Cempa –Jutsu Karate

The Cempa –Jutsu system was conceived back in 1993, however the finalised syllabus was not completed until early 2006 and was successfully registered with the Amateur Martial Association (AMA) as a style in August 2006. Cempa-Jutsu is practiced inside the dojo but best used outside on the street so is not suited to sport karate rules. The rules are, there are no rules!

One of the main differences between Cempa – Jutsu and other karate systems is it does not use up and down line work. The reason for this is most students practice up and down using 4 or 5 steps with the main focus on the last technique and the ‘ki’.

The last technique is the key move and often feels different to the previous 4 moves due to the change in focus, speed and extra power, that means 80% of your line work is not 100% focused and that’s just a waste!  The argument that students need to develop and practice their moves before developing 100% commitment, I agree with however, that’s what they should be doing in their own time at home practicing looking for the errors in their technique, this is the many hours of isolated training we all experience but this is not what a group lesson is about.

This principle of power, momentum and focus training is the bonding thread throughout the Cempa – Jutsu system covering all areas including kicking, combinations & pair work. Another key difference is to do with distance and momentum. The pair work is a great example the techniques are very challenging and it’s highly lightly that your partner will be struck if not 100% focused.  As expected it’s all single step movements with maximum power and focus to test your attack skills and defence skills when under pressure.  It’s not block then punch, it’s block and strike back with the same arm, this allows your other arm to follow up and maintain the attack.

In brief the Cempa Jutsu karate is not about the usual fighting/sparring in the dojo it’s about not interacting with your opponent. How many times does sparing feel like one person attacks then stops,  then the other person has a go? Cempa Jutsu is about stopping that attack and then decimating your opponent, or maybe even attacking them first if needed, more like a real fight!

The training objective is to:

‘inflict as much physical damage,  using as few moves as possible!’