American Kenpo
American Kenpo is an evolution of Kenpo That was born from Ed Parkers constant thirst for knowledge of the Martial arts. Parker Started his Martial arts journey in both Judo and boxing, later on Parker was introduced to Kenpo and started learning From Frank Chow . Eventually after training for a while, Frank told Parker one day that he had taught him everything that he could teach him and introduced him to his brother William K.S Chow. Parker would finish his Kenpo training under William Chow, but the Korean War would lead to a 3-year tour in the United States Coast Guard For Parker before he could get his Black Belt. Parker returned from the Coast Guard and finished training soon after
On June 5, 1953 Ed Parker received his Black belt from chow.
ED Parker also reached the rank in Judo of Sandan,(3rd Black) and became captain of the 1956 Brigham Young University Judo club. When He got his black belt from Chow it was Not in Kenpo Karate like some believe but in Go-shinjutsu .I know people are gonna argue that .and I have seen Parkers diploma that said Kenpo Karate.But If you Go to the website from William Chows lineage http://www.chinesekempo.org/ click on the family tree that tracks styles and instructors under William Chow It shows The 3 styles he taught and Kenpo Karate was not one of them. Kenpo karate is the name Ed Parker chose to call his style when he opened his school when he didn't hear back from William Chow when he asked for permission to open a school and teach. Ed Parker wrote Chow Asking for his blessing but didn't hear back for almost a year so by the time he did hear from Chow , Parker had already started teaching but called his style Kenpo Karate instead of Chow's style of Kenpo called Go-shinjitsu.
Parker chose the name Kenpo Karate since Karate was becoming well known with soldiers being stationed in japan and returning after seeing and training in Karate over seas. Ed parker was only training a very select few people at this time and we know this because he talks about it in his book (click the link to check it out>>>> Insights into Kenpo: Mental Stimulation (P. 26-27)
"While completing my education at B.Y.U. I formed a closed club teaching only a few students from Hawaii...I was asked to put on a Kenpo Karate demonstration during the basketball half-time intermission (early in December 1954) between B.Y.U. and U.C.L.A. The success of this demonstration launched an entirely new dimension in my life...In a matter of weeks I began teaching commercially downtown .
At this point Kenpo didn't have any forms or Katas and it was Ed Parker and Jimmy Woo ( A Kung Fu Instructor ) that worked to create most of the Katas still used in Kempo today. The katas have elements and movements from A few chinese styles like Kung Fu San Soo, Splashing Hand ,Tai Chi And others.
Now things really started happening from that Demo Parker put on at the game and it was that moment, that one demonstration that changed the trajectory of Parkers life,
It wasn't long after that that he started teaching some celebrities and really starting to create a name for himself and Kenpo. One of the most famous celebrities Parker trained was Elvis Presley. There is a story floating around that I will post at the end of this Blog about how Kenpo caused Elvis Presley's divorce.
OK back to The History of Ed Parker's journey To what would eventually become American Kenpo. Ed Parker was starting to expand his knowledge on concepts of motion and techniques. Ed Parker was surrounded with a lot of people that were studying martial arts with more of a chinese lineage cerio( who trained in at least 4 different martial arts), bruce lee, jimmy woo and others and Started to become more influenced by the chinese arts. He left Kenpo Karate behind and turned it over to 3 of his students, Al, Jim and will Tracy who then added their name which became Tracy's Kenpo Karate. Ed Parker created a new system with these new concepts and Started teaching what he called Chinese Kenpo. In 1963 Parker wrote a book called Secrets of Chinese Karate .
Parker would only teach this new style for around 2 years before he Added new concepts and started to make the style more for American use from what he learned worked on the street and what didn't, He Started calling this new style Ed Parker Kenpo but it was still evolving and Parker came to the conclusion that the way systems were just didn't fit in to what he believed.
Ed Parker and Bruce Lee spent a lot of time together and shared ideals and beliefs with each other. both were working on their own styles, Parker with what would become American Kenpo and Bruce would create Jeet Kune Do. Both came to the same conclusion which was there is only one ED Parker and only one Bruce Lee. How could a 5'2 girl learn to stand like Ed PArker and fight like him? How could A 6'4 300lb man move and fight like Bruce Lee? Ed Parker And Bruce taught a philosophy now. Teach them techniques But more importantly understood that no two people are alike and the new system was to be tailored to the individual. After all, it was the individual who would advanced through American Kenpo
Ed Parker designed his new system as a method for teaching principles and not just as a way to teach techniques. Rather than teaching 30 techniques and an equal number of variations for each belt as he had done with the KKAA and early IKKA, Ed reduced the number of techniques to 24, and eliminated the variations. He also simplified each technique, teaching only the first part of the technique to the beginning student who could now concentrate on the principle of the movement.
The student was to learn "why" a move was done a certain way, and concentrate on this as he practiced the move. Ed believed this was the best way to tailor his new system to the individual
He did not want his students to mimic him, or to become puppets. He wanted them to become great in their own right.
In 1964, Ed Parker started the International Karate Championships, People from all over and from different styles came to take part in this tournament. This event would be the a platform that started the careers of the legendary Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris and many other prominent martial artists.
Now for the part people will argue with me about but Parker explained it in his last book Ed Parker's Encyclopedia of Kenpo before his death. Ed Parker kenpo was not abandoned to create American Kenpo because American kenpo was not created to replace Ed Parker Kenpo. It was created as a way to advance to his standard of Ed Parker Kenpo.
On Dec 15th 1990 We lost the Father of Kenpo. We still have his books and clips of him working techniques and hear in his own words what he wanted us to learn. As you put that Gi on and you see that patch ,Think about what Kenpo was in Parkers eyes and what he would want from you as your wearing his patch and carrying on his lineage.
Ok now for the Elvis Story I promised
(This is from Al Tracy's website and it's him telling the story)
Kenpo uses a black gi, I pointed out that in American Kenpo, Ed Parker limited the wearing of black gi's to Instructors Only! But this was not true of many of his Rich and Famous private students. Both Elvis Presley and his wife, Priscilla, were private students of Ed Parker and both by preference wore black uniforms for their private lessons.
As fate would have it, Ed Parker went to Hawaii on vacation which left Priscilla with no private lessons from Ed. Because Priscilla wanted to work out and continue training during Ed's vacation, she decided to attend a "class" run by one of Ed Parker's senior students. When Priscilla showed up for class the Senior Instructor was caught off guard. Only Instructors were allowed to wear black gi's - but this was not an ordinary student: this was the wife of the "King". So he chose to say nothing. But the next day he phoned Ed In Hawaii to voice his concern about a "student" wearing a black gi. The instructor then asked Ed what he should do about it. Ed told him to "to use his own discretion" in the matter.
The next time Priscilla arrived for class, she was informed that she could not attend class wearing a black uniform, that it was reserved exclusively for instructors. Priscilla was then told that she was more than welcome to attend the class if she wore a white uniform.
Editorial Comment: I had met Elvis Presley when I was just a Brown Belt and Ed (and several advanced students) was giving a Karate/Kenpo demonstration at the Beverly Wiltshire Health Club. Elvis, who was staying at a nearby hotel, heard about it and came over to the demonstration. We all watched in amazement as Elvis walked over to our group and introduced himself to Ed Parker: "Hi, my name is Elvis Presley and I wondered if you would mind if I watched your demonstration?" Here he was - "The King" - humble and unassuming as if there was anyone in the US who did not know who Elvis was. This would be the beginning of a lifetime relationship between Ed Parker and Elvis.
I would first met Priscilla Presley years later at the "Internationals" where Ed would introduce me to her. The first obvious thing was that Priscilla was (and still is) a very beautiful woman. But as I talked to her about the martial arts I saw that she was at the tournament without Elvis. She was very relaxed, friendly and self-assured - it was at that time I said to myself, "It's only a matter of time"!
Back to the DOJO! Priscilla had two choices (actually three): (1) don't attend the Class; (2) get a white uniform and come "crawling back;" (3) never take another private lesson from Ed Parker again. While Elvis would continue to have a close relationship with Ed and continue his training, Priscilla and Ed were now at odds.
Because of the Black Gi, fate would now rear its ugly head. Priscilla wanted to continue training and at the same time get back at Ed Parker. She then contacted Chuck Norris for lessons and through Chuck met Mike Stone, who became her private karate instructor.
The rest is history. Priscilla then started seeing Mike Stone on the sly and one day she simply left 'The King" - Elvis - and started living with Mike Stone. And the end result was the divorce of Elvis and Priscilla.
Editorial comment: Elvis Presley died in 1977. Had it not been for that incident over the Black Uniform, Priscilla might have ended up a grieving widow rather than going through a very nasty divorce.
"Hell hath no fury . . ." After the death of Elvis, Priscilla arranged for a private plane to take his friends from California to the funeral in Memphis. There were only two people Priscilla would not allow on the plane: Elvis's current girlfriend and Ed Parker!
To Priscilla's credit she has to be one of the classiest people in all of Hollywood. Priscilla has never publicly uttered a bad word about Elvis, their marriage or any personal problem they may have had. As a businesswoman she has taken control of the "Presley Empire" and after his death made the "Presley Estate" worth more than Elvis made in his entire career.
ED Parker also reached the rank in Judo of Sandan,(3rd Black) and became captain of the 1956 Brigham Young University Judo club. When He got his black belt from Chow it was Not in Kenpo Karate like some believe but in Go-shinjutsu .I know people are gonna argue that .and I have seen Parkers diploma that said Kenpo Karate.But If you Go to the website from William Chows lineage http://www.chinesekempo.org/ click on the family tree that tracks styles and instructors under William Chow It shows The 3 styles he taught and Kenpo Karate was not one of them. Kenpo karate is the name Ed Parker chose to call his style when he opened his school when he didn't hear back from William Chow when he asked for permission to open a school and teach. Ed Parker wrote Chow Asking for his blessing but didn't hear back for almost a year so by the time he did hear from Chow , Parker had already started teaching but called his style Kenpo Karate instead of Chow's style of Kenpo called Go-shinjitsu.
Parker chose the name Kenpo Karate since Karate was becoming well known with soldiers being stationed in japan and returning after seeing and training in Karate over seas. Ed parker was only training a very select few people at this time and we know this because he talks about it in his book (click the link to check it out>>>> Insights into Kenpo: Mental Stimulation (P. 26-27)
"While completing my education at B.Y.U. I formed a closed club teaching only a few students from Hawaii...I was asked to put on a Kenpo Karate demonstration during the basketball half-time intermission (early in December 1954) between B.Y.U. and U.C.L.A. The success of this demonstration launched an entirely new dimension in my life...In a matter of weeks I began teaching commercially downtown .
At this point Kenpo didn't have any forms or Katas and it was Ed Parker and Jimmy Woo ( A Kung Fu Instructor ) that worked to create most of the Katas still used in Kempo today. The katas have elements and movements from A few chinese styles like Kung Fu San Soo, Splashing Hand ,Tai Chi And others.
Now things really started happening from that Demo Parker put on at the game and it was that moment, that one demonstration that changed the trajectory of Parkers life,
It wasn't long after that that he started teaching some celebrities and really starting to create a name for himself and Kenpo. One of the most famous celebrities Parker trained was Elvis Presley. There is a story floating around that I will post at the end of this Blog about how Kenpo caused Elvis Presley's divorce.
OK back to The History of Ed Parker's journey To what would eventually become American Kenpo. Ed Parker was starting to expand his knowledge on concepts of motion and techniques. Ed Parker was surrounded with a lot of people that were studying martial arts with more of a chinese lineage cerio( who trained in at least 4 different martial arts), bruce lee, jimmy woo and others and Started to become more influenced by the chinese arts. He left Kenpo Karate behind and turned it over to 3 of his students, Al, Jim and will Tracy who then added their name which became Tracy's Kenpo Karate. Ed Parker created a new system with these new concepts and Started teaching what he called Chinese Kenpo. In 1963 Parker wrote a book called Secrets of Chinese Karate .
Parker would only teach this new style for around 2 years before he Added new concepts and started to make the style more for American use from what he learned worked on the street and what didn't, He Started calling this new style Ed Parker Kenpo but it was still evolving and Parker came to the conclusion that the way systems were just didn't fit in to what he believed.
Ed Parker and Bruce Lee spent a lot of time together and shared ideals and beliefs with each other. both were working on their own styles, Parker with what would become American Kenpo and Bruce would create Jeet Kune Do. Both came to the same conclusion which was there is only one ED Parker and only one Bruce Lee. How could a 5'2 girl learn to stand like Ed PArker and fight like him? How could A 6'4 300lb man move and fight like Bruce Lee? Ed Parker And Bruce taught a philosophy now. Teach them techniques But more importantly understood that no two people are alike and the new system was to be tailored to the individual. After all, it was the individual who would advanced through American Kenpo
Ed Parker designed his new system as a method for teaching principles and not just as a way to teach techniques. Rather than teaching 30 techniques and an equal number of variations for each belt as he had done with the KKAA and early IKKA, Ed reduced the number of techniques to 24, and eliminated the variations. He also simplified each technique, teaching only the first part of the technique to the beginning student who could now concentrate on the principle of the movement.
The student was to learn "why" a move was done a certain way, and concentrate on this as he practiced the move. Ed believed this was the best way to tailor his new system to the individual
He did not want his students to mimic him, or to become puppets. He wanted them to become great in their own right.
In 1964, Ed Parker started the International Karate Championships, People from all over and from different styles came to take part in this tournament. This event would be the a platform that started the careers of the legendary Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris and many other prominent martial artists.
Now for the part people will argue with me about but Parker explained it in his last book Ed Parker's Encyclopedia of Kenpo before his death. Ed Parker kenpo was not abandoned to create American Kenpo because American kenpo was not created to replace Ed Parker Kenpo. It was created as a way to advance to his standard of Ed Parker Kenpo.
On Dec 15th 1990 We lost the Father of Kenpo. We still have his books and clips of him working techniques and hear in his own words what he wanted us to learn. As you put that Gi on and you see that patch ,Think about what Kenpo was in Parkers eyes and what he would want from you as your wearing his patch and carrying on his lineage.
Ok now for the Elvis Story I promised
(This is from Al Tracy's website and it's him telling the story)
Kenpo uses a black gi, I pointed out that in American Kenpo, Ed Parker limited the wearing of black gi's to Instructors Only! But this was not true of many of his Rich and Famous private students. Both Elvis Presley and his wife, Priscilla, were private students of Ed Parker and both by preference wore black uniforms for their private lessons.
As fate would have it, Ed Parker went to Hawaii on vacation which left Priscilla with no private lessons from Ed. Because Priscilla wanted to work out and continue training during Ed's vacation, she decided to attend a "class" run by one of Ed Parker's senior students. When Priscilla showed up for class the Senior Instructor was caught off guard. Only Instructors were allowed to wear black gi's - but this was not an ordinary student: this was the wife of the "King". So he chose to say nothing. But the next day he phoned Ed In Hawaii to voice his concern about a "student" wearing a black gi. The instructor then asked Ed what he should do about it. Ed told him to "to use his own discretion" in the matter.
The next time Priscilla arrived for class, she was informed that she could not attend class wearing a black uniform, that it was reserved exclusively for instructors. Priscilla was then told that she was more than welcome to attend the class if she wore a white uniform.
Editorial Comment: I had met Elvis Presley when I was just a Brown Belt and Ed (and several advanced students) was giving a Karate/Kenpo demonstration at the Beverly Wiltshire Health Club. Elvis, who was staying at a nearby hotel, heard about it and came over to the demonstration. We all watched in amazement as Elvis walked over to our group and introduced himself to Ed Parker: "Hi, my name is Elvis Presley and I wondered if you would mind if I watched your demonstration?" Here he was - "The King" - humble and unassuming as if there was anyone in the US who did not know who Elvis was. This would be the beginning of a lifetime relationship between Ed Parker and Elvis.
I would first met Priscilla Presley years later at the "Internationals" where Ed would introduce me to her. The first obvious thing was that Priscilla was (and still is) a very beautiful woman. But as I talked to her about the martial arts I saw that she was at the tournament without Elvis. She was very relaxed, friendly and self-assured - it was at that time I said to myself, "It's only a matter of time"!
Back to the DOJO! Priscilla had two choices (actually three): (1) don't attend the Class; (2) get a white uniform and come "crawling back;" (3) never take another private lesson from Ed Parker again. While Elvis would continue to have a close relationship with Ed and continue his training, Priscilla and Ed were now at odds.
Because of the Black Gi, fate would now rear its ugly head. Priscilla wanted to continue training and at the same time get back at Ed Parker. She then contacted Chuck Norris for lessons and through Chuck met Mike Stone, who became her private karate instructor.
The rest is history. Priscilla then started seeing Mike Stone on the sly and one day she simply left 'The King" - Elvis - and started living with Mike Stone. And the end result was the divorce of Elvis and Priscilla.
Editorial comment: Elvis Presley died in 1977. Had it not been for that incident over the Black Uniform, Priscilla might have ended up a grieving widow rather than going through a very nasty divorce.
"Hell hath no fury . . ." After the death of Elvis, Priscilla arranged for a private plane to take his friends from California to the funeral in Memphis. There were only two people Priscilla would not allow on the plane: Elvis's current girlfriend and Ed Parker!
To Priscilla's credit she has to be one of the classiest people in all of Hollywood. Priscilla has never publicly uttered a bad word about Elvis, their marriage or any personal problem they may have had. As a businesswoman she has taken control of the "Presley Empire" and after his death made the "Presley Estate" worth more than Elvis made in his entire career.