KAJUKENBO: - Danijela Crevar

PHYSIQUEBEATSKAJUKENBO:Perfect Blend of Martial Arts22 PHYSIQUE-MMA.COM | FEBRUARY 2012

By Danijela CrevarDanijela Crevar IFBB Pro Athlete,Mediterranean Champion,International Fitness Model,Personal Trainer, Author of thebook: “Where Your Mind Goes,The Body Will Follow”, FormerHost of the TV Show: “Fitnessfor Everybody”, Fitness MotivationalSpeaker.Iwas six years old when I beganto train karate. At first, I wasn’treally interested in training,but my mom was so persistentthat I should not give up the classes.Ten years later, I got the brown beltand could compete in national level.Once I got hooked, karate becamemy favorite activity to do afterschool. It didn’t teach me not onlyself defense strategies but greatdiscipline as well making me totallystronger from head to toe.Karate or any other style of martialarts would be great choice ofsport for children, adults orelderly. There’s nothinglike too early or toolate to start in martialarts. I cansay frommyreal life experience that karate was myfirst experience in the world of sportsand healthy living. It had such a greatpositive impact on me that, many yearslater, I decided to take my four yearsold daughter in Kajukenbo schoolrecently. As she is only four years old,for learning Kajukenbo techniquesand style, I had to help her a lot. I didresearch on Kajukenbo to know a bitmore and found some interesting factsthat I would love to share with you.Kajukenbo is a unique martial artsform combining the techniques of (KA)Karate, (JU) Judo and Jujitsu, (KEN)Kenpo and (BO) Boxing. Philosophicalmeaning of Kajukenbo is: KA – LongLife; JU – Happiness; Ken – Fist; Bo –Style. “Through this fist and style, wegain long life and happiness. It wasfounded in Hawaii in the 1947 by AdrianoEmperado. The original purposeof the art was to deal with local crimeand to help the people defend themselvesin street fights. Kajukenbo wasspecially designed to win brutal streetfights . The founders called themselvesthe Black Belt Society and theirgoal was to develop an art that wouldmake them invincible in the most difficultstreet fights. Kjukenbo’s founderProfessor Emperado had a motto, “Theworkout isn’t over until I see blood onthe floor”. His philosophy was that ifsomeone was afraid of pain they wouldbe defeated the first time they were hit.He also felt that his students had toget used to pain and learn how to giveit back. This enabled them to findout which techniques worked andwhich didn’t.Today Kajukenbo is one ofthe most popular forms ofself defense practiced inthe world, because of itseffectiveness and logicalapproach. Kajukenbo’smain philosophy is thatevery martial arts stylehas something to offer andif one accepts that andtrains accordingly, they willbecome a better oriented andmore effective martial artist.Kajukenbo uses hard, fast strikesto vital points throughout the body, takedowns involving high impact throws,FEBRUARY 2012| PHYSIQUE-MMA.COM 23

Kajukenbo’sfounder ProfessorEmperado had amotto, “The workoutisn’t over until I seeblood on the floor”.His philosophy wasthat if someone wasafraid of pain theywould be defeatedthe first time theywere hit. He alsofelt that his studentshad to get used topain and learn howto give it back. Thisenabled them to findout which techniquesworked andwhich didn’t.and many joint destruction techniques,usually as follow-ups to take downs.There are also blocks from attacks,such as punches and defenses anddisarmament of offensive weapons.Kajukenbo’s primary focus is on realismand practicality. Kajukenbo trainingworkouts emphasize cardio conditioningand functional strength. While someschools may show variation, it wouldnot be unusual to train with sandbagsor boxing gloves.Like most karate systems Kajukenbohas katas of forms. These 14 katas areknown as “Palama Sets” 1 through14. Like traditional systems, Kajukenbotakes a number of its self defensetechniques from its katas. These selfdefense techniques are arranged andcategorized into 15 grab arts, 21 punchcounters, 15 knife counters, 13 clubcounters, 9 two and three man attackcounters, and 26 advanced alphabettechniques. The strength of KajukenboKajukenbo uses hard,fast strikes to vital pointsthroughout the body, takedowns involving high impactthrows, and many joint destructiontechniques, usuallyas follow-ups to take downs.There are also blocks fromattacks, such as punchesand defenses and disarmamentof offensive weapons.Kajukenbo’s primary focusis on realism and practicality.Kajukenbo trainingworkouts emphasize cardioconditioning and functionalstrength. While some schoolsmay show variation, it wouldnot be unusual to train withsandbags or boxing gloves.is in how these techniques are combined.The theory behind Kajukenbois that it is better to counter with a multipleof techniques that can be endedwhen the threat no longer exists, thanto rely on one technique and find that itis not enough.An important part of some Kajukenboclasses is the Kajukenbo Prayer andusually it will end with the reference toKajukenbo Trinity, that is:Spirit – attitude and dedicationMind – mental discipline and knowledgeBody – physical proficiency/conditioningAfter the trinity, students and instructorsalike open their hands to representpeace and then bow their heads inrespect. A stylized Kajukenbo salute isalso part of many school customs. Studentsand instructors alike salute blackbelts when they enter the training floor.One common belt order is as follows:white, yellow, orange, purple, blue,green, brown (3 levels), student black,followed by the various degrees ofblack belt.The most recognized sign (emblem)in the Kajukenbo system is The KajukenboCoat of Arms.And for the end of this article, the KajukenboMotto that I absolutely love is:“To Train Strong Is to Remain Strong”.24 PHYSIQUE-MMA.COM | FEBRUARY 2012