Hieroglyphics from Egyptian pyramids drawn over 6000 years ago showed fighting techniques that resemble karate of today. In the Eastern world, India had karate-like techniques as early as 3000 B.C. and Chinese Kempo boxing (Chuan-fa) is thought to be 5000 years old it is referred to as the Shaolin Five Animal Style. The five animals are the Snake, Tiger, Leopard, Crane, and Dragon.   Kenpo was so diverse that even Greeks used its style in their free-for-all fighting (Pankration) in their Olympics.

Although primitive boxing and wrestling were developed throughout the world and known to all races, Karate, in it's present form is definitely Oriental. It was India and China, primarily China that was the birthplace of modern kenpo. Even though Kempo is some times known better for its philosophy they are one in the same. The Kenpo martial arts style is known for multiple hand strikes, kicks, circular and linear movement, which is the hard and soft style. Some of our Masters interpret the hard and soft as the "Yin" and "Yang." The Indian Buddhist priest Bodhidharma, known to the Japanese as Daruma Daishi, came to China in the 6th century A.D. and brought karate techniques and yoga meditation together as one in an effort to unite mind, spirit and body. Bodhidharma taught meditation and Chinese Kenpo, the direct forerunner of modern karate, at the Shaolin Ssu Monastery. It was this religious connection with the ancient Shaolin style of Kenpo that founded the Zen sect. For centuries only the monks knew Shaolin Kenpo but because marauding bandits plagued the countryside the secret techniques were taught to neighboring farmers for self-defense and these techniques then spread throughout China. As nations made war or allies with each other, the Kenpo techniques gradually spread throughout the entire Orient and now throughout the world.

Kenpo Karate opens your mind, body, and spirit to every single arena in the martial arts. Kenpo is the whole core of the martial arts. Kenpo does not only have the high kicks from Tae Kwon Do, it also has hip throws, grabs from Judo, submission holds, arm-bars from Jiu-Jitsu, slow movements from Tai Chi, elbows and knee strikes from Muay Thai boxing, and low smashing kicks from Wing Chung Kung Fu. Kenpo allows you to learn skills on your feet as well as on the ground. This system is a more practical line of self-defense in case you are attacked.

This depends because each student is looking for a specific need or interest. They may be of the following: stress reduction, weight loss, muscle tone, discipline, weapons training, Cardio Kickboxing, self-defense, tournaments, coordination, flexibility, and/or women's self defense classes. A student does not have to be a certain size, weight, shape, or age to learn Kenpo. Kenpo is for anyone starting at ages six and up. Why not learn all about the best ways to defend yourself, instead of just one type?

Kenpo's belt system employs the five animal style.

The Tiger ( yellow - fire ) emphasizes an aggressive linear style.

The Crane ( purple - wind ) represents the opposite element of defense and evasive counter-striking.

The Leopard ( blue - water ) it's speed incorporates the Tiger's aggression and the Crane's rationality.

Kenpo takes the Tiger-Crane-Leopard sequence to be the student level stages principally emphasizing a firm foundation in physical strength and coordination along with an exposure to the fundamental techniques of our system.

The Dragon ( green - mountain ) it's attitude is noted for its emotion of controlled fury, so the mental/spiritual, rather than the physical component of an individual, is the focal point of the Dragon.

The Snake ( brown - earth ) stands for Ch'i (Ki in Japanese), spiritual power--derived from the unification of mind and body.

In Kenpo, the practitioner's personality is broken down into these five component aspects, each represented by a corresponding animal. Then each of these facets is worked on singly, and following that, all five are again reunited into one developed whole. Each finger of the fist stands for one of the five animal facets, and the fist they make when united may be taken to be the hidden sixth animal, the Monkey.

The Monkey ( black - void ) is the first step to mastery, to complete humanness, to the final level of Sage. The Monkey combines the intellect with the physical and emotional disciplines of the preceding five animals into a single rich whole. As each individual is comprised of relative natural strengths and weaknesses, due to stature-strength coordination, each Monkey is different and exhibits a natural preference. Thus a Monkey may be decidedly Crane or Dragon in his her execution and attitude. Nevertheless, every Monkey has worked on all facets of their character and not just those most comfortable.