No one can live only with love and compassion; to live fully, you need strength and intellect as well. If you or your loved ones are attacked, you need strength to protect yourself; but if you are strong and use your strength without compassion, then that is only violence.

Each kenshi must learn to develop both their strength and their compassion, in order to be a strong and worthwhile individual.

Given the philosophical basis of Shorinji Kempo, a kenshi is expected to never attack first, but to only defend against violence. The techniques are such that they begin with defending against the attack and only then counter attacking. This philosophy also has a practical basis, as Shorinji Kempo emphasizes teaching the kenshi to assume a strongly defensible position which will allow a kenshi to seize the advantage and immediately counter attack once the opponent has made the first move. 

Shorinji Kempo techniques are effective in causing intense pain, in order to subdue an offender and remove their will to fight. 

Having said that, Shorinji Kempo is not meant for killing or injuring people and the techniques are deliberately designed to be non-lethal. 

There are no killing moves in Shorinji Kempo. Instead, the techniques are effective because they focus on attacking pressure points on the human body and taking advantage of the human body's natural mechanics and movements. 

Hard & Soft Make One Whole 

Shorinji Kempo teaches both hard and soft techniques because in the fluid environment of a fight a kenshi may be required to use both hard and soft techniques to successfully subdue an opponent.

Each class of techniques is considered equal and intertwined, to make one whole body of techniques.

Also, on a more technical level, many of the techniques, whether goho or juho, are based on the same technical foundations, so that a soft technique might be executed using the same movement as a hard technique and vice versa.

The fifth distinguishing characteristic of Shorinji Kempo is GO JU ITAI. The goho (hard method) includes strikes, kicks, hammers, chops and evasions. The Juho (soft method) includes defenses, releases and joint reverses. Although goho and juho each mobilize their own elements they supplement and reinforce each other to become even more effective. This is what we call the go ju ittai of technics. Beyond this there are elements of Juho within the Goho and elements of Goho within the Juho, which we call the go ju ittai of application

Given Shorinji Kempo's strong focus on cooperation and learning to get along with others, it's no surprise that training in pairs is the main method of learning. This form of paired practice is also practical, as it teaches subtle things a kenshi would not learn by practicing alone, such as distancing and body position, or things that only arise in a fluid situation with a partner, such as timing. Learning to pay attention to another kenshi, to help them learn and to learn from them yourself, is also important in for developing the character.

This is the sixth characteristic of shorinji kempo, where training in pairs is the norm. This is for the purpose of gaining skills that person cannot learn alone, such as ma’ai and kyojitsu is offense and defense, and other conditions that arise because the opponent moving. Also, it is not simply a matter of making oneself stronger, but nurturing a cooperative spirit of partnering with each other and getting stronger together with friends and peers. By applying the techniques to each other and sharing pain you discover nuanced approaches to speed and force for your particular level. This is how two people training together leads to improvements in technique as well as improvements in character.