a

Love of Hawaiian kenpo turns into martial arts livelihood

He knew at an extremely young age what he was going to be when he grew up to hear it is told by Eugene Johnson.

“At age 8, we had a career day at my elementary school,” said Johnson. “I said that I desired to be a martial artist and a minister.”

At the age of 52, Johnson can say he's successfully done both, becoming the first African American professor of Hawaiian kenpo 3 years past and ministering a church called the Church of Christ, which doubles as the San Diego native’s Yuma dojo.

When an immigrant from Japan, James Mitose, started to instruct the Okinawan form of kenpo he was educated in Hawaii Hawaiian kenpo started in the 1940s. Kenpo bears the influence from various cultures within Hawaiian society, including Fillipinos and native islanders. It uses circular moves, hard linear strikes and kicks, pressure points, along with joint.

“The art of kenpo is an disciplinary art of self defense ” said Johnson. “We instruct all our kenpo students to walk away from fighting or any violence.

“Kenpo is all about respecting yourself and others he continued.

At age 10, Johnson’s single father enrolled him under the direction of professor Al Tejero, who ignited a passion in the boy, a passion which could not have been maintained with no encouragement of his father in a Hawaiian kenpo course.

“ I was told by him, ‘As long as you don’t stop, you will be supported by me,’” said Johnson. “I remember in my first tournament that I got disqualified for striking a kid’s face, even though I didn’t. I was quite distressed.

“After, he said to videotape that items ” Johnson, in my own mind continued, “to go my blunders over in my own head, so that I could learn from them.”

There is an important aspect of spirituality to it too, although for him, karate is just mental.

Kids program San Diego

“There’s a spiritual aspect ” he said. I don’t shove religion, but they are encouraged to kneel down and pray during classes if they're comfortable with it.

“There was a Muslim family that would like to understand if I could work with them to accommodate their prayers and said they are not comfortable with it,” he continued. “ I did accommodate them.”

In the course of his 42 years practicing he, Hawaiian kenpo has become a grand champion challenger in the fields of kata (layouts), brick-breaking, sparring, self defense and others. Much of this had to do with the environment he grew up in San Diego.

“I grew up in a neighborhood that was negative, where you had to fight to live,” said Johnson. “Seeing all that drug use and men made me need to make a difference.”

So Johnson received permission to go and start his own dojo — or martial arts studio.

“I began on 38th Street in San Diego at the Church of Christ,” said Johnson. “We had over 50-plus pupils in their own basement there.

“From there I began teaching, but we had to go forward,” he continued. “It was wearing out the carpet of the church.”

But that failed to stop him from continuing in his primary mission.

“ transform them and The aim was to take any kid or adult,” he said, “to build self-esteem and self-confidence, but I decided that I wanted to do more than educate martial arts to them.”

In 1999, with that in your mind Johnson got a computer donated to his San Diego dojo that enabled local students to come use it for school-related work.

I was blessed to bring in a computer to work with those that needed help in school,” he said. “A year after that enlarge the school, we were blessed to knock a wall down and bring in another 25 computers.”

His application even enlarged into the juvenile corrections system successfully.

“It was a blessing since I managed to go inside and help these kids,” he said tell them to not train on the adverse first.”

About 13 years ago, Johnson started educating pupils from his garage and moved to Yuma.

“I ceased that six years ago,” he said. “I was working with the kids moved on and families in my neighborhood.”

Johnson is beginning a dojo in Yuma again, located at U.N.I.T.Y. Tech Fitness Center, 1440 S. 2nd Ave., which additionally fittingly is the Church of Christ where he is pastor.

U.N.I.T.Y. is an acronym for “United, Neighborhood, Involved, Jointly, Youth Center.”

Overall, the consequences of Hawaiian kenpo seem to have been favorable in the communities Johnson has worked with, and he expects that things will continue so.

“These are the results that come from the art of kenpo,” he said.