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Shorinji Kempo

Shorinji Kempo
少林寺拳法
ShorinjiKempo kanji.jpg.png
Also known as • Nippon Shorinji Kempo
• Shōrinji Kenpō
Focus Hybrid
Hardness Both hard and soft
Country of origin Japan Japan
Creator Doshin So
Famous practitioners Yuki Kondo, Sonny Chiba, Etsuko Shiomi, Hiroyuki Sanada, Norio Wakamoto, Tak Sakaguchi, Kengo Ohkuchi, Keisuke Itagaki, Masaya Tokuhiro, Yoshisada Yonezuka, Shinobu Ichiyanagi, Kenneth Kimmins, Nao Nagasawa
Ancestor arts various Chinese martial arts and Japanese martial arts
Descendant arts Byakuren Kaikan
Olympic sport No
Official website World Shorinji Kempo Organization(WSKO)
Shorinji Kempo Unity

Shorinji Kempo (少林寺拳法 shōrinji-kempō?, meaning "Shaolin Temple Fist Method") is an esoteric Japanese martial art considered as the modified version of Shaolin Kung Fu (using the same kanji). It was established in 1947 by Doshin So (宗 道臣 Sō Dōshin?), a Japanese martial artist and former military intelligence agent.

Shorinji Kempo claims to be a holistic system, whose training methods are divided into three parts: self-defense training, mental training, and health training. The basis are the concepts that "spirit and body are not separable" (心身一如: shinshin-ichinyo) and that it is integral to "train both body and spirit" (拳禅一如: kenzen ichinyo).

Through employing a well-organized technical course outline, Shorinji Kempo claims to help the practitioner "establish oneself" and to promote "mutual comfort". The philosophy and techniques of Shorinji Kempo are outlined in their handbook, (少林寺拳法教範) Shōrinji-kempō-kyōhan.

The organization of Shorinji Kempo group is divided into 5 entities:

The relationship between these five entities is very close because of the unique fusion of religion, martial arts, and education. (source: web site of Shorinji Kempo Foundation Federation and Shorinji Kempo Kyohan written by Doshin So)

There are two sides of Shorinji Kempo which are believed to be true budō (武道) and educational system. As the latter, the organization is well known for their mental training institution as well as body training facilities dōjō (道場).

The founder, Doshin So, wanted to establish not only an organization which incorporated mental and physical training but also wanted to educate Japanese people who had been completely demoralized by World War II. His aim was to defuse those who had lost their way and rebuild Japan for the future. It is said that he tried to teach Buddhist philosophy but no one followed him. Later on, So reportedly saw a vision of Bodhidharma, which inspired him to pursue teaching martial arts, as Bodhidharma was believed to have done so. Both of these are later to become the main training methods of Shorinji Kempo.


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