American Kempo Information?

[cworks]

I come from a different style and I am interested in Kempo/Kenpo and was wondering where I could find indepth information on Kenpo/Kempo in general, and American Kenpo in particular? videos of forms done online (downloadable from the internet)? I'm interested in upper belt moves. The information on forms/Hyungs are everywhere in all the different "Styles" of TKD., but in Kempo/Kenpo I can't find any videos online. Thanks.

[KenpoDavid]

try

http://www.kenpotalk.com

http://www.ltatum.com

http://www.unitedparkerskenpo.com/

[Bolt]

Kenpo Insights is the best series of books you will ever find. No video, or other books that I have found compares to what you can learn from these books as far as American kenpo goes.

[Colin Linz]

This may help for your general enquiries. Click on the English version at the upper left of the page. There are a number of articles and videos of Shorinji Kempo http://www.shorinji-kempo.org/ another good site is http://homepage1.nifty.com/shorinji/engindex.htm this is a Japanese site that is in English, it has a number of giff animations and some video clips. There are also the links in my signature box.

[kenpoguy]

a bit of information that is sometimes difficult to find is this... Possibly it was included in someones earlier link.

When it came down to Ed Parker, he was hesitant to use the name "American Kenpo", because it would have been new and have an unpredictable following. Hence, for quite some time he switched back to calling it "Chinese" kenpo. An intersting tid bit here is also this. The man responsible for the artwork of Kenpo, and the symbols, was said to have commited suicide while practicing a technique. After, personally,speaking to Al Tracy about this, who knew the both of them personally, he had this to say. More or less, he called the guy a brilliant martial artists who went crazy later in life. The man mistakingly killed himself while hanging a rope around his neck, blindfolding himself, and walking across a high hung log during nightime. He was apparently trying to prove he was the Ultimate martial artists. This is what i recollect, please feel free to correct me if i gave any wrong info.

[KenpoDavid]

When it came down to Ed Parker, he was hesitant to use the name "American Kenpo", because it would have been new and have an unpredictable following. Hence, for quite some time he switched back to calling it "Chinese" kenpo.

Here is the real deal as told by somebody who was with Parker since very early on...

Although there were varying degrees of crossover from one evolving method to another, there were at least five clear and distinct philosophies and/or styles created by Ed Parker Sr.


1. Kenpo Karate

What Ed Parker was doing when he arrived on the mainland, first as a brown and later as a black belt opening shop in Pasadena around 54. Wrote the book of the same name and published it in 1961. Teachers like Chuck Sullivan draw from this era.


2. Chinese Kenpo

When Ed Parker discovered the vast knowledge available and embraced the Chinese Arts while studying with and under Ark Wong and Haumea Lefiti. Also where he met Jimmy (James Wing) Woo, and Danny Inosanto. Here he also broke with the established "Yudansakai" governing board. During this period, he wrote "Secrets of Chinese Karate" and published it in 1963. Notice the compressed time . People like Frank Trejo's instructor, Steve Hearring still teach this perspective in Pasadena Ca..


3. American Kenpo

Began the codification process of his early understandings of Chinese Kenpo into a distinct evolving American interpretation. Here he dropped all Japanese - Chinese language and non-essential non-American cultural accoutrements. Notice the lack of the word "karate," considered an insult to the Chinese. Some like Dave Hebler draw from the beginnings of this version.


4. Ed Parker's American Kenpo Karate

A series of personal issues causes Ed Parker to decide to enter the commercial marketplace and expand in the second half of the sixties. Looking for a method that differed from the Kenpo franchises that preceded him that he felt were flawed, he drew upon his many "transfer" black belts from other styles. Stumbling upon "motion" as a base concept, it allowed him to create loose conceptual guidelines for already competent black belts. This further gave him the freedom to travel conducting seminars, belt tests, and selling, while seeing the majority of his "students" two or three times a year. Most of the well-known black belts came up under this system. Some came very late in the eighties and is the reason they are not on Parker’s published Family Tree. The rest came after Parker's death.

This was what he was sharing with a few private students in an effort to cash in on the publicity of Larry Tatum's student Jeff Speakman's movie, "Perfect Weapon." He hoped to rekindle a chain of schools that he directly controlled.

5. Ed Parker's Personal Kenpo

The ever-evolving personal art of Ed Parker that included elements left out of his commercial diversion or off shoots. However, in reality it is the "American Kenpo" Parker was himself utilizing before he passed away that was still evolving. Others that he may have taught may have other names for it, but to understand it, a person would have had to evolve with Parker because of a lack of its hard codification.

[flyingleopard]

Did parker add any kungfu to the system?

[KenpoDavid]

Did parker add any kungfu to the system?


Lookup who these guys are...


2. Chinese Kenpo

When Ed Parker discovered the vast knowledge available and embraced the Chinese Arts while studying with and under Ark Wong and Haumea Lefiti...


That's also when he met Ron Chapel... chapelomaha.tk

[kenpoist]

Try - http://www.houstonkenpo.com/ and go to the "At the Movies Section".
There are some good technique clips from some of the prominent kenpoists from the last several decades - including some clips with SGM Parker!

After you have done the research - seek out a kenpo school in your area and try it out (assuming you have not done so already).
The sites recommended by kenpodavid have some good information as well.

I have tried many styles (hard/soft, Japanese/Chinese/Korean/Isreali) and I still have not found a style like Ed Parker's Kenpo.

SGM Parker was a martial arts genious (unlike myself). He thought of just about everything you can imagine and tested it to make sure it worked on the street. Kenpo can be a difficult art to teach because not everyone has the ability to grasp the scientific principles layed out in the system (ex - back up mass/ gravitational marriage/ torque etc...). Also not every instructor has the full understanding of their art and may not be able to explain it all in layman's terms.
When you find a great instructor - the sky's the limit.