After having left martial arts for years, I found a local school that teaches kempo (I have a shotokan background, and there are no karate schools in my area at all).

What do you think about this martial art? Are they different kinds of kempo? I hear people talk about things such as "kempo", "shorinji kempo", "shaolin kempo"and "shaolin kempo karate", are they the same?

I am a bit amazed I know so little about this martial art, since I read a lot about martial arts and got pretty familiar with the history of some of them.

Look into it, and go speak with the instructors at the school. They could be a branch, or they could be a school with their own specializations and used the term Kempo to define what they do. Either way, I think it would be worth your time to go introduce yourself and see how they present their school.

Kenpo/kempo is an umbrella term, kind of like karate and kung fu, although it has narrowed in scope pretty significantly since World War 2. These days, you generally have Chinese Kenpo, Okinawan Kenpo, Shorinji Kenpo, and American Kenpo. Each of these are going to have different styles, and histories, so you'll have to find out more about the school in your area before you can really learn about where it came from. As far as training goes, you'll have to stop in and watch/try some classes to see if it's something you'll want to do. I will say that it's probably pretty significantly different from Shotokan.

Thanks guys!

That's exactly what I'll do

so this topic got moved from general to karate.

So is kempo a karate style? (as you can see i havent joined the dojo yet lol)

Kempo is sometimes included with karate because it shares some similarities with it and some styles of kempo have karate influence. It all depends on what system. American Kempo for example is sometimes called "kempo karate". Shorin ji (shaloin temple in Japanese) is definitely derived from Chinese systems and has very little in common with Karate. There really is no simple answer, but I would consider kempo a stand alone group of systems because the term has a very broad definition.

Kempo is sometimes included with karate because it shares some similarities with it and some styles of kempo have karate influence. It all depends on what system. American Kempo for example is sometimes called "kempo karate". Shorin ji (shaloin temple in Japanese) is definitely derived from Chinese systems and has very little in common with Karate. There really is no simple answer, but I would consider kempo a stand alone group of systems because the term has a very broad definition.

Thanks

Kenpo/kempo is an umbrella term, kind of like karate and kung fu, although it has narrowed in scope pretty significantly since World War 2. These days, you generally have Chinese Kenpo, Okinawan Kenpo, Shorinji Kenpo, and American Kenpo. Each of these are going to have different styles, and histories, so you'll have to find out more about the school in your area before you can really learn about where it came from. As far as training goes, you'll have to stop in and watch/try some classes to see if it's something you'll want to do. I will say that it's probably pretty significantly different from Shotokan.

Solid post!!

Try it; you might just like it!! Good luck in your search!!

Kenpo is an updated system of self defense based on modern day street fighting it applies logic and Practicality

Kenpo also uses lots of check in their technique which is awesome also they used lots of principles and concept and also they combine 2 technique into 1 also they talk about reverse motion

Ive been doing American Kenpo Karate for 1 year 9 months and i love it im a blue belt soon to be green and I go to Flores Bros Kenpo karate Studios here in Oxnard Ca

Update: I had my first class! I loved it

My first class was going through the basics (basic stance, horse stance, palm strike, etc), and pad work.

I was so surprised that things came back to me so quickly. Sure, there are differences with Karate (e.g. you chamber at rib height instead of waist height), but the commonalities are more than I imagined.

After class my first thought was, "it's good to be back"

Thanks to everyone in this thread for your awesome replies.