Origins of Ed Parker's Kenpo

[Cheese Dog]

Does anyone know the origins of Parker's Kenpo or what art or arts he studied before developing his own style? I have studied Ryukyu Kempo (traditional Okinawan kempo) for almost 10 years and have noticed quite a few simularities such as:

A hand oriented style, most kicks are low, alot of sweeps, trips, stomps, using the stance to trap or damage the opponents legs, a mixture of linear and circular hand techs, very self defense oriented.

Ryukyu Kempo does alot of trapping and standing grappling, don't know if Kenpo does this or not.

There are probably others but that's all I can think of now.

Anyway, if anyone has any info on this I would appreciate it.

Thanks,
Cheese Dog

[dnc101]

CD, I am a student of American Kenpo. I'll try to answer your question, but there is no really good answer.

American Kenpo is the unique creation of Senior Grand Master Edmund Kealoha Parker. Mr Parker was noted for his ability to work with and learn from a multitude of other styles. He gleaned principles and concepts, but did not simply copy moves. What he created was his own style, the first truly American style.

He primarily studied Chuan fa, or Chinese Kenpo in Hawaii under Prof Chow. Some people will try to tell you that he studied with Mitose, a Japanese Kempo practitioner. There is some question as to whether Mitose studied with Prof. Chow, but there is no question that he had nothing to do with Mr. Parker. SGM Parker, in fact, called Mitose "a charlatan and a con man."

Ryukyu Kempo has its' roots in Chinese Kenpo as well, so it isn't surprising that it and American Kenpo share similar concepts and methods, possibly even principles. You are correct when you say we are " A hand oriented style, most kicks are low, a lot of sweeps, trips, stomps, using the stance to trap or damage the opponents legs, a mixture of linear and circular hand techs, very self defense oriented." American Kenpo also emphasizes footwork and mobility, and the stance and upper body strikes working together. We also emphasize control and working off the opponents reactions.

We do a lot of trapping, and there is a definate stand up grappling element in American Kenpo. We utilize locks, arm bars, frictional pulls, cranes and other methods to manipulate the opponent. There is an emphasis on letting the stance and proper body mechanics do the work, not simply muscling him into position.

It would be interesting to learn more about the Japanese Kempo styles. I may visit a school or seminar if I ever get the time or opportunity. So much to learn, so little time!

Hope this helps. But be aware that there doesn't appear to be a definative history of "The Roots of American Kenpo." There is, however, a lot of disinformation out there.

[Former castleva]

Ahem,just a humble outsider note but since ryukyu was mentioned...
Do you guys (too) think that ryukyu does more pressure point stuff?

[dnc101]

FC, nice avitar- I know how that little rodent feels sometimes!

I don't know about Ryukyu Kenpo and their use of pressure points. American Kenpo is aware of them and we do use them some, but we don't stress them or depend on them. In fact, we'd be more likely to strike them. I've heard there are some schools that add this to their carriculum, but it is extra to the Kenpo. AK is a reality based style and pressure point control isn't that reliable, especially when your opponents system is supercharged on adrenalin.

There is one branch of AK called Sub Level 4 Kenpo, headed by Dr. Chapel, that works extensively with body cavity strikes. I havn't heard that they use pressure points, but I'd bet Dr. Chapel would know about them and their use. He has a web site- do a search for SL-4 Kenpo (I don't have the address any more), and you could ask him if you are interested.

[Former castleva]

"FC, nice avitar- I know how that little rodent feels sometimes!"
Heh.Thanks.So do I,even though I have carefully observed their acts.

Thank you for your insight,this confirms my beliefs.
I think I know that AKK uses certain nerve strikes to common target nerves (The term "nerve" describes it better I think,considering the scientifical approach of the art and clear physiological basis for such techniques)

Not to take this thread off the road.

[FatherDog]

Originally posted by dnc101
the first truly American style.

A-HEM

[dnc101]

Originally posted by FatherDog
A-HEM

A-HA, a bite! :D

Actually, if you are arguing that many American Indian tribes had their own systems of fighting, you'd be correct. Then there is Col. Rex Applegate (I just found my old copy of 'Kill or GET Kiled' last week, along with the British counterpart 'Get Tough'). I probably should have been more specific, as in the first truly American style based on the oriental martial arts systems. There were other people teaching other martial arts styles at that time in the US, but they were all teaching traditional systems. In fact, Mr. Parkers first school was a Judo school he bought in L.A., as I recall hearing.

Thanks for the check.

[FatherDog]

There's native american systems (poorly documented, unfortunately), there's Applegate's stuff, there's bareknuckle boxing (which in it's original form included throws and low-line kicks... it's English, strictly speaking, but the American style of it had definite stylistic differences, and could be considered a style in its own right) and of course, there's Catch Wrestling, which looked /very/ different from Lancashire Catch-As-Catch-Can and was a distinctly American style.

None of which takes away from Parker, who was a talented martial artist and did create a distinct style that was different from other extant styles. But it wasn't the first American style of martial arts by a long shot.

[Cheese Dog]

Many thanks, dnc101 for the information! Your post brought up even more similarities, such as letting your stance and proper body mechanics manipulate your opponent, flowing with your techniques, footwork and mobility, and stance and hand strikes working together. It sounds like our two styles have far more similarities than differences.

Former castleva, ryukyu kempo does do pressure point strikeing and grappling, and unfortunatly, some schools still have a kind of "gee-****" attitude towards them. To many people just don't seem to understand a very basic thing--YOU CAN'T FIGHT WITH PRESSURE POINTS IF YOU CAN'T FIGHT!!!! Some schools try to teach pressure point manipulation to soon without teaching really practical applications. As far as I know, none of the 3 schools in my area (Northern Kentucky) are like this, but I have heard that others are. My point is--learn to fight, then learn pressure points to better your effectiveness, not as a substitute for real sweat and hard training.

Fatherdog, I have a vague memory of an article in Black Belt magazine 10-12 years ago about the fighting techniques of the Apache Indians. Very interesting stuff! Mostly training with knife, spear, etc., but also alot of basic wrestling and strikeing. The young warriors in training were required to run up mountains in the morning while holding a mouthful of water to insure that they breathed properly and, as the article put it, to "develop their inner spirits."