American Kempo Karate

[Johnlogic121]

I have done some training in the system of American Kempo Karate that was started and popularized by Ed Parker. His original system had about four hundred techniques and was well adapted to instruction in commercial dojo environments. Usually, a single week consisted of practicing a new technique on Monday, reviewing it on Tuesday, getting a new technique on Wednesday, reviewing it on Thursday, and then reviewing the whole week on Friday. This would continue for three weeks out of the month and the the fourth week of the month would be set aside for reviewing everything done that month. This would continue for five months, over which time the student would learn about thirty techniques. The sixth month would be used for review of the previous five months and used for belt testing. Every six months would continue on a similiar cycle. Ed Parker had created a total of 36 techniques for every belt level up to black belt and every dojo had about 30 of those 36 techniques. People who were teachers could receive new techniques via a fax machine (the optimum technology in those days), and read the specially coded instructions to learn how to do the new techniques they received. This was fine for a while, but later, Ed Parker revised his system and went from a basis of 360 techniques plus basics and forms to a set of 240 techniques at the core of the system. According to one website I read, Ed Parker was shocked to discover that the revised set of 240 techniques didn't succeed as well as the original set of 360 techniques, but I'm not sure how well I trust what I read on that website. Some websites report that Kempo actually went through a total of four incarnations rather than just the major two systems I spoke of. In any case, Ed Parker never appointed a successor to his legacy even though many of his students rushed to publish videos about his system after his death to preserve knowledge about the techniques and how they were done. Some of these video tape series have exceptional quality and can be used for training today, but the modern Kempo world is somewhat splintered with no clear leader and a lot of political infighting between groups that are competing with each other for students and desperately researching key ideas in Ed Parker's legacy that have ambiguous conceptual content. Ed Parker always stressed concepts, and his principles were emphasized as the foundation of all the techniques, regardless of the sequences used. According to one Internet source, Ed Parker never left a successor because he was dissappojnted that nobody could apply his fighting principles just right, even though thousands of students were highly skilled in his techniques and eager to succeed him. I'm not sure that may be the reason why he never appointed a successor. Logically, selecting a new Grandmaster for Kempo Karate would be the best way to ensure that the right individual could hold the whole organization together and keep the art going. I am confused that nobody could be found to really fill that role. Also, I read that Ed Parker was considering a forty volume VHS tape series before he died, but somehow he never completed the project. People were asking him about this for years because it would have been an ideal way of recording how the Grandmaster really moved doing the techniques when he was alive, but allegedly he resisted video taping himself because the speed of performance would have to be slowed down so much to explain what was going on. This explanation sounds fishy to me, since normal instruction usually shows the techniuqe at normal speed and then slows it down for instructional purposes. Why did Ed Parker leave no successor? Would the Kempo world be better off today if he did? Was it really best to let the art survive with no real leader? Could anybody think of a great Kempo master who could unify the hundreds of schools around today? Just some questions, -JL.

[bushido_man96]

It seems to me that Parker's Kempo is splintered much like the JKD sects are as well. The thing is, just about everyone adds their own flavor to the training, and they are likely to have differences with others. Now, when these people are of high rank, then they prefer to do things "their way" as opposed to being concerned with the proliferation of one particular system.

At any rate, that is my take on it.

[tallgeese]

One positive outcome that the MA world as a whole gets from this kind of succession is greater diversity in training methods. Rather than haveing an umbrealla governing body that keeps a tight reign on what is taught, fractures like this allow for growth of the same art in different directions.

Each student of any given art has facets of that art that he is more comfortable with than others, certain movments that he can utilize better due to his body type or mindset. When instructors branch off and begin to specilize in these aspets it leads to growth in these areas that comes with increased expeimentation. These innovations and training tactics can then be passed through the system as a whole.

The danger of this is that one becomes so focused on one aspect that he forgets to train in the others of the art. The fracturing is also a problem if it is brought on by mere ego stroking. Bearing these warnings in mind, it's probibly not a bad thing that kenpo's succession did not pass to a single successor. The same can probibly be said of JKD, which has produced some increably talented MAist in varying specalities all of which seem to be very useful for defense.

I'm not affiliated with the Parker systems in anyway, not have I ever studied them (disclamer there), but I would say to your last question JL that given the current status of it's evolution, it's probibly best not to look for that unifying factor. Let it continue to grow and evolve.

[BLueDevil]

First off I just want to say I love Kenpo, its my base and I actually do practice everyday. I have a pretty good handle on it, acheived a black belt in my instructor's system, he studied American Kenpo and Ryukyu Kenpo and taught both of them to his students.

That said, Ive gotten into numerous arguments about unity in the kenpo world, I always felt that we should unity under a counsil of parkers students like, but not limited to, Paul Mills, Larry Tatum, James Ibrao, Huk Planas etc. (just to throw some names out there). To decide and discuss techniques and what direction the system should go. It would have been so much easier for Parker to name a successor IMO. But Ive expressed these opinions to several people and for some reason I get chastized and I even had one person tell me the "brotherhood" mentality (paraphrased-) only weakens the kenpo system and waters things down.

Feels like all they do is argue spawning jokes like "How many kenpoists does it take to change a light bulb? 10 One to screw it in and 9 to say 'Thats not how Mr. Parker showed me'" Ive always been an advocate for Kenpo unity but I doubt its gonna happen in my lifetime, and people will continue to question kenpos validity because we cant even agree on our own system. Makes me sad

[ryukasagi]

Kenpo unity would be cool, but i don't think it is going to happen any time soon, and for now i think i'll be ok with studying Mr. Mill's style. I'm curious now, whose style do you study, and is it really very different from the AKKI?

[tori]

Now I don't train in kempo, but there is a school nearby who claims to study the Ed Parker style. I do know that the school is affiliated with several other schools on the East Coast who are trying to keep their movements, techniques,... unified. Going to one of their websites leads to several instructors all working together as one. They have seminars together and really seem to keep the whole system organized.

[Shoto4Life]

Welcome to the rest of the world’s traditional karate’s political problems! Maybe Kempo is not so different after all?

[bushido_man96]

I'm not sure, but if it weren't for politics, then I don't think we'd have so many different styles, especially under the umbrellas of Karate, Kempo, TKD, etc.

Sure, there are bound to be differences between styles, due to culture and the like, but the branches of Karate, Kung Fu, etc., I think mostly come from personal differences that became political.