Shorinji Kempo is considered a modern martial art, which was founded in 1947 in Japan by So Doshin. Shorinji Kempo is based technically and philosohically on the experiences So Doshin had in China before and during World War II. Shorinji Kempo is a 行 (gyo), method or disipline to nurture good people who can foster compassionate relationships.
Shorinji Kempo was first taught in the United States by Yammamori Sensei in 1968 in the Los Angeles area. Currently there are over 30 branches where Shorinji Kempo is taught in the United States.
The Atlanta Shorinji Kempo club is currently administered by the Birmingham, Alabama Branch , a member of the World Shorinjii Kempo Organization (WSKO), while it undergoes the process to become an official WSKO branch. WSKO was founded in 1974 to coordinate and promote Shorinji Kempo worldwide with the aim of promoting peace and friendship regardless of race, religion or politics.
The World Shorinji Kempo Organization Preamble states: "So Doshin witnessed many instances of unashamed behavior of people under the extreme circumstances, namely war, when people lose their conscience as human beings. He strongly felt that the significant differences in the rule of law, military affairs and politics were made by the people participating in such affairs and greatly depended on their character and way of thinking. Giving his thoughts words, he said, “The person, the person, the person! Everything depends on the quality of the person.” So Doshin realized that if the course of human events depends entirely upon the actions of “the person” in society, then in order to establish the peace that we all long for, the only way is to nurture as many individuals as possible with a strong sense of mercy, courage and justice. Thus, he aspired to nurture young people. Doshin So founded Shorinji Kempo in 1947 in Japan as a method of asceticism to nurture people. The basic principle of Shorinji Kempo is to build wholesome societies by nurturing as many people as possible who can act while wishing for other people’s happiness in equal proportion to their own."
http://www.shorinjikempo.or.jp/wsko/history/index.html
http://nuclear.gla.ac.uk/~richard/files/shorinji/HistoryOfShorinjiKempo.pdf
