Kajukenbo Prayer

[TumPai]

From what I understand Professor Charles Gaylord wrote the Kajukenbo Prayer.  Does anyone have a copy of that they could send me?  Thank you!

Respectfully,
Missie Davisson  

[John Bishop]

                             Kajukenbo Prayer
Almighty and eternal god, protector of all who put their trust in thee, accept the homage of our faith and love in thee, the one true God.  Bless our efforts to preserve the integrity of our United States, a nation founded on Christian principles. Enlighten our rules, guide our law makers, protect the sanctity of our homes, and bless our efforts in these exercises whose sole purpose is to develop our bodies to keep others mindful of thy commandments.  Give us perseverance in our actions, that we may use this as a means to keep closer to you, the one true God. In the name of thy beloved son, Jesus Christ our Lord.   Amen

[TumPai]

Thank you Sigung Bishop!  

Missie

[E_and_B_Bautista]

The orignal Kajukenbo prayer was writen by one of the founders but Grandmaster Gaylord did write his own Kajukenbo prayer for the Kajukenbo Association of America (KAA) Which goes like this:

Dear lord we pray thee, keep us from doing wrong throughtout the day. Be beside us as we undertake these exercise. Our sole purpose is to develop our bodies, to keep mentally strong, to be morally straight. To protect ourself and our love ones, from danger that are force upon us. Help us to do the thing that we should, to be kind and good to others at all time. O'mighty God we thank thee for the care, health, and
strength, in the name of thy beloved son, Jesus Christ
our lord. Amen.

This was taken from Brian Yoshi website, one of Grandmaster Gaylords director

[Rosy]

This is the one that we say at our school at the beginning and end of each  class.  

[Old Fat Kenpoka]

Hello, I am a disillusioned Kenpoist who undertook a quest to pick a new Martial Art to practice about 2 years ago.  

I was very interested in a local Kajukenbo school and had put it on my short-list to visit--until I came accross the Kajukenbo prayer.  You see, I am not a Christian.  As a matter of fact, it is specifically against my religion to pray to anyone other than the one G_d.  So I dropped the school from my short list only because of the prayer.

So, now I have to ask...is the prayer required at all Kaju schools?  

P.S.  I did choose BJJ and have been quite happy with my decision given my limited free time and my total lack of prior grappling experience.  

[badsifu]

No not all schools require it.

[Claudio]

Don't let the Prayer keep you from Kajukenbo, there is a lot you can learn from the system. Talk to the instructor first and tell him what's on your mind. Don't just let it go.  BJJ is an awesome art, I've been training in it for the past 5 yrs- gi and gi less. It works great against over confident strikers but the art itself lacks the strikes unless you train at a NHB type school. Kajukenbo is a complete art Traditions and all.

[Mitch Powell]

Old Fat Kenpoka,
We say the prayer at our school (KSDI, Vallejo). We have had students who started training and were caught off guard once we began to pray. We say the prayer at the beginning and end of each class.

Grandmaster Bautista would never force his religion on anyone, so in cases like that he would allow you to remain silent or say a prayer of your choice. I would hope this teacher is as open minded and reasonable as Grandmaster Bautista.

Perhaps Si Gung Pat (Kajukenbo legal team!)can respond, but I would think forcing a person to say the prayer or not training them for refusing to do so would be a violation of the first amendment.

[Spidey]

I open and close with the Kajukenbo prayer. That is the way I was always taught. While I am a Christian, I encouraged those who are not, to not merely remain silent, but to listen to the words. GM Gaylord packed that short prayer with alot of knowledge: Keep us from doing wrong, our sole purpose to be mentally strong, to be morally straight, to protect ourselves and loved ones from dangers that are forced upon us, to do the things we should, to be kind and good to others. I remind my daughters that when you begin to forget why they train, remember the prayer. along with this prayer comes the character buiding that makes Kaju students deadly on one hand, but respectful and kind on the other. When I was young going to tournaments we had to plan an hour ahead of time to leave because we would walk around to every Sifu we could find to pay our respect before leaving. 26 years later, I still do the same.

[Glenn#31]

For the time I've been in Kajukenbo we go through the prayer twice during class in the begining and at the end.  I am not Christian but respect it.  While I'm in class I respect there tradition and what they teach.  In life you have to be open and accept all traditions and not be closed minded and respect what they are doing.  Our instructor will let you go in silence or pray in what you believe in.  I think it's a minor stepping stone.  

[Dean Goldade]

Hello OFK,
I see your posts alot on the martial talk forum.. You are one of the guys I agree with most of the time.. I also cross train alot and am not afraid to discuss it.. That doesn't always go over too well with some of the AK'ers on the board.. But oh well.... I ain't gonna change.  :-)

I have many students of different faiths in my school. The words in the prayer are very positive. What the students do that are not Christians is they say the prayer, but don't reference the Christian portions.

The prayer has very positive elements in it. We train to develop our bodies, to be mentally strong, morally straight, we train to protect ourselves and our loved ones from the dangers that are forced upon us. To do what we should, to be kind and good to others... These are all things that we should embrace about our training.

Anyway,
Don't miss out on the beauty of Kajukenbo. Talk to the instructor and get in there brother..

Dean.

[Old Fat Kenpoka]

Thanks Dean.

I agree that the prayer is completely positive.  It is certainly asking all the right things.  My PERSONAL problem with the prayer is not what you are praying for, it is to whom you are praying.  My only problem is with the last sentence.  

[onephatboydave]

Very well said!!!

[Old Fat Kenpoka]

Happy moments, praise God.
Difficult moments, seek God.
Quiet moments, worship God.
Painful moments, trust God.
Every moment, thank God.

I couldn't agree more...but my question regarding the prayer is that the prayer doesn't thank G_d, it thanks Jesus Christ.  So, if you are a Jew or a Muslim, you cannot pray to Jesus.