History of Kenpo

For many generations, Kenpo was refined and modified by the Mitose family and became known as KOSHO-RYU KENPO. James Mitose modified this art and began teaching KENPO JUJITSU at “The Official Self Defense Club” in Honolulu, Hawaii after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

William K.S. Chow — a black belt protégé of Mitose — modified the art as his instructor did before him. He called it CHINESE KENPO and taught at the Nuuanu YMCA in Honolulu. Chow’s innovations were out of his desire to better prepare students for the streets of Hawaii.

Ed Parker — a black belt protégé of Chow — brought the art of CHINESE KENPO to the mainland in the mid 1950′s, eventually modifying it to fit western culture. He based his updates on his street fighting experience, realtionships with our martial artists and personal observations. He called his art AMERICAN KENPO and is known for being a practical and logical martial art founded on principles of motion.

Paul Mills — a high ranking black belt protégé of Parker — was taught to keep things simple, practical, and logical. The Kenpo system he now teaches — referred to as AKKI KENPO — leverages Ed Parker’s AMERICAN KENPO coupled with his own additions and refinements from his nearly forty years in the art. Mr. Mills is also known as a world champion fastdraw artist and personally instructs Ryan Wheaton; the chief instructor at Arrowhead Martial Arts.