Shorin Ju Kenpo History
In the late 1980s, Jerry Smith founded a martial art training system called "The Five-Level Method”, based on his decades of experience as a martial artist. Jerry formed his training system around what he learned during his own fighting career and his years as a trainer of world-rated full-contact fighters in the 1970’s and 1980’s. 
In addition to his coaching experience, Jerry was co-founder of the BKF (Black Karate Federation) in Los Angeles California,and was also in several TV specials, including ABC’s “I am somebody” and NBC’s 13-week series called “Secrets of the Martial Arts” starring John Saxton and co-hosted by Jerry.
The concepts and principles in The Five-Level Method were born from Jerry’s need to develop a template that assessed a professional athlete’s abilities in a combative sport, and then could be used to train those athletes to be professional fighters. Jerry wanted to teach young fighters about fighting principles and methods, in order to give them a competitive advantage over their opponents without sacrificing safety.
The Five-Level Method was also originally known as “Shorin-Do Kempo”. That name was based on Jerry’s own formal training in Shorin-Ryu, Judo and Kenpo. Jerry later changed that name to “Shorin Ju Kenpo” to give equal weight to his training in Jujitsu.
Attaining black belts in Shorin-Ryu under Jun Kina in Okinawa, American Kenpo in the Tracy system, and Jujitsu under John Chambers, as well as a brown belt in Judo, gave Jerry Smith the technical foundation for Shorin Ju Kenpo. And engaging in years of competition and personal training with the martial arts legend Joe Lewis gave Jerry practical experience for many of the principles on which he based Shorin Ju Kenpo. As the Senior Grandmaster of this style, Jerry continues today to use his experience as a coach and former three-time international semi-contact champion fighter to train the next generation of students in the martial arts in Sunnyvale, California.
Shorin Ju Kenpo teaches fighting principles as well as five levels of preparing for self-defense: physical, technical, mechanical, psychological and academic. Physical is about nutrition and conditioning; Technical is about the specific way a technique is performed; Mechanical is about how a technique is executed; Psychological is about your mindset when defending yourself; Academic is about why techniques are valid.
Shorin Ju Kenpo uses a combination of sets to build coordination and mechanical proficiency, techniques to provide practical self-defense options and forms to train students on using strikes, blocks, kicks and techniques from any angle.
The credo of the Five-Level Method/Shorin Ju Kenpo is: "The ultimate goal of The Five-Level Method is neither victory nor defeat, but the perfection of one's character."