– 3 parts, 3 systems, 25 branches of techniques

Techniques of Shorinji Kempo is divided in 3 parts; shin 心 (soul), tai 体 (body), chi 智 (wisdom). Although the techniques demand a large amount of physical training one is expected to develop both soul and intellect.

Tai, or the physical training, is divided in 3 systems of totally 25 branches of techniques (in Japanese santei sanpō nijūgo kei 三鼎三法二十五系). These 3 systems are; gōhō 剛法, or hard methods and contains strikes, kicks, blocks etc. Jūhō 柔法, soft methods, is defence against different types of grabs and throws and includes different types of escapes, takedowns, throws and pins. The last part is seihō 整法 and can be translated as correcting methods.

Below you can see a diagram how the different parts are linked together.