'HISTORY OF MARTIAL ARTS IN HAWAII'

aloha

Here you can enjoy learning about the rich martial arts culture and history of Hawai`i by reading the captions of each photo in our Photos section.

Being made up of mostly an Asian culture, Hawai`i was a
hotbed/melting-pot of 'Eastern' philosophical ideas and teachings.
Hawaii's largest Asian communities being Chinese, Japanese,
Okinawan and Filipino, is why you'll find mostly a mixture of
fighting styles from these cultures.

These have all blended together into what some locals have
affectionately termed as a "chop suey" culture.

It was men like Seishiro "Henry" Okazaki,Hawaiian-born James Masayoshi Mitose & William K.S.Chow that first taught the Asian arts to foreigners.

These three men could really be considered the 'FATHERS' of
Hawaiian/American martial arts!

It was then their students that took what they had learned and introduced it to the rest of America when they left Hawaii and came to the mainland...

...men like Ed Parker,Wally Jay,Al Dacascos,Samuel Alama Kuoha,John Leoning,and so many others.

If you've ever been a student of KENPO/KEMPO or JUDO/JU-JUTSU(and their many off-shoots), then you should be thankful for the efforts of these early, martial art's pioneers of Hawai`i.

Any comments and contributions are very welcome!

mahalo nui loa

braddah shano

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A friend, a nest of fragrance.
(Sweet indeed is a good friend.)

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