As we approach May 30th….58 Years since the death of:
Master Joe Emperado
(1929-1958)
There are many great men and women in Kajukenbo and many have passed before we had a chance to be blessed with their presence. Master Joe Emperado had a profound affect on the development of Kajukenbo and Kajukenbo would be very different if it were not for his influence and untimely death. We all know the story and hear it over and over again with different variations of the truth. Master Joe Emperado was the teacher of many of the early pioneers that came out of Palama Settlement. He trained hard……he used to be proud that his knuckles were bigger than Sijo’s. He liked a challenge, a good fight….when looked at the wrong way he would say “what, I owe you money”. In the islands, this comment is considered a challenge. He developed our Pinons 4 and 7. Because of how his death occurred the Kajukenbo family became stronger. Because he was stabbed from behind (as the story goes) Kajukenbo developed the escort system….no higher ranks would move about without escorts. Kajukenbo began to emphasize more on watching your back and multiple man attacks.
With all of that being important, what is more important is that Master Joseph Emperado was a man who loved his Kajukenbo family as his blood. Although lived and died like a true Kajukenbo Warrior he had a good heart. His "Greatest Lesson" for us all to know is that his love for his Kajukenbo Brothers and Sisters never yielded and no matter what, always prevailed until his death….
Master Joe gave his Blood, Sweat, and Tears to Kajukenbo, Tell his story to keep his spirit alive…
