In post-war Hawaii, five martial artists from different disciplines came together with one goal: build an art that actually worked in a real confrontation. Taught today in Midtown Manhattan, steps from Grand Central Terminal and Bryant Park.
In the violent Palama Settlement of post-war Oahu, five martial artists from different backgrounds came together to build an art that was practical and effective on the street. Kajukenbo takes its name from their arts.
Kajukenbo takes its name from each art's contribution. The founders followed one rule: if a technique held up consistently on the street, it stayed in the system. If it didn't, it was cut. That filter is still what defines Kajukenbo today — striking, kicking, throwing, takedowns, joint locks, and weapon disarmament, trained as one integrated whole rather than separate styles bolted together.
Unlike many traditional martial arts, Kajukenbo doesn't ask students to mimic their instructor move for move. You're trained to develop your own expression of the system — because a technique that works for one body doesn't always work the same way for another, and Kajukenbo was built around what actually works, not what looks correct.
As a self-defense system, Kajukenbo doesn't stop at empty hands. Training includes the use of weapons — sticks, knives, and improvised everyday objects — always from a defensive point of view, and always with the seriousness that comes with training something meant for a real, unwanted confrontation.
Strikes, throws, blocks, and locks, for situations where neither party is using a weapon.
Recognizing and controlling the different ranges of a confrontation.
Using everyday objects for defense, with the judgment to know when and whether to.
Understanding the reality and danger of a blade in a confrontation, whether it's yours or theirs.
Carlos Jiménez has trained in Kajukenbo and Filipino Martial Arts since 1998, under his teacher, the late Tomás Encinoso Armas. His training since has folded in Balintawak Arnis Cuentada and Doce Pares Eskrima — two Filipino martial arts that continue to shape how he teaches Kajukenbo today.
His approach is also shaped by something most martial arts instructors don't bring to the mat: a Master's degree in Neuroscience specializing in Multiple Intelligences. Every technique is broken down into the discrete phases the brain actually uses to learn and retain new movement — not taught as one long, hard-to-recall demonstration.