THE SECRET OF THE KOSHO RYU HAMMER

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by
Dr. William Durbin

As the car slid into the parking space, it was suddenly surrounded by a street gang, the driver recognized them as a gang that had been pressuring him to join their ranks. Hoping he could talk to them peacefully, the driver started to open the door and get out. His passenger in fear grabbed his arm to pull him back in, that moment of distraction was what the gang had been waiting for, as soon as the driver turned his head to explain his actions to the passenger, a brick flew threw the air and smashed into his head. Dazed and with blood flowing, the driver was pulled from his car. The gang moved in and started the beating they had planned to give the young man for turning down membership in their band.

Suddenly the young man's Kempo training kicked in and he broke from his attackers, gaining his feet. Then he started raining hammer blows to each member that came near him. In a flurry of hailing fists, the young man battered his opponents, until they decided it wasn't worth the effort, and broke off their attack and retreated.
The driver then climbed back into his car and drove to a hospital, where he was treated for his injury. The doctor was amazed to learn that the young man, with the cut he had sustained and a concussion, had been able to drive his attackers away. What was the young man's secret? What had caused his hammer fist strikes to be so effective? It was because he had been taught the secret of the Kosho Ryu hammer.

To understand that secret we must look at one of the greatest martial arts enigmas of all, James Masayoshi Mitose. To most people, Mitose is simply the man most responsible for opening the art of Kempo to the western world. He was the very first person to teach Kempo outside of the Japanese community. From him most modern forms of Kempo in the United States derive their lineage. Yet what is not always understood is the depth of his training or the contribution he actually made to the martial arts in the states.

To most Mitose is thought of as a Karate instructor, since most of those who evolved from his teachings emphasize that art. And yet in his own writings, specifically his oldest book What Is Self Defense?, he calls his art Kempo Jujutsu. Still there is more. One student was taught the full skill of Mitose's training, one student was taught the secret of the Kosho Ryu hammer.

Nimr Hassan was a young man when he met James Masayoshi Mitose, and already an exponent of the martial arts. Hassan began his training in 1957, and had been exposed to many different arts by the time he met Mitose, but he found in this very special man, a depth of knowledge and skill that he had never experienced before. And Mitose found a student who was thirsty for the teachings he had to share.

Day after day Hassan would journey to Mitose's home, where they would go into the backyard and train for hours. Mitose taught Hassan the basics of Karate, which he had learned from his maternal uncle Choki Motobu, the great Okinawan Shorei Ryu Kempo Karate master. He taught him Jujutsu, which he had learned from his masters at the temple in Japan. But most of all Mitose taught the young man 'the system', a very special set of skills, also received from the monks at the temple, but based on the Koga Ninjutsu tradition. 'The system' as Mitose referred to it was a special method of training that used nature as an instructor and. aid, emphasized the art of Koppo, which is an ancient bonebreaking art which has always been intricately linked with Ninjutsu and Kempo, and the ancient footwork practiced by the monks since the origin of the martial arts in China and known in Japan as Karumijutsu, the art of body lightening.

Mitose many times referred to Karumijutsu as the temple dance art or the escaping art pattern. There were actually three set of movements which taught the body lightening art of the monks. First there was the Denkokei, or lightning form. In this method a person is standing on one side of a line, they then leap on a diagonal path across the line, landing in a stance with the opposite foot forward. This can be done either Omote, with the front of the body facing the line, or Ura, with the back facing it.

Next is the Shikakkei. This is the square. A person stands on one comer of a square and then leaps from corner to corner, first going clockwise and then counter clockwise. The idea is to master the ability to move forward, backward, right, and left with speed, balance, and alacrity.

Finally there is the Hakkakkei, the highest form, the octagon. In the octagon the student is taught to move in all eight directions. With an emphasis on the diagonal movements, in that, in actual combat the diagonal movements are the superior ones for positional defense. By moving diagonally a person can remove themselves from the line of attack and still remain in range so that a counter strike can be made.

When these three forms, Denkokei, Shikakkei, and Hakkakkei, are first practiced, the student is taught to hold the hands in either the Ogamite, praying hands position, or the Hoken, hidden fist. By keeping the hands stationary and centered, the body has to work harder in keeping balance and a greater level of physical control is developed. Also both positions teach the student to keep the elbows in to protect the ribs, while keeping the hand in position to protect the centerline of the body.

But once the footwork of Karumijutsu is mastered, then it is time to add in the fighting skill, which begins with the Horyu, or side fist, of Koppo. What is commonly called the Tsulken, hammer fist, because of the Okinawan Karate influence, is in the Japanese art called Horyu. This refers to striking with the bottom of the fist. In the Koppo manner the fist is loaded at the side of the head and then brought to any target on the body of an opponent, following one of the eight angles of motion. The fist should strike whatever vital point it is aimed at with a ninety degree angle, so that maximum impact is made and the force is directed internally for utmost damage.

There is a misunderstanding in regard to the art of Koppo in which many people think it is only for damaging and breaking actual bones, but there is a higher level to the art which involves compression of the internal organs of an opponent, causing serious and fatal damage. And yet, since the art was developed by monks, there was a manner in which the art can be applied so that less than fatal effects would result. As the Karumijutsu footwork was applied, the hands instead of turning into the withering blows of Koppo, could instead be turned into the Mute, empty hands, of mercy. The Mute were used to gently push a person away or sting the person so that the pain would discourage further aggression. And yet at any time, if the situation warranted it, the deadly fists could be brought into play.

In 1974 Nimr Hassan received from James Masayoshi Mitose, the master instructor's license and the family crest, which meant he was allowed to teach the wondrous, art of Kosho Ryu Kempo. Since that time Hassan has maintained the complete art taught to him by Mitose and teaches it under the full title of Koga Ha Kosho Shorei Ryu Kempo, to reflect all three arts designated on the family crest received from his instructor.

But in the spirit of his teacher, Hassan has never lost sight of the central art of Kempo. Mitose always stressed, that no matter what aspect he was stressing at the time, not matter which art was being taught, or which country it originated in, it was all Kempo. Mitose's emphasis on history was one in which Bodhidharma founded the martial arts by combining fighting skill with virtue, thus creating the concept of Butoku, martial virtue, and the idea of Bugei, martial arts. These were the arts for maintaining peace and security of a nation and for all people.

A great monk, whose religious name was Kosho, founded the system of Kosho Ryu from the Shorinji Kempo he had learned during his time in a Buddhist temple. The original Kosho Ryu was a complete martial art which included training in Japanese weapons, throwing arts, striking methods, auxiliary arts (such as swimming and climbing), and stealth arts. Like all temple styles, it existed for the safety and security of the temple. Thus it was combat effective and fully functional. James Masayoshi Mitose added to these temple skills the Kempo Karate of his uncle and taught the combined skills to his students. In modem times most students, Including those cognate and collateral systems that have developed from Mitose's personal students and their students, tend to emphasize this more modem aspect of his art. And yet the most ancient and original system taught by Mitose is preserved in the Koga Ha Kosho Shorei Ryu Kempo taught by Nimr Hassan.

The secret of the Kosho Ryu hammer lies in the Horyu of the ancient art of Koppo, preserved in the special art of Koga Ha Kosho Shorei Ryu Kempo. The secret of its effectiveness lies in the training preserved in the special art of Karuijutsu, developed in the forms of Denkokei, Shikakkei, and Hakkakkel. The secret of the hammer lies in the original martial arts developed during the Kamakura era of Japan and preserved by the Mitose family for posterity. All Kempo practitioners owe James Masayoshi Mitose a debt that can only be repaid by dedicated training and an earnest seeking for the depths of knowledge and skill which comes from the practice of Kempo.