KAN SHU KENPO Review

Writing a review about Kan Shu Kenpo is a source of great interest and joy for me.

We can define Kan Shu Kenpo as a style that, on the one hand, incorporates technical material mainly derived from “American Kenpo” and, on the other hand, concepts and Katas that are mainly derived from “Chinese Kenpo.” This provides us with a very interesting combination of Japanese, Okinawan, and Chinese elements in terms of the origin of the technical content, which makes perfect sense, since this system was founded by John Cozatt and Christopher Fournier, both students of Diana Schmoyer, who was a student of John Weininger, who was a student of Dr. Daniel K. Pai. If we pay attention to Dr. Pai's learning from Richard Takamoto, a student of Emperado, who was a student of Chow, who in turn was a student of Mitose, and Takamoto also learned from Okazaki, a big name in Japanese Jujutsu, Pai himself also learned from Okazaki, and Pai also had connections and training with Mr. Ed Parker when he worked on his ranch, so we find that this mixture of Japanese, Chinese, and Okinawan content makes perfect sense (in addition to this, Mr. Cozatt also has training in American Kenpo). 

I would say that the basis of the system, paying attention to its origins but also to its technical repertoire (blocks, movements, how to move, positions, strikes, etc.), brings together these three influences in this great style in an exceptional way.

In terms of what you will find, you will learn defense techniques against strikes, but also against grabs, chokes, and much more, where you will use blocks, strikes, joint locks, throws to the ground, and much more (in addition to a series of very interesting extra concepts and techniques for ground situations). On the other hand, you will also find Kata work, which perfectly reflects the way Kan Shu Kenpo moves, and will be a very useful part of your training, learning the Jo and a Kata of it (have you ever heard that whoever learns the Jo is learning, if they learn it completely, to handle the stick first, and then the use of the katana? Well, this is no coincidence, given the versatility of the weapon), hardening, and much more.

All of this makes Kan Shu Kenpo a great Kenpo system that is on par with other systems, but the best thing, in my opinion, is the practicality of its techniques. Every defense, every movement (Tai Sabaki), etc. is extremely useful and realistic, and I hope you find them useful and enjoyable on your Kenpo journey and your martial arts journey in general.

You can purchase your course on this system at shintairyu.com in the Kenpo Karate section.

Just a video practicing some of the system: