Philosophy
Kosho Ryu is an art of self-defense practices from the Far East. Among the martial arts that do not use weapons, none surpass or compare to the art of Kenpo. In any civilization, physical confrontations between individuals are sometimes inevitable, and for a person to emerge victorious, self-defense is essential.
Kosho Ryu allows a person to defend themselves with a fist against an aggressive opponent. The power of Kosho Ryu is miraculous and goes beyond what can be explained with words.
Spiritual Development
The innermost and truest spirit of Kosho Ryu lies in humility and self-control and must be practiced in accordance with one’s mental conscience and belief in God.
The student trains with the development of their spirit as their primary goal. Once they have mastered the fundamentals, they engage in personal experimentation with the aim of making practical contributions to the art. A part of the art, known as Go Shin Jutsu (the art of self-defense), is about preserving the human rights granted to each of us by God, ensuring peace and order, and promoting happiness throughout humanity.
The art of Kosho Ryu is similar to judo atemi. However, the art and philosophy are different. The execution of maneuvers and the act of making the opponent put themselves in a vulnerable position are taught by Kenpo practitioners.
Holistic Approach of Kosho Ryu: True Self-Defense
Kosho Ryu is a martial art that seeks the development of the human being in all aspects: physical, mental, and spiritual. It aims for inner knowledge, balance, harmony, and peaceful and respectful coexistence with all beings around us and along our path.
True self-defense is the art of anticipation—foreseeing dangerous situations and avoiding them. The greatest and truest form of self-defense is to live and forge a world of peace and harmony around us. A true Kosho Ryu student avoids violence, obeys the law, and seeks to live in peace and harmony. However, if necessary, in a life-threatening situation, they are perfectly trained to repel aggression and apply devastating and lethal techniques to their aggressor’s physical integrity.
The Path of Kosho Ryu
On the physical level, emerging victorious in self-defense is the essence of Kosho Ryu. One triumphs with rhythm born from emptiness, with cadence born from intelligence, and with knowledge of the opponent’s rhythm. However, causing harm, injury, or death is not the path of humanity.
The inner part and the true spirit of Kosho Ryu lie in humility and self-restraint, in simplicity, and in constant self-control. To be humble means to be respectful, responsible, and fair to others and to oneself. A humble person does not bow before anyone, nor does they allow anyone to bow before them.
Benefits
The continuous practice of Kosho Ryu improves health, increases longevity, and is not dangerous for practitioners, regardless of who they are—man or woman, young or old, weak or strong. Practitioners must always preserve their physical resources and use their strength and energy economically.
Kosho Ryu develops self-confidence, sharpens the senses and the mind to act and judge quickly, and maintains a constant state of alertness.
The True Practitioner
A true practitioner of Kosho Ryu must have a broad and open spirit, be patient, humble, and composed, and demonstrate absolute inner calm. They must continuously train their spirit in strategy and tactics, seek simplicity, the key to mastery, perfection, purity, serenity, and dedication in every technique, every movement, and every gesture.
The technique must be internalized to the point where it emerges from the unconscious as a natural movement. One who learns the power of the natural will master any situation. For this reason, technique should not be a mechanical routine, as this limits the mind, making it rigid and devoid of spirit.
Mastery of Kosho Ryu is achieved when the mind is used, and techniques are applied without halting the mind, allowing for free and spontaneous movement without the slightest pause.
Constant training must become a normal part of life so that both body and spirit remain alert in any situation.
Train every day with the enthusiasm, energy, and spirit of your first day. Live each training session as if it were the last moment of your life and work as if you were going to live forever.
The Path of the Kosho Ryu Warrior
The true warrior has only one person to defeat: themselves. The warrior’s path is the free way of knowledge, without attachment to anything or anyone. That is the authentic and pure path of Kosho Ryu. Each person carves their own path. This path lies in our hearts, in the source of consciousness, in our spirit. To make the heart of the universe our own heart is the way of the warrior.
Characteristics of Kosho Ryu
From a self-defense perspective, the characteristics of Kosho Ryu are:
1) It is the practical and complete application of the body, mind, spirit, and vision; using the fist tip (kento), fingertip (shito), edge of the palm (shoto), palm, elbow, foot, and arm effectively as weapons.
2) It promotes offensive power through the rational use of spirit and body. A person never grabs the opponent’s body, as doing so puts them in a dangerous situation. They do not waste time and energy unnecessarily, as in wrestling. They do not engage in grappling or forceful struggles that expose their vital points to the opponent.
3) Primarily through kicks, strikes, pushes, holds, and evasions, a person utilizes atemi, shime, and gyaku (joint breaking techniques) from judo and resolves the conflict in the blink of an eye.
Personal Development Through Kenpo
Kenpo develops self-confidence, builds strong and pure character, instills faith in God, sharpens vision and reflexes, and enhances the mind’s ability to judge quickly, think critically, and focus.
Zen Principles in Kenpo
“The Kosho Ryu practitioner must strive to be the best at whatever they do. They must keep their eyes and ears open and always remain alert. The most powerful enemy is oneself when letting their guard down. If you are a driver, drive carefully. Keep your guard up to prevent accidents. True self-defense is much more than just learning how to punch and kick.
One of Zen’s principles is that we must always keep our senses alert. In Kenpo, the spiritual element is more important than physical skill.
Do not counter strength with strength, for strength always defeats itself.
Learning Kosho Ryu Kenpo involves developing a deep sense of intuition.”
“Fear is unhealthy. There is no true peace where there is fear. Communication can be restricted by fear. Love and respect are the only true realities that can coexist with the Law.”
“True self-defense grants a long life and good health. Happiness creates a correct and healthy life. A correct and healthy life does not necessarily produce happiness. That is why we must practice happiness. That is why you should enjoy every morning. Smile at everyone from your heart. Be happy, smile. Live each day as if it were Christmas or New Year’s Day, with a smile.”
“The deepest and truest spirit of Kenpo lies in humility and self-restraint. It is tremendously effective in character building. The student must train diligently with spiritual development as the main objective. Once the student has mastered the fundamentals of Kenpo, they must experiment on their own to make practical contributions to the art.”
“Loyalty is one of the greatest human virtues…”
“One finds happiness when knowing they have an excellent chance to escape danger, when they have a clear conscience knowing they have not harmed others, and when they are strengthening their mind and spirit. The true goal is to surround oneself with peace, confidence, and harmony. The physical aspects of True Self-Defense are essential to the mental aspects.”
“The ideal concept of True Self-Defense is to live in a world where people act in total harmony. This is total peace.”
“Movement is struggle. Struggle is growth…
There is no such thing as
Nothingness
in nature
as we know it,
and all things
in nature
are in motion
and Growth,
and this is a perfect world.
Look in the mirror again.”
Nature is a continuous process of movement. Growth continues until we call it death. There is no death in nature—only recycling and movement.
“True beauty is more than a healthy complexion and a well-developed body. It is the complete reflection of tranquility, harmony, and care for others! You are everything you believe yourself to be… Mental programming affects the body.”
“The faster you move and the more distance you create between yourself and the dangers that threaten you, the safer you will be.”
Just as nature is in motion (growing and changing).
"Is there any higher form of true self-defense than one of peace and harmony?"