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KAJUKENBO - Emperado Method
 

 

Sijo (founder) Adriano Directo Emperado was born on June 15, 1926 in Honolulu, Hawaii. At a young age he was taught boxing by his father and uncle as they were both professional boxers. Later on, while living on Kauai with his older brother, he trained in Escrima and after returning to Oahu continued his Escrima training with Isaac, Alexandro and Alfredo Peralta, who had a deep and profound impact on his personal development.

 

 

In the early 40's he trained in Judo with Sensei Taneo at the Palama Settlement Gym, and not long after began training in Kenpo-Jujitsu with Professor William KS Chow, quickly becoming Professor Chow's top student. In 1947 Sijo met 4 other young masters of various systems and in their mutual desire to increase the combat effectiveness of their individual arts, they decided to collaborate. They called themselves The Black Belt Society, and between 1947 and 1949 they trained in secret to keep this innovative method from being discovered by the relatively small and familiar Martial Arts community of the time. These men and their contributors are as follows: Professor Adriano Emperado - Kenpo, Professor Joseph Holck - Jujitsu/Judo, Professor Peter Choo - Korean Karate, Professor Frank Ordonez - Jujitsu, and Professor Clarence Chang Sil Lum - (Shaolin) Gung Fu. Through intense training and numerous actual fights, this collaboration was validated. Perseverance in their experimentation yielded eclectic entries, takedowns, and follow-ups with the ultimate emphasis being on survival.

 

 

The onset of the Korean War broke up The Black Belt Society and in 1950 Sijo Emperado opened the Kajukenbo Self-Defense Institute in the Palama Settlement in Honolulu. Since that time Kajukenbo has spanned the globe, and has several branches recognized by the founder, that represent the prolific outbranching from the root system. This creative outbranching continues with Kajukenbo-Estacada, an evolving creation of Sifu Bill Schettino of New York. Simply put, Estacada-Kajukenbo stresses movement and its relation to the tremendous array of lethal techniques presented within the core of the Emperado Method. Sifu Schettino has taken the sum of his considerable practical experience and combined his reality of combative movement with specific techniques to develop a curriculum that enhances a student's understanding of what it takes to be successful in a violent physical encounter.