Muneomi Sawayama
Japanese judoka and student of Kenwa Mabuni, who founded Nippon Kempo at Kansai University in 1932 and introduced protective armor into it in 1934.
Quick Facts
JapanBiography
Muneomi Sawayama, born Katsu Sawayama, was the founder of Nippon Kempo. We have not been able to verify his dates of birth and death.
He was a judoka and studied under Kenwa Mabuni, the founder of Shito-ryu karate. As a student at Kansai University in the second half of the 1920s he researched old jujutsu, but the results did not satisfy him. On June 15, 1930, he founded a karate study group at Kansai University and invited both Kenwa Mabuni and Chojun Miyagi to teach in it. He gradually lost interest in karate, however, because the teaching focused on kata rather than free sparring.
He began teaching kumite by the Tarumi shrine in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, which became the "cradle" of Nippon Kempo. In 1932 he founded Nippon Kempo at Kansai University. In 1934 he introduced protective armor (bogu), which set it apart from traditional karate. He described Nippon Kempo as an "all-directional" martial art, compared to "ancient pankration," but safer thanks to the protective gear and supplementary rules.
At Kansai University he founded the Nippon Kempo Association, which spread through university sports federations.
Teachers, students and family
Associated Martial Arts
Organisations
- Nippon Kempo AssociationFounder