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Thomas B. Mitose: Carry On, My Wayward Son, By Jose Fraguas
This article is courtesy of and © CFW Enterprises Incorporated. All Rights Reserved.
Thomas Barro Mitose, son of the legendary James Mitose, is the 22nd Great Grandmaster of Kosho Shorei Ryu Kenpo. He inherited the system from his father and founded the International Kosho Shorei Association to help father James while he was in prison. In 1987 Thomas decided to reorganize the philosophies and techniques of kosho kenpo, as handed down from generation to generation, and come forward to preserve and teach his father's reorganized art in the traditional manner.
Many are the times Thomas thinks about what happened to his father, and what could have been had his father never been sent to prison. He carries on the family tradition because his father always talked to him about opening a family dojo where they could teach together.
Adopted as a child, Thomas B. Mitose didn't get to see his real father
until later in life. Once father and son were reunited, Thomas commenced
his studies in the kosho ryu art. On October 1995, kajukenbo founder Professor
Adriano D. Emperado wrote a statement proclaiming Grandmaster Thomas Barro
Mitose the rightful heir to the Mitose kosho ryu kenpo crown, according
to James Masayoshi Mitose's last will and testament.
Q: Where did your father's system come from?
A: It was developed by the Koshogi monks of Japan. They combined jiu-jitsu and chuan fa Shaolin kung-fu and, of course, different traditions and cultural approaches from China.
Q: Is it a self-defense method?
A: Yes, it is. But you must remember that in 1953 my father, James Mitose, gave up teaching because he felt the students were leaning too much toward the violent side of the art and not studying enough of the spiritual aspects. Kosho shorei ryu is a philosophical and spiritual self-defense system where each physical technique has a spiritual complement. It also uses meditation and yoga as vehicles for that.
Q: You didn't get to know your father until much later in life, correct?
A: Yes. My parents weren't able to support me so they gave me up to adoption. Later on, my adoptive father and mother got divorced and I went to meet my real father in Los Angeles in the mid '60s. My adopted family name was Barro and I keep it out of respect for them, but I legally added the Mitose name to my own.
Q: Is that when you started to train under your real father?
A: Yes. The most important thing during the lessons from my father was to make sure that I gained the correct knowledge, techniques, and philosophies of kosho ryu as handed down from generation to generation. My father, James Masayoshi Mitose, was the 21st Great Grandmaster of Kosho Shorei Ryu Kenpo.
Q: Did he speak English?
A: He never felt very comfortable speaking in English. He liked to speak Japanese and even his way of reasoning was very Japanese. After all, that's the culture he grew up in.
Q: What was your first meeting with him like?
A: A relative of a close friend informed me that my real father was living in Los Angeles and I decided to go there. He opened the door looking really rough, saw me, and then closed it right in my face. I was shocked. A few minutes later he reopened the door with tears in his eyes, and was washed and clean shaven! Even after all that time he had known who I was from the very first moment he saw me.
Q: Who was you first martial arts instructor?
A: Mr.Joe Halbuna, a kajukenbo teacher.
Q: It is true that your father never gave you any rank or certificate?
A: He always felt that I didn't need it. He said that I had his blood in me and also his name. He said that even if some people claim to be masters, I should not pay attention to them, because unless someone comes from the bloodline of the grandmaster they will never have a full understanding and knowledge of the art.
Q: Did he ask you to change your name to Mitose?
A: Yes, several times. I guess it was a way of apologizing for not taking care of me when I was young. A way of correcting something he felt he did wrong. That's why I changed my name. But I kept "Barro" out of respect for my adoptive family.
Q: Does your father's kenpo system agree with other kenpo styles' methods?
A: Well, there are continual arguments about who is representing the true art. It happens in every system or style. What I really want is for all kenpo people to look deeper into the art than just self-defense techniques and fighting. You see, after my father retired, some students of kenpo liked to train very hard at the school. They were very intense about the physical and technical aspects of the art. To find out if the techniques was useful or not they used to get into several fights every day at bars, theatres, et cetera. This is what gave kenpo and other systems developed from my father's method such a violent reputation. This made my father very sad. I expect kenpo practitioners to incorporate the kosho philosophy into their styles. It's not a matter of changing the technique but rather the attitude and the philosophy.
Q: Is the kenpo style that you teach similar to the one developed by the late Ed Parker?
A: Our own art of kenpo is very different from Ed Parker's kenpo in both its approach and its goals. Our goal is not to teach a devastating street fighting art but to teach a life philosophy which happens to also include a component for physical self-defense. Our primary goal is to teach our students how to live a good life and become valued members of society. Our definition of self-defense is quite broad and our goals guide the training our students receive.
One major difference between kosho-ryu and other kenpo systems is that our students begin learning the spiritual arts before they are taught to punch and kick. We believe that by learning the spiritual arts first, the students who become proficient will revert to the spiritual side when threatened, rather than to the combative side.
Q: So the system is divided into spiritual and physical arts?
A: Yes. But these two aspects of the system cannot be studied separately and independently because they represent different aspects of one complete art. Also the physical art is divided in three systems. The first aspect of the fighting system teaches you to punch and kick, the kata forms, and so on. The second aspect is what we call the push-pull arts, and teaches you how to defend yourself by making use of push-pull patterns and strikes to the extremities. The third aspect the true art of self-defense teaches you how to use jumping patterns to escape from danger by using no physical contact with the opponent whatsoever. For this reason is called the true art of self-defense.
Q: You mentioned once that the true kosho practitioner would never kick or punch on the street. Why?
A: Because he would never be caught in the street! We look at true self-defense as the art of anti-cipation rather than the art of reaction. By anticipating trouble, the practitioner will simply never be there when trouble arrives. Self-defense is not, strictly speaking, a fighting method. It is a life philosophy characterized by survival methods according to the universal laws of God.
Q: So what's the use of learning how to punch and kick?
A: The main purpose for kicking and punching is to strengthen the body and to remove any evil in oneself by mentally transferring it to the object being kicked or punched. The only exception to this principle is during times of war.
Q: How is the concept of anticipation taught?
A: The students are taught to use their awareness to deal with conflict. It means to understand their environment and when they are most vulnerable to attack. They are taught to interact with people so that a conflict never arises. They are taught to become aware of dangerous environments and situations where they can be assaulted. They learn how to understand the opponent capabilities of sight, hearing, touch, and movement so that an attacker will never reach its mark. If all else fails, they concentrate on attacking an opponent's extremities in order to contain the attacker's ability to strike. Finally, they are taught the location of parasympathetic nervous system receptors in the body which, when activated, will counter the release of adrenaline from an enraged opponent.
Q: This is very different from other kenpo systems.
A: We work to make our more agressive students softer and to teach our less assertive students self-confidence. It is the weakness that require practice, not the strengths.
Q: Do you think teaching martial arts is like coaching sports?
A: Not at all. Teaching martial arts is something very different than coaching ball games. Improper teaching of martial arts can turn students into predators. The students are taught how to defend themselves, but are also taught to avoid harming another human being.
Q: Is it correct to say that kenpo roots are Chinese rather than Japanese?
A: Yes. Kosho shorei kenpo traces its roots directly from China without the Okinawan link.
Q: It is said that your father was very skilled in jiu-jitsu and that he taught techniques resembling modern aikido.
A: It is true. My father was not an aikido man, but Morihei Ueshiba, the founder himself, specified in his will that James Mitose should be promoted to 10th dan in aikido and given the title of "remonstrant" for all aikido in America. My father was highly respected by O Sensei Ueshiba.
Q: How do you remember you father?
A: Many people think of my father, James Mitose, as a mysterious figure who taught early kenpo practitioners how to punch and kick in the kenpo way. I really do believe that all his teaching boils down to one single principle which is the essence of kenpo live an ethical life, do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. All the techniques, katas, forms, and strikes are just tricks.