Is Kajukenbo A Dying Art? | Why Some Styles Are More Popular Than Others 

Shout out to the OG's of Kajukenbo that brought it to the UFC, John Hackleman and The Iceman Chuck Liddell! Much respect to the Pit!

Born and raised in Hawaii. Started my martial arts journey at 10 years old with Karate, Boxing and Escrima. At 15, joined Kajukenbo and at 26 I got my black belt in Kajukenbo. Also trained in Muay Thai and a couple styles in Kung Fu. Taught a bunch of people along the way. Kinda semi retired from teaching, my only student now is my 16 year old son. I would love to start up a school again, but most people want to learn boxing, Muay Thai or BJJ. I’m in my 50’s now and still love Kajukenbo more than the other styles. I teach my son Kajukenbo, boxing, kick boxing, and the Kung Fu styles that I’ve learned. I also put him in bjj. I taught my son kickboxing first because I wanted him to spar. In Kajukenbo there are more drills or scenario training than sparring…and the sparring just turns into kicking and punching anyway. Someone can appreciate the drills more if they actually sparred or have been in a street fight. Sparring fine tunes timing, speed, power, footwork, angles, etc…which you can’t do as well with drills or scenario training. Keep spreading Kajukenbo guys 🤙🏽👊🏽

I'm getting more interested in Kajukenbo after learning that my great uncle, Peter Choo, was one of the founders.

Kajukenbo is almost nonexistent in the East Coast of the US. Such a great system but so hard to find on this end.

Much appreciated. Bjj and Judo trained for a good part of my younger days. Now my kids having the priviledge to train under Grand Master Z, Reyes Kayukenbo, original Emperado method. I agree not much as far as an olympic career here but I like that they can defend themselves if needed out in the streets. Things are getting crazier each day so no longer can we think it wont happen...with our soft laws on crime, criminals get bolder each day. I still work on bjj type drills with the kids (no matter howbig i still see them as kids lol) and will evolve to that later on but thus far we are enjoying Kayukenbo. All arts have their place and as we grow we explore more and learn. It is always good to have many tools in our box. Stay safe and stay training.

Studied under Sifu Al Dacascos in Portland Oregon in the late 80's. He developed his own system called Wun Hop Kuen Do and he was one of Adriano Emperado's (founder of kajukenbo) original students.

All modern martial arts should be MMA, remember MMA is not a style it's just a blend of effective techniques.

I been in Kajukenbo for 30 years on and off. Kajukenbo is supposed to be a evolving martial art. The problem is the old heads are stuck in the past..Kajukenbo is perfect to integrate Jujitsu and Boxing into the system. I would do away with most of the techniques and forms..and only concentrate on the most effective one's and fill in the empty space with grappling and Boxing or Muy Thai training. If not these people are right the art will die out or only be taught to little kids. When I first was learning little kids weren't even allowed to train. But it's where the money at. I think we should reinvent Kajukenbo to it will be here forever.

Kajukenbo was my first style and while I only got my Green belt it still influences my my martial arts and my training greatly. I agree that there is an issue of knowing when am I good at this that shows up when you go to a different school/style that has different sparing rules. One thing I have found is that I have a good foundation from which to build on in several different styles, and as a result am able to pick up things more quickly.

I train Kajukenbo and supplement with BJJ. I have trained a little boxing as well. Train as much as you can but train for whatever context you want to train for. Whether it's for the art, combat sports, fitness, self-improvement or self-defense/self-protection.

Ive looked in indiana for a Kajukenbo and theres no school around. I would love to practice and train this, so hopefully something comes up in my area in the future. Much love to all martial artists and fighters ✊🏽 Always spread the love

Kenpo/KJKB or a major part of my roots, but what lead me in a different direction was the lack of what is sometimes known as sensitivity drills" like you see in Kali , Silat , Wing Chun etc. . That's just in the schools I was in of course , I don't know how others do it . They plug right in easy , theres already elements from those arts in KJKB . Just get things more hands on with partner based stuff so you build that muscle memory , use the techniques and katas as an expansion instead of the entire basis . That's pretty much exactly what I've been doing with a small group in a garage . It's NEVER been a question of is the art itself lacking to me , just the training methods I was exposed to . As for sparring , yes I think it's vital for most students, but not all of them.

I'm not sure how other schools train. Kajukenbo in Montreal Canada was where I started. We trained hard. From there, I had a base and an attitude that was tough. Eventually discovered kickboxing, boxing, thai boxing, bjj, and more. My Kajukenbo foundation I felt gave me an edge.

The early years of the UFC got millions of people around the world interested in MMA. Consequently, many TMAs (including Kajukenbo) fell by the wayside, unless they incorporated or outright "evolved into" MMA. The ongoing COVID pandemic which began in March of 2020, was the death knell of even more TMA schools.

As a former kajukenbo student, I truly miss thus sport I had step as brown belt due to the pandemic. Thank you sifu ray

Nice too see guys who in an honest way reflect on their style and try to find solutions, discussing the flaws of it. Trying to improve and adapt to the present times without thinking about the economical gain at all. Nice too see, and this is the way this style will evolve and survive.

My school was open for 17 years and that chunk on new students coming in and staying impacted a few years down the line when i lost a bunch of long term students to college. Also- many of the students that were there were not nearly as dedicated as i was as a kid . Soccer for instance was once a 1 practice a week , 1 game a week, 1 season a year for young kids… today even a rec level has multiple practices a week with games sometimes on both days a weekend . The push to move(*buy) up to the travel and elite level is a big push even creating “B” teams so that there is more room for travel/premiere level players.. soccer is no longer one season but 3 seasons and summer camp programs… I say soccer but the same push is on for all sports. The “college scholarship “ is also a push with these sports. Needless to say many of the students i did sign didn’t have the dedication in dojo practice let alone home practice . They wouldn’t progress in belts, they’d drop out.

I too got up to purple belt in Kajukenbo Abad style, before I had to leave to continue schooling. Always wanted to come back to get my black belt, but the school closed due to low student turn out. It's a good style and I loved learning it. Shout out to all my Kaju Ohana there.

I was a purple belt at kajukenbo … I asked my si mu to teach me street fighting when I was on the streets. I told her I didn’t care about a belt. She put me against two black belts in a back room no lights … she gave me a black belt I denied it …I was 15 at the time. I’m from Juarez kajukenbo…I stoped when she died of cancer..she was … my si mu. Sorry Dolores was her name.

Kajukenbo student here, I can safely say its not dying its still very much alive and still growing 😁

I did kajukenbo, I liked the style and it really helped me be efficient in violent situations in my life - however I have different spiritual beliefs (pagan) so I'm no fan of mainstream religion - the instructor always had us pray before & after training...I wasn't into that, so I left and many other students did too because of it - most folks have their own beliefs and are not interested in being converted. Mixing religion with martial arts is a no-go for me personally because other folks have their own beliefs so imposing or trying to convert someone who just wants to learn self defense is pretty rude.

Simple answer to that question of why some are dying.... people don't want to make the commitement to time and effort necesary any more...

Sensei Hojlo was my master back in San Leandro California on Washington ave. He was 18 and I was 7. Back then I was the one with a mohawk, and he had long hair. Oh yeah this is Sai. Jadys younger brother. I still see Niko every now and then

There is a way! excellent point!

Everything evolves with time. The Wing Chun of today is different from 200 yrs ago. A great example is to look at Ed Parker's Kenpo in old films, to the late 70's and early 80's to today. Western Boxing also has developed and changed

I would love to train Kajukenbo but there are no dojos near me..Only TKD, Aikido and MMA. At 58 I`m a bit old to do Thai Boxing..

Yo 25 años practicando taekwondo y compitiendo,tenía buen nivel, después practiqué wing chin y ahora práctico kajukenbo,de todas he aprendido algo por mi trabajo me meto en muchos problemas en la calle y todo funciona si está muy entrenado,con dos horas a la semana ,no se coge nivel, pero el kjkb se funciona bien,tiene muchos a los genitales,ojos,y son golpes contundentes y bien aplicados....no es competitivo porque le quitarías el 80 x ciento de su arsenal defensivo ,para adaptarse a las reglas..un saludo... sé que lo va a leer poca gente...

Kajukenbo is a practical martial art for modern day fighting. However, I highly recommend you take Muay Thai, Boxing, wrestling or bjj for some time before going into Kajukenbo

Like you were saying, at the very simplest breakdown a martial art lives or dies by how attractive it is to potential practitioners. It wasn't a good place for it in that conversation but I think it may be worth it to do a deeper dive into why those top 5-7 martial arts do so well. Sure aikido has a lot of old people, but why aikido instead of judo? I think a lot of it is marketing, whether it's intentional or not. Popular media has done more for kung fu and karate for centuries than any ad campaign could ever do. That has a lot more to do with historical Europeans/Americans finding eastern culture fascinating and obsessing over it. Korea has rapidly joined China and Japan in American weeb culture and tkd is already more ubiquitous in Korea than karate is in Japan. Aside from things like that, it really does feel a lot like finding the market for your product. But, like you say, how often do people really get into street fights when they aren't looking for them? I wonder how many styles of martial arts in history that were flowery and more philosophy minded died out in times of war/unrest, and vice versa for the hyper practical ones that died out in times of peace.

Can’t find it in Australia 😞

I think kajukenbo is not dying but dissolving into the multitude of styles and methods that have derived from it. I also think that the founders created kajukenbo aware of how it should evolve over time. Kajukenbo was born on concepts and based on those concepts it is possible to develop techniques. if the various schools of kajukenbo respect these concepts, the differences do not matter. there is only one kajukenbo.

Where i can find the whole conversation?

I disagree with MMA being the “ultimate self defense” art. 1- MMA isn’t even an art or style. It’s mostly derived from Vale Tudo rules, and it’s just a Jack of All Trades, Master of None, with a tad bit more emphasis on BJJ 2- in the streets, because of the slightly heavier focus on BJJ in “MMA”, people forget that chances of you fighting 1-1 are slim, so single holds are mostly out of the question, and you’ll be fighting on solid possibly concrete ground which will injure and hamper you as much as your attacker.

Awesome hamburger analogy :D

I would love to connect with you. You are a great speaker. You are very interesting and depressing at the same time. I think that's good, but I would love a pow wow with you. I'll come to you or you come to me in San Diego.I have a love/hate concept of sport fighting and Self Defense. MMA has really taking the ego and claim to be Self Defense, but it's not. Weight classed, tapping out, no multiple attackers, element of surprise, environmental weapons..... Tons to talk about. You are great man. Lets talk some deep stuff.

Obviously the physical portion of self defense is a tiny fraction of the overall picture, but I think a good test or your ability to physically defend yourself is to get a big untrained guy who would reasonably be attacking you, and tell him to try to beat you up, meanwhile you try to control him without relying on submissions or ground and pound. Basically defeat a bigger opponent while keeping your hands clean in the eyes of the law. EDIT: THIS IS NOT A RECCOMENDEATION. Just because it would be a good test does not mean you should do it. Even in a controlled environment fighting can lead to permanent injury or death, not to mention the legal repercussions of hurting someone in an unsanctioned fight.

Happy new year...i live in greece im greek and i believe covid put end in all...so dying cause no one famous for example actors practitioner kajukenbo and is one thing about this

That’s probably the most disingenuous argument I’ve ever heard regarding any martial art. I don’t expect to change your mind as the ignorance is too far gone to save however, this response is for the young impressionable minds looking up to “RU-vidrs” for advice on fighting. 1. “There’s no real way to know if you’re good at Kajukenbo.” The answer is competition. How does one know if you’re a good boxer? Go compete against another boxer, locally, nationally or internationally. Don’t go compete against a BJJ practitioner. Fight a boxer. The same applies to Kajukenbo. Go to Karate tournaments of all styles, preferably ones that do full contact continuous fighting. Start at the local level and branch out. 2. “I only know that my instructor tells me when my belt gets dark enough and I’m good enough at grabbing another guy’s nuts. I am good at Kajukenbo.” If you got your black belt at a McDojo just say that. However, don’t slander all Kajukenbo schools based on your anecdotal experience. 3. “You go to another gym and you’re not good at any of the things they’re doing.” Again, McDojo black belts tend to not translate well. I’m sorry you had to go through that. 4. “Saying other self-defense based systems address the need for self defense more than MMA, is like saying that ketchup and buns makes a burger more than the meat does. MMA makes the meat of a hamburger.” Terrible analogy lol. MMA is not a martial art, it is a combination of previously existing martial arts. Therefore MMA would be the burger, and the individual martial arts themselves would be the meat, buns and ketchup. For some their “meat” of choice is Karate as their base, for others it’s wrestling, BJJ, etc. No different than someone preferring turkey burgers, hamburgers, etc. 5. “Krav Mama gyms look like MMA gyms, it’s evolving.” When’s the last time you’ve been to an actual Kajukenbo tournament? There is full contact continuous sparring (aka Kickboxing rules), grappling/BJJ, as well as the traditional weapons, forms etc. Most traditional martial arts are evolving in general. 6. “It’s not growing because you don’t have to worry about someone randomly attacking you in the streets.” Just say you grew up in the suburbs and haven’t had many street fights, it’s ok. However, don’t speak it as fact. That statement is purely anecdotal. 7. “You can’t kick them in the groin in sparring”. Again, when’s the last time you’ve been to a real Kajukenbo tournament. Everyone knows groin kicks have and always continue to be allowed.

How bout you're good at KJK when you can execute pieces of the drills in sparring session. The problem is that knobody tries the techniques during sparring.

Guess we all know how bartitsu felt

Sooo... is it?

The problem I think is that the art has gone from hard-core art to trying to be popular. When the system was created in Hawaii it had a sole purpose. You can't teach kids today, because kids today are soft. Kaju is a self defense art, no rules. Your target audience needs to be those wanting easy ways to defend yourself.

Everything taught in Kajukenbo has been street proven. What is wrong with Kajukenbo today is politics and promoting the wrong people who have turned away from original teachings.

eh yah just let it go. its evolution just like anything else its effectiveness is hugely speculative anyway.

We used to use the groin shots to beat the taekwondo fighters.

Kajukenbo is not as popular as American Kenpo HOWEVER that has been a blessing that has maintained the integrity of the art as opposed to Soeakman 5.0 which has become a MCDOJO.

I’m a 3rd degree black belt under Al Dacascos and I’ll tell you why it’s dying: Kajukenbo has too much Politics !!! Too much change, not enough structure, too much shit talking, self promoting and not enough actual fighters.

Why are you talking about kenbo while wearing a muay shirt

I guess it is dying. I trained it 20 years ago and I can't find a school nowhere in Austin that teaches this stuff anymore.

Aikido is for old people huh? Try my Sensei. Martial arts are like so many other things, or perhaps everything. They need to change and evolve or they become stagnant or die. It's not just JKD, it's all of them.

So …… how long can something as useless as Shotokan last ? Kjkb looks much better