The streets of Pacifica, California, where Bob Maschmeier, a high-ranking kajukenbo
instructor teaches, are far from the rough and tough ghetto where the art began.
Five martial artists, calling themselves the Black Belt Society met in the Palama
Settlement on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu. They came together in 1947 with only one
purpose: to perfect a martial arts system which would allow to survive any streetfight
situation. Peter Y.Y. Choo brought his expertise in the Korean art tang soo do. Frank
Ordonez contributed years of experience in se keino jujitsu. Clarence Chang was a
teacher of shaolin kung fu. And the fifth member of the black belt society, a master
of Chinese kara-ho kempo and Filipino escrima was Adriano Emperado. After two years
of exchanging ideas and techniques, these five martial artists created a street-wise,
highly effective combat system which derived its name from the first letters of the
styles that comprised it. KA (from a Korean style of karate) JU (from judo and jujitsu)
KEN (From kenpo) BO(from Chinese boxing, kung fu) Since then this now-familiar style
had developed a reputation as "the perfected art of dirty streetfighting," as Sigung
Maschmeier likes to call it. Emperado, the man now generally recognized as the founder,
had a rugged childhood in the rough and tumble back streets of Honolulu. His initial
martial arts training was in escrima, which later influenced aspects of kajukenbo.
Emperado later took up kempo and reached the rank of fifth-degree black belt while
studying under William K.S. Chow. The first kajukenbo school was opened in the Palama
Settlement, and operated by Emperado, and his brother Joe. The brutal training that
took place there is legendary. Since the goal was to be invincible on the street,
the training had to be realistic, and students sparred with full contact. Broken
bones were an everyday occurence, and the trauma of training caused some to become
sick to their stomachs. The number of students in the school soon dwindled to a dedicated
few. Those who remained developed into tough fighters with a reputation for employing
their art in streetfights with very little provocation. Emperado's school turned
out several future instructors who would themselves leave a mark on the international
martial arts community, including Sid Asuncion, Tony Ramos, Charles Gaylord, Aleju
Reyes, Al Dacascos, and Joe Halbuna, just to name a few. Maschmeier, a direct student
of Halbuna, teaches kajukenbo with a two-part philosophy: teach students to survive
a streetfight, and encourage them to explore other martial arts, looking for techniques
which will make them better fighters. The emphasis on survival is primary in kajukenbo,
and in Maschmeier's Coast Karate Studios. "Anyone can learn to kick and punch, but
to teach them how to survive in a violent street situation, you have to develop their
animal instinct," says Maschmeier. The animal instinct is described as a feeling,
one which Maschmeier conjures up for himself by imagining someone trying to injure
one of his children. "If you put together the martial artist's knowledge of vital
targets, how to strike, and the concentration of power combined with anger and rage
at the thought of someone hurting your loved ones, the person can be a devastating
fighting machine." Maschmeier points out that, at least in his school, he teaches
the junior students differently than the adults. Children are still taught self-defense
techniques, but the training to bring out the animal instinct is not emphasized.
The second factor of the kajukenbo philosophy is the notion of taking what works
and not being afraid to try other martial arts styles. "I tell my students that I
try to open doors for them, teaching them as much as I can, but also having them
experience other forms of martial arts," says Maschmeier, who regularly takes students
to the annual Danzan-Ryu jujitsu camp. Maschmeier himself also studies kyudo, the
art of Japanese archery. "One of the things I like about kajukenbo is that whatever
works is acceptable. So the kajukenbo people are exposed to, and use, a variety of
things, including karate, judo, kung fu moves, tang soo do kicks, aikido takedowns,
and jujitsu joint manipulations." The goal of the variety is the ability to achieve
one objective: surviving a street situation. Winning A Streetfight According to Maschmeier,
there are several tactics that kajukenbo teaches in order for the martial artist
to win on the streets. ANYTHING GOES: The first thing to remember is to to do anything
it takes to win. Even if you have to bite, scratch, and kick, there are no rules.
You have to fight like an animal if necessary. The old phrase in the martial arts
is "be humble," but be humble only to a point. Be a person because you choose to
be, not because you're intimidated. FIGHT FAST, FIGHT HARD: If you find yourself
in a position where you have no other choise but to fight, do it fast and get it
over with. DON'T BE STUPID: Remember that a good streetfighter is as good as, or
better, than a black belt in a street situation. Some of the streetfighters go out
and fight every Friday night. They know how to take a punch. They know how to use
a beer bottle. They know how to use a lot of things and they move like a cat when
they fight. STRIKE WHILE HE ARGUES WITH YOU: If you can hit your opponent while he's
in the middle of a sentence or a word, you have the element of surprise. He can't
think of two things at the same time. SPIT IN HIS FACE AT THE EXACT MOMENT YOU STRIKE:
Normally, a grown man will flinch because he doesn't like the idea of someone spitting
in his face. USE UNEXPECTED DIVERSIONS AND DISTRACTIONS: An older person can fake
a heart attack long enough for the opponent to hesitate and be caught off guard by
a couterattack. Surprise is always an advantage. ATTACK THE MOST VULNERABLE TARGETS:
Kajukenbo emphasizes attacking the most vulnerable targets including the eyes, the
throat, the groin and the knees. DON'T STOP UNTIL THE PERSON IS FINISHED: One or
two moves may or may not be enough to take a person out. The kajukenbo strategy is
to stike or kick a person, get him down to the ground, and then continue until he
stops. The Spirit of Kajukenbo Although many styles adhere to a near-religious degree
of training, oriented towards perfecting character, and in some schools, even attempting
to reach some form of enlightenment, kajukenbo, at least as taught by Maschmeier,
tends to be more pragmatic. "Being a little more practical about what I teach, and
what I believe the kajukenbo is all about," says Maschmeier, "I'm not saying that
meditation or having a religious feeling about martial arts is wrong. I think kajukenbo
teaches that you should be nice to people and not hurt people. But at the same time,
you can't let someone hurt you." Maschmeier believes that if there is anything that
makes kajukenbo unique as a style, it is both the willingness of the style to evolve
and grow, and the old Hawaiian idea of ohana or family. This means that if a person
is a member of kajukenbo, he is a member of the kajukenbo family. But ohana is only
half of the kajukenbo spirit. The other half is a fighter's axiom--"Take the opponent
out, and go home."
