Shorinji Kempo

Post-war Japanese martial art blending Zen philosophy with hard strikes, joint locks and pressure-point attacks.

👥1 per team🌤indoor

What is Shorinji Kempo?

Shorinji Kempo is a Japanese martial art founded in 1947 by Doshin So, blending Zen Buddhism with a technical repertoire of strikes (goho), joint locks and throws (juho) and pressure-point attacks. It is trained cooperatively rather than for tournament combat — the main format is paired embu (form) demonstrations judged for accuracy and power.

Quick facts

Category

Combat Sports

Type

Individual

Players

1 per team

Where played

indoor

Country of origin

🇯🇵 Japan

Estimated origin

1947, Kagawa, Japan (Doshin So)

Olympic

No

Popularity

regional

Sources & provenance

Last verified 2026-08-24.verified