Nippon Kempo
日本拳法A Japanese full-contact system of 1932 that added strikes and throws to kendo's bogu armour. The first Japanese format in which the head could be struck at full force.
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Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
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About Nippon Kempo
Nippon Kempo was founded in 1932 by Muneomi Sawayama and addressed a problem the Japanese martial arts of the day shared: karate was practised in kata and in point contests without contact, judo had contact but forbade strikes, and nowhere could one hit a real opponent at full force. Sawayama took the bogu armour used in kendo, adapted it for fists and feet, and created a format in which head and body can be struck at full power without injury. That gave Japan its first full-contact unarmed contest with strikes to the head. The repertoire is not limited to striking: throws, takedowns and continuation on the ground are allowed, so the bout moves between ranges much as in modern mixed arts — forty years before that format appeared in the West. Nippon Kempo spread mainly in Japanese universities and in police and military training, where it is valued precisely because one can train at full force safely. Outside Japan it remains little known, although its influence on later Japanese full-contact directions was substantial. The armour differs from kendo's in an important detail: it protects the front of the head as well, and the hands are in gloves that allow the fist to close, so one can both strike and grip.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.