There are not so many high kicks in ShorinjiKempo, so although leg flexibility is maintained through warmups, it is not stressed to the extent it is in such 'hard' styles as tae kwon do, wing chun, karate, etc. The soft techniques of Shorinji Kempo, while not dissimilar to those of aikido, are linked with (or punctuated by) hard strikes.

ShorinjiKempo is an outstandingly versatile and effective martial art, but its technical richness is also its challenge: while many other martial art styles lead students to feel "combat-ready" after just a year or two of good training, ShorinjiKempo is often considered to require three or more years of thrice-weekly instruction before a kenshi begins to feel confident that s/he knows what s/he is doing. Certainly it teaches patience! On the other hand, it truly is accessible to young and old, athletic and unathletic types, males and females. Its one absolute requirement is a will to keep trying.

For further explanations and descriptions of ShorinjiKempo, try following one or more of these links:

World ShorinjiKempo Organization
Swedish Federation
British ShorinjiKempo Federation