Shorinji Kempo
少林寺拳法Japanese art founded by Doshin So in 1947. It is the training of the religious organization Kongo-zen and competes only in demonstrations of embu sets.
Quick Facts
JapanCharacter & Origin
Training
Who It Suits
Organisation & Competition
What the style is built from
Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
Comparisons
Catalogs & Databases for Shorinji Kempo
About Shorinji Kempo
Shorinji Kempo was founded in 1947 by Doshin So (1911–1980) in Tadotsu, Kagawa Prefecture, on Shikoku island, where he opened the main dojo. He lived in Manchuria from childhood, returned to Japan in 1946 after the Soviet invasion of August 1945, and after the war combined Chinese quan fa with the jujutsu learned from his grandfather. The founder claimed that in 1936 the teacher Wen Taizong passed on to him at the Shaolin monastery the title of master of the Yihe Quan school. The historian Donn Draeger questions this, and we found no proof of his visit to the monastery.
Read more
Shorinji Kempo is the training of the religious organization Kongo-zen Sohonzan Shorinji, officially registered in 1952. The group also includes the foundation federation and the World Shorinji Kempo Organization (WSKO, from 1974). Its principles combine fist and zen (kenzen ichinyo), the priority of defense over counterstrike, and not killing. Techniques divide into goho (strikes, kicks, blocks), juho (throws, locks, chokes, escapes) and seiho (healing techniques), over 600 techniques in all. Training is mostly in pairs, in prescribed hokei sequences that combine into embu. Competition consists only of embu, solo and in pairs, judged by five referees. Free sparring with helmet and body protector is now scored without points. In 2005 the organization adopted the double circle soen as a universal emblem alongside the original manji.
History
Shorinji Kempo was founded in 1947 by Doshin So (1911–1980) in Tadotsu, Kagawa Prefecture, on Shikoku island, where he opened the main dojo. He lived in Manchuria from childhood, joining the army and the Black Dragon Society in 1928. After the Soviet invasion of 9 August 1945 he returned to Japan in 1946 and after the war combined Chinese quan fa with the jujutsu learned from his grandfather. So claimed that in 1936 the teacher Wen Taizong passed on to him at the Shaolin monastery the title of master of the Yihe Quan school, and that he was the 21st master of Giwamon-ken. This is only his own account, the historian Donn Draeger questions it, and we found no proof of a visit to the monastery. The Hakko-ryu jujutsu training that some sources attribute to him is not documented by the headquarters, and Hakko-ryu's own documents show only a few visits. In 1952 the religious organization Kongo-zen Sohonzan Shorinji was officially registered.
How it differs
Shorinji Kempo is often confused with karate or Chinese kung-fu. It differs from karate in origin and composition: according to Britannica, karate was systematized in Okinawa in the 17th century and reached Japan in the nineteen-twenties, whereas Shorinji Kempo arose in Japan only in 1947. Strikes and kicks of goho make up only one part of it. Alongside them stand juho, with escapes, throws, pins, chokes and techniques on sensitive points, and the healing seiho, with realignment of pathways and bones and resuscitation. Advanced practitioners join the hard and soft parts into one whole called go ju ittai. It shares its name with Shaolin kung-fu, but it is not Chinese kung-fu. According to the British federation UKSKF, Doshin So created the techniques from his knowledge of Shaolin kung-fu and jujutsu, and a separate Japanese art arose. It differs from aikido, which in the hands of Morihei Ueshiba was purely defensive and without matches, by its integral part of strikes and kicks. They share an emphasis on defense: according to the Nippon Budokan, strikes and holds in Shorinji Kempo are never used to start a fight. Unlike karate and kenpo, which are divided into many separate schools, Shorinji Kempo is, according to the WSKO, one school with the same teaching, techniques and educational system throughout the world.
Technique
Techniques are divided into three groups: goho (strikes, kicks, blocks), juho (throws, locks, chokes, escapes) and seiho (healing techniques). In total there are more than 600 techniques in 25 series. Goho has eight groups: tsuki, uchi, kiri, keri, kari, fumi, taigi and bogi. Juho has ten groups, including throws, pins, chokes, locks and escapes. Seiho includes seikei, seimyaku, seikotsu and kappo, that is, acupressure and resuscitation. Besides the groups of techniques, three traditional weapon lines are mentioned: dokko-den, nyoi-den and kongo-den. Some techniques, for example the pressure appo, are reserved for practitioners from 5th dan.
Training
Training has three parts: self-defense, mental and health. Practice includes solo practice of basic strikes, kicks and blocks, paired practice, cleaning and samu service, the kyakka shoko footwear check and chinkon gyo meditation, in which verses, vows and principles are recited. The main form of teaching is hokei, prescribed self-defense patterns in pairs. They are assembled into embu of six parts, each of which combines goho and juho. Partners exchange the roles of attacker and defender between the parts, and after the prescribed form a free counterattack ren-han-ko follows. Embu is practiced in pairs (kumi), alone (tandoku) and in a group (dantai with 6 or 8 people), and the paired and group ones last 1.5 to 2 minutes. We have not been able to document the typical training frequency, the structure of a lesson or when free practice begins.
Ranks and progression
Rank has three lines. The combat grade bukai is expressed by dan, the doctrinal rank hokai runs from jun-kenshi at 1st dan through sho-kenshi, chu-kenshi and sei-kenshi to dai-kenshi at 5th dan, and the priestly line is called sokai. The scale ends with the rank dai-hanshi with 9th dan, and the title shike is borne only by the head of the group. Examinations for 1st to 3rd dan are held at prefectural headquarters, from 4th dan only in Tadotsu. Outside Japan holders of 3rd dan are considered teachers, in Japan from 4th dan, and the address sensei belongs only from 5th dan. We have not found the minimum times between grades, the number of student grades kyu or the belt colors.
Competition
Shorinji Kempo does not consider itself a competitive sport. Tournaments consist only of embu demonstrations, solo, paired and group, judged by five, sometimes three judges. The world tournament is held once every four years. According to a description of the rules whose year of version we have not found, up to 60 points can be earned for the six parts of embu and 40 for other aspects, the highest and lowest scores are dropped, and the maximum is 300 points. Free fighting used to be called randori and is now called tachiai hyoka-ho. Instead of points, the judges assess footwork, technique, tactics and etiquette. University bouts once caused serious injuries, so a helmet, body protector and groin guard as well as certified judges are required today, and each practitioner has only one role, attacker or defender.
Gear
Practitioners wear the training outfit doi with a belt, with embroidered logos since 2008. The color of the sleeve emblem distinguishes affiliation: red for the religious organization Kongo-zen, blue for federation branches and purple for the WSKO. For free fighting a helmet, body protector and groin guard are compulsory. They were introduced after accidents in university bouts. We have not found other prescribed equipment for regular training.
Philosophy
Shorinji Kempo is the training of the religious organization Kongo-zen. Its aim is self-establishment and mutual happiness, and the motto says that a person should rely on himself. The principles include the unity of fist and Zen (kenzen ichinyo), the unity of body and mind (shinshin ichinyo), strength and love as a unity, defense first and only then counterstrike, and non-killing. Part of the practice is chinkon gyo meditation with recitation of verses, vows and principles, and samu service. Practitioners greet each other with gassho rei with palms joined in front of the face, which also serves as a stance. The Nippon Budokan recognizes Shorinji Kempo as one of the nine Japanese budo, alongside karate, judo, kendo and others.
Today
The organizations emerged gradually: in 1952 Kongo-zen Sohonzan Shorinji, in 1957 the All Japan Shorinji Kempo Federation, in 1963 the Shorinji Kempo Federation of Japan, in 1972 the International Shorinji Kempo Federation and the World Shorinji Kempo Organization (WSKO), which the official chronology dates to 1974 and the official history on the same website to 1976. In 2000 the Shorinji Kempo Group was formed, separating the religious organization, the foundation, the school and the world organization. In 2020 So Koma, the founder's grandson, became the third shike. According to its official chronology, the WSKO expelled the British federation BSKF in 2010. In 2015 the International Kempo Association was formed. In 2002 the Busen High School was opened and in 2008 the all-Japan federation of high schools was formed. In 2005 the organization adopted the double circle soen as a universal emblem alongside the original manji symbol.
Did you know
The official WSKO history tells a legend of the origin: the founder dreamed of the departing Bodhidharma and remembered a Chinese mural of monks training in pairs, which led him to create Shorinji Kempo. As early as 1951 the American newsreel INS Tele News came to Tadotsu to film. In 1956 the instructor school Nihon Shorinji Kempo Bugei Senmon Gakko was founded, today's Zenrin Gakuen. In 1975 Toei released the film Shorinji Kempo about the founder's life, and in October 1980, a few months after his death, the Great Wild Goose Pagoda was completed in Tadotsu. The BBC reported in 1982 on an international meeting of instructors at the headquarters with 82 practitioners from 13 countries. The International Friendship Taikai at the Nippon Budokan attracted a total of 161 practitioners from 15 countries in 1985 and led to the introduction of a world taikai held once every four years. The world taikai in Indonesia was canceled in 2009 after a terrorist attack and was replaced by an exchange taikai in Bali.
Styles & Branches
Frequently asked questions
What is shorinji kempo?
A Japanese martial art founded in 1947, which the Nippon Budokan describes as a highly spiritual close-quarters fight. The techniques are divided into goho (strikes, kicks), juho (throws, joint locks, chokes, escapes) and seiho (healing techniques). According to the WSKO, it is a single school that is also a method of human development.
Who founded shorinji kempo?
It was founded in 1947 by Doshin So (1911–1980). In Tadotsu in Kagawa Prefecture he built a house with a training room of six tatami, from where the art spread. According to the WSKO, he wanted to build a peaceful and prosperous society, and his motto is half for one's own happiness and half for the happiness of others.
Is shorinji kempo kung-fu?
It is not. It takes its name from the Shaolin monastery, but it is an independent Japanese art. According to the British federation UKSKF, Doshin So created its techniques from his knowledge of Shaolin kung-fu and jujutsu and added his own philosophy and educational system.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.