Sawayama was originally interested in "atemi" techniques, and when he was a student at Kansai University in the early Showa period, he researched old-style jujutsu (before Kanō Jigorō's founding of Kodokan Judo), but was not impressed by the results.

[7] Unlike with Mabuni, who had moved to Osaka, Sawayama did not have much time to study under Cho Miyagi, who still lived in Okinawa and only visited Kansai temporarily.

Therefore, Sawayama began kumite lessons in the precincts of Tarumi Shrine in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, where he could freely meet with his fellow students.

Then, in 1932, after graduating from the Faculty of Law at Kansai University, in the fall of the same year, he officially launched a martial art that was different from Karate, which he called "Dainippon Kempo."

However, at that time, Mabuni also called himself an organization with a similar name, "dai nipponkenpō Kansai sora shujutsu kenkyūkai," before renaming it to Shito-ryu.

Ryonosuke Mori, a disciple who was entrusted with advancing the art to the Kanto region, was temporarily expelled immediately after moving to Tokyo around 1958.

[11] Since Sawayama studied with students of Kansai University when Nippon Kempo was founded, he was considered a "strong man with academic skill to match".

Per Chris Crudelli, various Japanese Police Departments utilize Nippon Kempo as part of their training, to improve the officers' unarmed fighting skills and self-confidence.

[13][additional citation(s) needed] In 1977 Nippon Kempo was introduced to England by Luther De Gale after he spent a year in Japan.

After making contacts, in October of the same year the Japanese federation officially sent the young Master Toshio Koike to Italy.

[citation needed] New teachers became interested in this discipline and created other sections in the Vosges, and this is how Nippon Kempō continued to develop in the great East of France and then in other regions of the territory.

[18][19] Nippon Kempo was one of the first modern martial arts to establish the form of free fighting and being practised in protective gear.

Nippon Kempo places an equal emphasis on striking techniques using hands and feet, immobilization and controls, projections and take-downs.

From a technical point of view, Nippon Kempo is a martial art system based on techniques of striking and kicking, (atemi-waza), blocking (uke-waza), throwing (nage-waza), reverse joint locks (kansetsu-gyakutori-waza) and ground combat (ne-waza).

Practitioners fight and practice these techniques with protective gear, as the art is full-contact and therefore men (helmet), do (breastplate), kurobu (gloves), and a mata ate (groin protector) are used.

Style founder Sawayama regarded Nippon Kempo as an "zen hōi-tekina budō" (全方位的な武道, eng.

In Japan, Nippon Kempo is credited in helping dispel notions that Judo would be enough to repel submission grappling styles in vein of Pankration.