Service Pays Off Now and in the Future

Sigung and Sibak leave Wednesday evening for Philmont scout ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico. (They will be gone until July 14th.) Philmont is a great, often life-changing experience offered through the Boy Scouts of America, a fantastic organization. They will be hiking about 85 miles over 10 days and hopefully catch a lot of fish. On some days, they change elevation in a range of 5,000 feet. They will get rain, snow, heat, follow the strict rules of no-impact hiking, eat a lot of crackers and cheese and live within a bear triangle every night. There isn’t a television, Gameboy, Computer, Ipod, cell phone, bubba keg, modern plumbing or can of Axe in sight.

This will be the fifth time that Sigung has made this trip since 1999. (The pictures are from their 2008 Trek.) The hardest part is that he is totally cut off – no phones or email – and away from his businesses, family and passion of martial arts. He always misses Sisuk Cameron’s birthday during these trips, as July is the best month to go. The leaders pay their own way and usually miss at least two weeks of work. This is a trip, which often turns teenagers into men as they leave the world behind and get back to basic survival and beauty of the outdoors. It provides opportunities for the scouts to bond with their adult leaders and have mentoring relationships that last a lifetime. It’s quite a special event for all involved.

Sigung and I are often asked “Why they heck would do you do this? Why do you spend the money (it’s about $600 per person)? How can you sacrifice your work and family time?” The answer is simple: performing a service to others has huge payoffs, both immediate and in the future.

Service to others is so important and so often ignored as we focus on our own problems and ourselves in our daily lives. Sometimes it is so hard to think about someone else and their needs when ours seem so overwhelming. This is precisely the time that we must remember to help someone else! Nothing gives us better perspective, understanding and focus than service to others.

I am not saying that one must desert your family and head to the mountains of New Mexico! Little things have big payouts too! A helping hand pulling weeds, a meal for a busy family, hours of babysitting…these are simple things that that mean a lot to others. We receive the added benefit of feeling good about doing something good for others.

Kaju AZ would not be the awesome dojo that it is today without the helping hands of many people! Rides to and from the dojo, keeping the dojo neat and clean, teaching in class, picking up meals, polishing the floors, building our Gilbert school, our self-defense clinics and simply introducing your friends and families to Kaju AZ are all examples of service. Quite simply – there are too many to name! Know that all your efforts are so appreciated and more importantly, will continue to have an impact many years into the future for every single student.

Sigung and I are driven by the positive impact that martial arts has on people. We have the benefit of seeing it in our children who have been training for their entire lives. We know that each of you will see the same impact on your children and yourselves in the future!

For me, Philmont is a love-hate relationship. I hate the time Sigung is gone and the accompanying stresses, but I love the man/husband/father/instructor/leader that service has helped him become. I look forward to seeing my sons become the same service-oriented, patriotic, compassionate, hard working dedicated men.

Thank you for your continued service and support of Kaju AZ. Thank you for your understanding that things may be a little different while Sigung and Sibak are gone. We will maintain our schedules with all of our awesome instructors! As Sijo Emperado said, “In Ohana there is strength” and I am grateful for all the strength I see at Kaju AZ!

Sifu Jen

PS - The picture below is the 2008 Crew and they are standing on Mt. Baldy at an elevation of 12,441 ft.

Happy Birthday, Sijo Emperado!

Adriano D. Emperado was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on June 16, 1926. He was born to Filipino-Hawaiian parents in the poor Palama section of Honolulu. Like a lot of poor areas, the Palama settlement was a violent place to live. Confrontations and fights were a daily occurrence. Because of this Emperado started his self defense training at the age of 8. At this time in his life both his father and uncle were professional boxers. His next training came at the age of 11 while he was living with his older brother in Kauai. There he learned the basic 12 strikes of Escrima. At age 14 he found himself back in his old Palama neighborhood. There he trained in judo under Sensei Taneo at the Palama Settlement Gym. A few years later at the age of 20 Emperado undertook the serious study of Kenpo taught by the legendary Professor William K.S. Chow. Professor Chow had been a student of Kenpo Jiu Jitsu instructor James Mitose, and also held a 5th degree black belt in judo. Emperado trained daily with Chow and soon became his first black belt. Emperado spent many years with Professor Chow becoming his Chief Instructor and attaining the rank of 5th degree black belt.

It was in 1947, while still training under Chow, that Mr. Emperado joined with 4 other black belts to develop a style of their own. These five called themselves the "Black Belt Society" The members were: Adriano Emperado - Kenpo, Peter Choo - Boxing/Tang Soo Do, Frank Ordonez - Jujitsu, Joe Hlock - Judo and Clarence Chang - Kung Fu. These men developed a new system that they named, Kajukenbo.

In 1950, after the other four founders went to war, Emperado started the first Kajukenbo school at the Palama Settlement Gym. At the Palama school students could train for $2.00 a month. The workouts that took place there are legendary for their brutality. Emperado has been quoted as saying that a workout wasn't over until there was blood on the floor. He went on to say "that you have to experience pain before you can give it. You have to know what your technique can do. We lost a lot of students in those days, but we also got a lot from other schools, including black belts. These students would look at what we were doing and realize that we had a no nonsense effective system".

Although he was very successful in the martial arts he never made a living at it. Because he taught at Y.M.C.A.'s and recreation centers he always kept his student fees low. A lot of Emperado's knowledge of street fighting came from his many years in law enforcement. He had spent 14 years as a harbor policeman for the Hawaii Department of a Transportation, and a year with the Hawaii Attorney General's Office. While with the Attorney General's Office he served as a body guard to the governor. He then entered the private sector as the security director for a large company. He worked in the corporate security field until he suffered a heart attack in 1982.

All of his life Emperado studied various martial arts. In his lifetime Emperado saw his Kajukenbo style grow into a major martial art that is practiced all across the United States and in several countries.

Sijo Adriano D. Emperado passed away peacefully in his sleep on April 4, 2009 at approximately 11:15 pm. He passed away on Maui, Hawaii the island that he loved and was home to him. While this was a great loss for everyone in Kajukenbo worldwide, we honor him daily by maintaining the hard-hitting style he created. Our students and our Ohana represent the best that Kajukenbo has to offer.

The Corder family was fortunate enough to spend time with Sijo on many occasions. We were able to spend time with him in Maui in July of 2008. We treasure these moments and appreciate all that Sijo has provided for us. We will continue to honor his legacy in all areas of our lives.

Happy Birthday, Sijo!