Shorinji Kempo at South Wimbledon Dojo

Shorinji Kempo at South Wimbledon Dojo

Initially, my dad and I joined the South Wimbledon Dojo because we thought American Kenpo (a martial art we had been learning via Zoom during Covid with our California-based relatives) and Shorinji Kempo were the same thing. We wanted to find a place to keep up our training in a more structured environment than our living room and potentially earn our yellow belts. A quick Google search told us that there was a place relatively close to us that offered what we were looking for, and we couldn’t wait to go. After attending a session, we realised that the two arts were not the same, but we both really enjoyed the class and decided to take up Kempo anyway. I’m so glad we did!

We’ve now been doing Kempo since 2021 and while we are a little slower to climb the grades than some of the others, we have learnt so many brilliant techniques and recently got our orange belts. As well as self-defense, Kempo also teaches us the importance of staying calm and practicing mindfulness with meditation (known as Chinkon). This is something you can implement in your daily life, for example, I tried to use Chinkon to calm

my mind before exams and other stressful situations. We have also met so many new people from so many different backgrounds. The Dojo is such a welcoming place and offers such a lovely opportunity for community and friendship, whether you’ve been going for years, months, weeks or if it’s your first lesson. Opportunities like trips to a Soto Zen Dojo or a Jodoshishu temple and Zen Garden offer the chance to learn more about Japanese culture as well as help us understand the philosophy behind our martial art.

Another thing that was offered by our Dojo recently was the opportunity to take part in a first aid course with Wimbledon First Aid Training. 11 of our Dojo participated in the course and we all came out of it with an EFAW (emergency first aid at work) qualification. It was such a valuable experience that gave us all the knowledge that could potentially help to save someone's life. We learnt how to assess situations where first aid might be needed, spot the signs of certain illnesses and manage a scene before the arrival of paramedics. We covered bleeding, choking, burns, head injuries and so much more. Most significantly, we were all taught how to administer CPR, including rescue breaths and compressions as well as how to use a defibrillator. It covered a broad range of topics and while I hope I will never have to use the skills Jan Craven taught us, I’m very glad that I have them, just in case.

Overall, my experience with South Wimbledon Shorinji Kempo has been invaluable. Teaching me the arts of self-defense, meditation and first aid while also providing such an amazing community full of lovely people who I would never have met otherwise.

Written by Marina Mann

To learn more about Paul Hughes and Wimbledon Shorinji Kempo click here.
To join Wimbledon Kempo or to try a Free class book here.