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Nippon Kenpō is a Japanese martial art created by Muneomi Sawayama in 1932. Sawayama was a judoka who had studied under Kenwa Mabuni, a karate practictioner who would establish the Shitō school of Karate.「実戦の"拳法"澤山宗海――日本拳法創始者――」、加来耕三『武闘伝』223頁参照。 There are multiple schools and groups based on the Nippon Kempo Association launched by Sawayama, and each has its own rules. It is typically practised wearing protective gear (face, body, crotch, etc.) and gloves and allows full use of stand-up striking, throwing, and ground fighting.
Sawayama was originally interested in Atemi, and when he was a student at Kansai University in the early Showa period, he researched old-style jujutsu (before Kanō Jigorō's founding of Kodokan Judo), but was not impressed by the results.Kozo Kaku "Budoden" Mainichi Newspaper, 1996, p.222
Therefore, Sawayama invited Kenwa Mabuni (founder of Shito-ryu) and his friend Chojun Miyagi (founder of Goju-ryu), who had moved from Okinawa to Osaka and started teaching karate (currently karate), to Kansai University at Karate Study Group established on June 15, 1930.Kozo Kaku, Budoden, Mainichi Shimbun, 1996, p. 225. There is also a document that it was established in 1929 (Showa 4). See Ryonosuke Mori, "Pictures and Japanese Kenpo," Tokyo Bookstore, 1998, p. 48.
Later, when Sawayama's apprentice Ryonosuke Mori asked Yasuhiro Konishi, who had a close relationship with both Mabuni and Miyagi, about various martial arts masters, Konishi had replied that Sawayama had studied under Mabuni but had nothing to do with Miyagi.Ryonosuke Mori, "Pictures and Japanese Kenpo," Tokyo Bookstore, 1998, p. 48.
Unlike with Mabuni, who had moved to Osaka, Sawayama did not have much time to study under Cho Miyagi, who still lived in Okinawa and only visited Kansai temporarily. However, in "Overview of Karate Do" written by Chojun Miyagi in 1934, the name "Katsu Sawayama" is specified as a "person involved in karate instruction" who is active outside Okinawa Prefecture.Shigeru Takamiya, Masahiro Nakamoto, and Katsuhiko Shinzato, "Okinawa Karate Kobudo Encyclopedia," Kashiwa Shobo, 2008, p. 732.
Although he began to learn karate, most of the lessons were Kata, and Sawayama, who was interested in free discussions, gradually lost interest in karate. Therefore, Sawayama began kumite lessons in the precincts of Tarumi Shrine in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, where he could freely meet with his fellow students. The Tarumi Shrine would serve as birthplace of Nippon Kempo.
Then, in 1932, after graduating from the Faculty of Law at Kansai University, in the fall of the same year, he officially launched a martial art that was different from Karate, which he called "Dainippon Kempo."
However, at that time, Mabuni also called himself an organization with a similar name, "dai nipponkenpō Kansai sora shujutsu kenkyūkai," before renaming it to Shito-ryu."Karate Studies" edited by Genwa Nakasone, Karate Kenkyusha, 1934, p. 68. How much this is a coincidence or intentional is unclear. In Chojun Miyagi's "Overview of Karate-do", Sawayama is still described as teacher of Karate leader and practising with Karate Gi. Then, in 1934, Sawayama began practising with armour/protective gear currently associated with Nippon Kempo.Kozo Kaku "Budoden" Mainichi Newspaper, 1996, p.231
Sawayama held the Nippon Kempo Association based in his alma mater, the Kansai University in Suita City, and from the beginning the art started to spread among university athletic associations. Ryonosuke Mori, a disciple who was entrusted with advancing the art to the Kanto region, was temporarily expelled immediately after moving to Tokyo around 1958.
After being established, Mori's Nippon Kempo Association started dissemination activities in the Kanto area. After that, the association was split and a federation was born. In the Kanto area, the first Nippon Kempo club at a university in eastern Japan was founded in the Rissho University and has gradually expanded since then.Ryonosuke Mori, "Pictures and Japanese Kenpo," Tokyo Bookstore, 1998, p. 49.
Per Chris Crudelli, various Japanese Police Departments utilize Nippon Kempo as part of their training, to improve the officers' unarmed fighting skills and self-confidence.
Due to its high availability, the association's Kempo was incorporated into the training of the Self-Defense Forces, with Ryonosuke Mori participated in the crafting of the Self-Defense Forces' fighting manual, alongside masters of Kempo, Judo, and Shodokan Aikido. In addition, Mori is also a lecturer at the Japanese National Police Academy and has had a great influence on development of police arrest techniques. There are Nippon Kempo clubs at universities all over the Japan, and is one activities of that can serve as basis for graduation.
Shunji Matsunaga won the All Japan Kenpo Individual Championship nine times in a row from 1962 to 1970, and then won in 1975, holding the record for consecutive wins and the highest number of wins in history. In addition, Tetsuo Zako has won a total of 49 times and has also provided guidance overseas, helping to spread Nippon Kempo overseas.
The style was brought to Mexico in 1971 by the Shihan Tsunanori Sakakura Koike and the Shihan Toshinori Saito.
In 1977 Nippon Kempo was introduced to England by Luther De Gale after he spent a year in Japan. Nippon Kempo was also introduced to Ukraine, and many many other European countries.
New teachers became interested in this discipline and created other sections in the Vosges, and this is how Nippon Kempō continued to develop in the great East of France and then in other regions of the territory.
On March 26, 2016, the Nippon Kempo Club of Nancy presented the very first French demonstration of Nippon Kempo at the
Festival des Arts Martiaux de Karate-Bushido (Karate-Bushido Martial Arts festival) in the arenas of Bercy.Archived at Ghostarchive and the
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In September 2018 Ali Zoubiri was awarded 7th Dan in Nippon Kempo by the All Japan Federation of Nippon Kempo, which makes Ali Zoubiri the highest ranking Nippon Kempo practitioner outside Japan.
As for the decision of victory or defeat in the game, the Kenpokai adopts a three-game match like Kendo. Kempo association adopts a point system.
Nippon Kempo places an equal emphasis on striking techniques using hands and feet, immobilization and controls, projections and take-downs. Nippon Kempo is a defensive art that does not restrict students in methodology.
From a technical point of view, Nippon Kempo is a martial art system based on techniques of striking and kicking, ( atemi-waza), blocking ( uke-waza), throwing ( nage-waza), reverse joint locks ( kansetsu-gyakutori-waza) and ground combat ( ne-waza). It uses techniques derived from other arts including judo, jujutsu and karate.
Practitioners fight and practice these techniques with protective gear, as the art is full-contact and therefore men (helmet), do (breastplate), kurobu (gloves), and a mata ate (groin protector) are used. Grabbing a strike or locking a joint is allowed, as are knees and elbows to the body or to the face score points. As "headhunting", the practice of trying to score quickly with a punch to the head is common, practitioners aim to learn and develop head and body movements to avoid, deflect or counter many punching and kicking combinations.
Style founder Sawayama regarded Nippon Kempo as an "zen hōi-tekina budō" (全方位的な武道, eng. omnidirectional martial art). It was one of the first Japanese martial arts to allow punches to the head.
Sawayama describes Nippon Kempo as "pankration" but "safer with protective and supplementary rules." Since the first UFC event in 1993, ground fighting and positioning have become important elements in modern combat sports. One of the reasons for Sayama to found Nippon Kempo was the lack of ground fighting and positioning in Judo. In Japan, Nippon Kempo is credited in helping dispel notions that Judo would be enough to repel submission grappling styles in vein of Pankration. It was also unique to other martial arts that it allowed striking techniques in ground fighting such as stepping kicks and knee kicks to the head from the 4-point position, allowing these sort of techniques be incorporated to competitions and to be systematized further.
Exchanges with other schools is also active. Since 2005, the professional mixed martial arts show "HEAT" has been held regularly at Nippon Kempo Dojo at Concentric Hall in Nagoya (Nippon Kempo All-Union Central Japan Branch).
Practitioners of Nippon Kempo have fought in the Hokutoki Tournaments hosted by Daido juku, which features a martial art similar to Nippon Kempo known today as Kudo (formerly Kakuto Karate). Yasushi Tsujii (Kenpokai), Takayuki Sato (Kenpokai), Katsushi Okazaki (Aoba Kenpokai), Toru Saito (Nippon Kempo Azusakai), Shinya Yamauchi (Aoba Kenyukai) and other Nippon Kempo players have participated, and have won top prizes and awards.
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