Kempo (also spelled 'kenpo') is a purely self-defense oriented martial art, which is to say it's not a sport fighting system. With that goes the understanding that sometimes the best defense is a good offense. (The legal ramifications of one's actions should always be considered.)

It utilizes practical moves. Using your hands, elbows, knees, feet, footwork and body motions you learn to target pressure points and joints at their weak angles. You learn to apply joint locks and grappling techniques along with weapons training for well rounded self-defense ability.

Kempo teaches defense against one or more attackers as well as how to defend against commonly used weapons such as guns, knives and clubs.

Unlike sport fighting systems, kempo doesn't use high flashy kicks which are usually impractical in real life situations. Imagine being attacked as you step out of a door or as you're walking between parked cars. For the average person, attempting an acrobatic kick in such a situation would be detrimental.

Kempo kicks are typically aimed at pressure points on the legs and lower torso and only to the head after it has been brought down to or below waist height. Kicks should injure as well as destroy an attacker's stance and expose more targets.

The kempo belt structure:
White, Yellow, Orange, Purple, Blue, Green, 3rd Brown, 2nd Brown, 1st Brown, Black.

Each belt has a number of self-defense techniques, forms, and/or kick-combinations that must be performed and executed with the required degree of speed, power, precision and understanding before the next belt is awarded.

The techniques are taught in the private lesson, which is included in the cost of lessons. Testing is also conducted in the private lesson. As with the private lessons themselves, testing for belts has no extra or hidden costs. This is beneficial for the student financially, but it also allows for a more honest assessment. There is no sense of "buying a belt." If a test is failed the student is not out a large sum of money. Conversely, when a test is passed the student knows it was truly earned.

In addition to private lessons, group classes, sparring classes, weapons classes and applications classes are part of the core kempo classes available to students at no extra cost.

Weapons training is an integrated part of the kempo curriculum. The Bo Staff, Nunchaku, and Escrima sticks are among the weapons incorporated into higher belts starting at brown belt and are taught in the private lessons.  Weapons are also worked with in the weapons class by students of all belt levels.

Go to the schedule page for current schedule of classes.

The roots of kempo are intermixed with the various forms of Kung Fu as they were developed by the Buddhist monks several thousand years ago in China. In Chinese it is known as Chuan Fa, which means "fist law" or "fist method". "kempo" is actually the Japanese term for chuan fa. The Japanese name shows the path kempo has taken from China through Japan and eventually to mainland America. It is constantly evolving utilizing the most effective techniques from many different systems such as Kung Fu, Hapkido, Jiu-jitsu, and Phillipino arts.

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