Combative Surviving System

Shorinji Kempo (少林寺拳法, Shōrinji Kenpō^?)—note that the World Shorinji Kempo Organization prefers the Romanization kempo to kenpo—is a martial art form of Kempo that was founded by Doshin So (宗道臣, 1911-1980) in 1947, who incorporated Japanese Zen Buddhism into the fighting style. This form of Kempo can be both a religion and a fighting form at the same time much like Shaolin kung fu, on which it is based (少林寺 is the Shaolin Monastery). However, since about 2005, a stronger distinction is made between the religious aspect of the martial art and the technical side of the martial art. For example, branches within Japan can be a doin, whereas branches outside of Japan can only be formally recognized as a dojo.

Looked at from a Japanese martial arts perspective, it could be described as a combination of karate, judo, and aikijujutsu built on a Kung Fu framework, except that this art generally has no killing moves because of its respect for life. It is a form of Kempo that tries to get its practitioners to move through life doing minimal damage whenever possible.

The Buddhist influences of Shorinji Kempo emphasize cooperation and is almost exempt of the bias that competition brings – turning martial arts into sports. Instructors are forbidden from making profit from their tutelage and there are no ladder-based competitions. Shorinji Kempo competition relies on paired demonstrations called embu where the accuracy, the rhythm, and the realism are noted and compared (with something like “technical” and “artistic” marks, as in gymnastics or ice skating).

Shorinji Kempo has grown into a popular art form in many countries outside of Japan.

The practitioner of Shorinji Kempo is known as a Kenshi (拳士).