I haven't been in a dojo in ten years. My last time in the dojo was Kenpo under two different instructors, two separate dojos. Due to my work schedule, I couldn't stay consistent with it. There is a traditional Kenpo school as well as a Shotokan Karate school that is within driving distance. I'm not sure which of the two that I would like to go with. I was never exposed to any advanced Kenpo, so I do not know anything about the higher levels. Also, I do not know much about Shotokan. I do not want to train in an art that is heavy on kicks. I've never felt comfortable kicking higher than waist level, and do not want to incorporate that into my skill set. What are the pros/cons of the two arts? Overall, what are the two arts like?
Honestly, I would just go and try both. The "feel" of the class, the other students, the sensei, will all be more important in some ways than the art itself. We keep training in the art we enjoy training in As for high kicks, as a TKD guy I can assure you neither of those arts know anything about them
There are many systems that use the name kenpo. Some are closely related, others are not related at all. The term kenpo is actually rather generic, kind of like using karate. What do you mean by traditional kenpo? Do you know the lineage? Is it a Hawaiian kenpo, from Chow/Parker or Mitose lineage? Or is it an Okinawan kenpo?
Shoto khan is also very variable. Some clubs stick to a syllabus with a heavy emphasis on sport point fighting. so high kicks might feature heavily. Other shoto khan clubs look more at practical real world application. so plenty of low kicks. Go along, take a look, see what the low grades are doing, see what the high grades are doing, talk to the instructor about how much time they actually spend practicing the things that you are interested in during a class.
No, I do not know the lineage, but I will ask when I go...."Traditional Kenpo" is what is on the window of the building. That's what it's advertised as.
Cool. I would be interested in knowing what it is, if you care to share once you know more about it. Tracy lineage kenpo is sometimes called traditional kenpo. The Tracy brothers were students of Ed Parker in the 1950s-1970s before breaking away and establishing their own program. Their claim is that they kept the curriculum as they learned it from Parker, while Parker was changing things and going in a direction that the Tracy’s didn’t agree with. I know for a fact that it is not as simple as that, and hashing that out is not my intention here. But I am simply pointing out a possibility of what Traditional Kenpo MIGHT be in reference to.
Well, life threw a curve ball and a BJJ school opened up right next to the house. I went to the first class tonight, and I loved it.
