In the late 1940's, Palama Settlement was a community center in a violent area of Oahu where fist-fights or stabbings were commonplace. As they trained and fought in and around Palama Settlement, the founders of Kajukenbo quickly gained reputations as formidable street-fighters. In 1950, Adriano Emperado, along with brother Joe Emperado, began teaching the new art in an open class. They called the
school Kajukenbo Self Defense Institute (K.S.D.I.). The emphasis during training was on realism - so much so that students routinely broke bones, fainted from exhaustion, or were knocked unconscious. Nevertheless, the reputation of this tough new art drew more students and Emperado opened a second school at the nearby Kaimuki YMCA. Soon Emperado had 12 Kajukenbo schools in Hawaii, making it the second largest string of schools at the time. John Leoning, who earned a black belt from Emperado, brought Kajukenbo to the mainland in 1958. Since that time, Kajukenbo has continued to flourish and grow. From it's beginnings, Kajukenbo was an ecclectic and adaptive art. As time has passed, Kajukenbo has continued to change and evolve. Currently, there are a few distinct, "recognized" branches of Kajukenbo: Kenpo ("Emperado Method" or "Traditional Hard Style"), Tum Pai, Chu'an Fa, Wun Hop Kuen Do, and Gaylord Method. In addition, there are numerous "unrecognized" branches, including CHA-3 and Kenkabo. While this may be confusing for an outsider, it is the essence of the art. Students are not required to mimic the teacher, but are encouraged to develop their own "expression" of the art. White Tiger Kajukenbo was developed by Grand Master Kimo Brossman under the tutelage of Grand Master Greg Lagera of Crazy Dragon Kajukenbo school located in the San Francisco Bay Area. Professor Lagera is one of the pioneers of Kajukenbo. The White Tiger Kajukenbo root or foundation is BaGuaZhang Kung Fu. Fused into the White Tiger system are elements of Wing Chun,Tai Chi Chuan, QiGong, Kenpo, Aikido, Chin Na, Shaolin Five Animal, Taekwondo, and Jiu-Jitsu. White Tiger Kajukenbo is a great system for any age student. White Tiger kajukenbo is a multiple attacker system which is highly adaptable to law enforcement. By training in all ranges (ie. close quarter combat or CQC, mid range and long range) and under extreme conditions, White Tiger is a complete and formidable self defense system.
