William K .S. Chow William Kwai Sun Chow was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on July 3, 1914. William Chow was also known as "Thunderbolt" because of his incredible speed and power. He spent most of his life practicing and perfecting his martial arts; he became quite famous for his martial prowess and excellent memory of techniques.
It has been said by many that besides his Kenpo training with James
Mitose, he also trained in Kung-fu. But no one can seem to verify this. One thing to note, Kung-fu, as many of you may know, derives its
self-defense techniques from its forms (kata). William Chow never taught any Kung-fu forms.
William Chow, although promoted to Black Belt by Thomas Young, was one of James Mitoses top students and a close friend. He left James Mitose in 1949, after becoming an instructor, and opened his own Kenpo school. It was William Chow who coined the term "Kenpo Karate" to distinguish his system from James Mitoses Kenpo Jiu-jitsu, although both styles were the same. William Chow then took the title "Professor" and renamed his system
Go-Shinjitsu. Some twenty years later, William Chow renamed his system "Chinese Kempo of Kara-Ho Karate."
