kempoinfo.com

Remembering Professor Kimo

matt — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 02:10:09 +0000

Kimo Ferreira was a force of nature, and a fountain of historical knowledge. It’s been a couple of years, but the void remains. I’ll continue to dig into the history, and to develop the art I was given. I’m still plugging away, hopefully making progress.

Validation

matt — Sun, 06 Jul 2025 22:38:57 +0000

It’s a little silly, but it just gives me the warm fuzzies and a little bit of validation to see a YouTube short of Bas Rutten doing a drill that I have been doing with my students for probably over 15 years. I have a couple of levels to this one, but here’s the first one.

More Podcast Friends: KenpoJoe

matt — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 03:38:23 +0000

I stumbled across the ‘Everyday Martial Artist’ podcast because it had a friend on. Take a listen to the episode featuring KenpoJoe Rebelo. He’s an underrated treasure in my area – it’s hard to believe that he’s as knowledgeable as he is. Take a listen and learn more about one of the Shaolin Kempo / Parker Kenpo crossovers to hear about his story.

Andy Henson on ‘The Social Gelo’

matt — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 03:04:40 +0000

Kempo instructor, Brazilian Jiujitsu Black Belt and actual rock star Andy Henson was interviewed on ‘The Social Gelo’, a Kajukenbo Podcast. He represented well sharing some Shaolin Kempo history.

MDA Muscle Walk

matt — Wed, 06 Sep 2023 04:01:00 +0000

It’s that time again. I don’t usually ask for much, but if you enjoy this page, the archive or anything else associated with it, please give if you are able. The walk is real and in person this time and the MDA has been vital in supporting my daughter.

https://mda.donordrive.com/participant/60450

In Memoriam: Professor Kimo Ferreira

matt — Sat, 17 Jun 2023 22:10:01 +0000

A friend, mentor, teacher, and inspiration has passed. Professor Feliciano ‘Kimo’ Ferreira has been a part of my martial arts journey for the last two decades, and his influence on my practice will persist for a long time to come.

Generous with time, technique, and historical knowledge, he shared without asking for much in return other than dedication to training. I’ll miss the times we spent traveling from one seminar to the next, and especially the times in between either at my house ‘talking story’ or trying to work on knife techniques with cocktail straws in hotels at odd hours of the day.

Many of the primary historical documents that I’ve been privileged to use to bolster the history content of this site have come from him. There is an incredible void in the world that won’t be filled any time soon.

I’m grateful to have known him, and will miss the talks, the insight and the friendship. Godspeed and good rest.

Iron Fortress

matt — Tue, 13 Jun 2023 04:20:35 +0000

One upon a time, I got a request to describe the Iron Fortress block. Thankfully Youtube has a video dedicated to this these days.

Transfer to a radically different martial art.

matt — Tue, 06 Jun 2023 04:02:14 +0000

As I’ve probably mentioned (see my bio) I’ve added Brazilian Jiujitsu to my repertoire over the last few years (ten?). A notable blogger / Youtube! person answered a question that spoke to my experience a bit. I felt good about some things – my standing grappling and some locks had pretty good foundations – but found the rest of his points pretty compelling. In the end, try new things because if you have years into Kempo, your ‘learning how to learn’ is probably pretty strong. I’m not suggesting to jump ship, but definitely empty your cup and broaden your horizons.

Walter Godin and Karazenpo

matt — Mon, 05 Jun 2023 02:54:14 +0000

I was following a podcast on Kajukenbo and found this episode featuring Walter Godin. He was the brother in law of Sonny Gascon, founder of Karazenpo Goshinjitsu. This was the precursor to Shaolin Kempo. Having trained under a student of Walter Godin, Kimo Ferreira, I can see some of the similarities between the systems. However, author David Tavares makes a point about the similarities between early Karazenpo Goshinjitsu and Kajukenbo that to my mind suggests the pivotal role of SGM George Pesare in the development of the Shaolin Kempo we know today.

Wushu Staff

matt — Tue, 02 May 2023 02:54:19 +0000

Just a question for those regular readers – is ‘wushu staff’ part of your regular curriculum ? I was training this one last weekend and was wondering if we all did it.