Kajukenbo tournament

Kajukenbo is an Hawaiian martial art, combining KArate,JUdo,KENpo and chinese BOxing.
This video is not sped up, and each of these blows and arm bars hurt like the dickens.


Greg Harper, a ninth-degree grand master in the art of kajukenbo, was invited to train one of the stars of "Fight Quest," a show on the Discovery Channel that features a different martial art style each week.

The two stars of the show, Jimmy Smith and Doug Anderson, travel the globe learning different martial arts systems. They spend a week in training with a master, then go into the ring to test their new skills.
The show Anderson filmed in California on kajukenbo will air Feb. 29.

According to Harper, 50, kajukenbo is the original mixed-martial art. Combining elements of karate (KA), judo and jujitsu (JU), kenpo (KEN) and boxing (BO), it was known for years as Hawaiian kenpo.

Harper trained under one of the original founders of the style, Grand Master Adriano Emperado. He also spent 13 years as Emperado's personal bodyguard.

"I've been training in kajukenbo for 35 years," he said. "The Discovery Channel couldn't research the style without hearing my name."

Harper got help training "Fight Quest" star Doug Anderson from the owner of the kajukenbo school in San Jose, Master Charles Gaylord. The Discovery Channel wanted to do the filming there because it was easier for their stars.

Harper said the setting was far from glamorous, a giant industrial-type warehouse that they filled with tough-looking spectators for the filming.

"Almost like a brawl, if you will," he said. And he said he was glad to introduce the sport to Discovery Channel viewers.

"It was a lot of fun, I'm glad I did it," he said.

Kajukenbo was designed initially as an art form that would be useful on the street, not as a sport. When asked what the difference was, Harper had a one-word response: Reality.

He said there is a big difference between getting padded up and going into the ring and getting jumped on the street. Kajukenbo can help a person better deal with that kind of situation.

Harper's son, Mike, 33, teaches at Central Valley Martial Arts in Visalia. A fourth-degree black belt, he says that hands-on training is key to learning how to defend oneself on the street.

"You can't learn to swim without getting wet, and you can't learn to fight without getting hit," he said.

Greg Harper said it's important to remember that being bigger and stronger does not automatically guarantee a win in a fight.

"Karate was created for smaller people," he said. "It's technique, not strength, and it's about understanding where the essence of the technique lives."

His son agreed, saying "speed and accuracy are more important than anything," he said.

Greg Harper said martial arts is a part of his life and a part of his family's life as well. He said everyone in his family must train, including long-term guests.

When one of his children had a friend stay for the summer, they would train. It was a part of life.

He said one word you will hear often when training in kajukenbo is "ohana." "That's a Hawaiian word," he said. "It means family."


Fight Quest - 1x10 - California / Kajukenbo *english*

Kajukenbo is an Hawaiian martial...

Visalian is a grand master of kajukenbo and a guest on “Fight Quest”