Kajukenbo: Hawaiian Street Fighting MMA

I’ve written about the three big mixed martial arts “styles” out there: Krav Maga, Jeet Kune Do, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Here’s one that I didn’t even know about until just the other day. This style is called Kajukenbo. The name is a portmanteau, combining the names of the various martial arts upon which it is based. Kajukenbo combines KArate, JUdo/JUjutsu, KENpo, and BOxing (Chinese Boxing in particular). It also incorporates elements of Western boxing and Kali.

Kajukenbo originated in Hawaii in the 1940s, when five martial artists began cross-training together. These five martial artists were:

Peter Young Yil Choo, a practitioner of Shotokan Karate, Tang Soo Do, and Western boxing
Frank Ordonez, a practitioner of Judo
Joe Holck, a practitioner of Japanese Jujutsu
Adriano Emperado, a practitioner of Kosho Ryu Kenpo
Clarence Chang, a practitioner of Chinese boxing (Chu'an Fa Kung-Fu)

By combining aspects of these various martial arts, they created a new style of their own. The major reason for developing this martial art was self-defense because the Palama Settlement in Hawaii saw a lot of stabbings and fist-fights, as drunk soldiers would start fights with the locals. In 1950, Adriano Emperado and his brother, Joe Emperado, began teaching Kajukenbo to others. John Hackleman, a Kajukenbo practitioner, founded The Pit, an MMA training facility where Chuck Liddell trains.