The Ten Laws of Kempo

1. Law of the Circle and Line

When your opponent charges straight in and attacks you should use your feet to move your body along a circular path, while moving your arms in a circular pattern to deflect the oncoming force. When your opponent attacks you in a circular pattern, you should respond with a fast linear attack along a straight line.

2. Law of the First Strike

Kempo is primarily a striking art. "70% Hands & 30% Feet" is the classic breakdown, but you can change the techniques according to the circumstances of your body build.

If a confrontation is inevitable you should not wait for the aggressor to attack first. You need to hit him first with your foot, fist, elbow, or knee. You need to hit the attacker hard and hit continuously until they are subdued.

The Kempo curriculum also includes numerous grappling & throwing techniques, but research has shown they are used in less than 25% of the encounters practitioners have found themselves in, and they are less effective against multiple attackers. Grappling uses much more energy then striking does and should be a last resort used if your opponent penetrates your first and second lines of defense (your hands and feet).

3. Law of Multiple Strikes

Kempo is different from many karate styles in that it teaches you to strike first and strike often in rapid succession-- high, low, straight in, and along a circular path. Your first and second strikes should stun, distract, and slow your opponent. Your third and if necessary, fourth strikes are the power blows. Remember the Kempo maxim: "First set your opponent up then take them out".

4. Law of Targets

If you had to punch a hole through a wall, would you rather hit a half-inch sheet of drywall, or a 2x4 stud? The answer is obvious, and that's why Kempo advocates striking "Soft" targets. No one ever broke their knuckles punching an attacker's temple, no one ever fractured their instep kicking an attacker's groin, and no one ever injured their knife-hand striking an attacker's throat.

In Japan, the makiwara board is used to toughen the hands. In Thailand, Muay Thai fighters harden their shins by kicking banana trees. Kempo is different as it teaches the path of least resistance and least pain. Precisely targeting the temple, eyes, nose, neck, floating ribs, solar plexus, kidneys, and groin, are superior to simply pummeling away on random parts of the body.

5. Law of Kicking

Kicking high requires superior balance and focus, you should practice your leg techniques high, but deliver them low for self-defense. Kicking low to the legs (a pillar attack) can break your opponent's balance and legs. Low kicks are also more difficult to see and anticipate.

6. Law of No Block

Kempo emphasizes economy of movement and economy of time. The no block principle teaches to avoid being struck by a punch or kick. You should move your body out of harm's way. The most advanced defense taught in the martial arts was best expressed by the old Shaolin priest in the Kung Fu TV series: "Avoid rather than check; check rather than block; block rather than strike; strike rather than hurt; hurt rather than maim; maim rather than kill, for all life is precious."

Strategically, a block is a wasted move because it does not stop your opponent from attacking again with their free limbs. It is much better to move out of the way and simultaneously counterattack. This way of fighting is reserved for brown belts and above, however, because it requires a higher level of skill to employ correctly and a significant amount of sparring experience to avoid the tendency to allow your feet to stick to the ground during the crisis your brain senses.

The no block principle does not mean blocking plays no part in fighting. If you were standing in a corner with no way out and someone charged with a club, you would have to block his attack. That's why Kempo teaches eight distinct blocking systems and dozens of traps, yet they all lead to the same maxim: The best block is no block.

7. Law of Yielding and Redirecting

Yielding and redirecting are best exemplified by the symbol of Yin & Yang (soft & hard). When your opponent attacks hard, you should counterattack soft. If they are weaker than you or attacks soft, you should attack hard to end the encounter quickly and directly. In most karate systems, blocking is extremely hard and may injure not only the attacker, but also the blocker. For the most part, Kempo does not adhere to this concept of "a block is a strike." Instead, Kempo teaches you to block soft and strike hard.

8. The Law of Mobility can be the easiest Kempo principle to understand. It holds that a moving target is harder to hit than a stationary target. As basic as that sounds, many martial artists fail to implement it. Kempo teaches that there are three types of fighters: the statue, who has little mobility and will not retreat; the runner, who has to be chased around; and the steamroller, who just keeps coming at you. If you are any one of these, be careful because you are predictable and can be defeated. The Kempo stylist must mix things up and no matter what, keep moving. If your stance is upright and your movement is good, you will be able to put yourself in a superior position relative to your opponent.

9. Law of Flexibility

The law of flexibility is the law of survival. Kempo is unique in that it adapts to your build, personality and spirit. If you are 4 feet 10 inches tall, it makes little sense for you to focus on kicking when your strengths maybe mobility and quickness. If you are a 110 pound woman, it makes little sense for you to grapple with a 220 pound assailant. The old Kempo masters showed their wisdom when they proclaimed that in a fight for your life, you should use what you know best and forget about the sanctity of the style.

Every practitioner has different attributes that can make them effective. A tall person with long legs may have an advantage with kicking; a short person may have an advantage with their hands; a heavy person may have an advantage in grappling. The law of flexibility allows them all to develop their own repertoire of techniques from within Kempo.

10. Law of The Warrior Spirit

The final principle of Kempo is composed of two essentials components: the Internal and External. To have a complete warrior spirit, you must be ferocious on the outside but calm and tranquil on the inside.

Samurai warriors used to say that any day is a good day to die. That did not mean they sought death. On the contrary, they wanted to preserve life, especially their own. They knew that if they went into battle with fear in their heart, they could die or sustain a serious injury. They knew that only by embracing and accepting death could they focus everything on the physical task at hand: defeating the enemy.

In conclusion, the best way to put the 10 laws of Kempo into practice is to think of them as keys that can unlock the doors of higher learning. Remember, they are not written in stone and there are exceptions to every rule.

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