# Why Kenpo?



## Bob Hubbard (Nov 6, 2007)

I've found that all martial artists are passionate about the art that they study, but I've found that those who train in the Kenpo's seem to be the most passionate about the art.  So, here's my question:  What is it about kenpo that keeps you coming back? What made you choose it, and has kept your interest for however long it has been that you've trained?


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## MJS (Nov 6, 2007)

Bob Hubbard said:


> I've found that all martial artists are passionate about the art that they study, but I've found that those who train in the Kenpo's seem to be the most passionate about the art. So, here's my question: What is it about kenpo that keeps you coming back? What made you choose it, and has kept your interest for however long it has been that you've trained?


 
Because its the best!!!  *ducks to avoid the incoming flames* 

All kidding aside...For me, it was my first art.  Nothing against the SKK folks, but for me, once I left that style and got a taste of Parker and now Tracy...well, I don't think that I'd consider leaving.   Those two arts, IMHO, address just about every aspect of fighting, give or take a few.  I never really got a full understanding of how the body moves, target selection/availability, to name a few, until I started training in the Parker system.  I wish that I had the chance to train with Mr. Parker, but sadly, I never did.

I've had the chance to meet and train with some wonderful people who train Kenpo.  My current school offers me everything that I'm looking for.  I have quite a few knowledgeable instructors to keep me going for many years to come.


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## Ray (Nov 6, 2007)

I chose kenpo after visiting many martial art studios in Salt Lake area in 1985.  At most places we could watch a class; but at Master Kim's TKD we had to sit in the waiting room and watch a video of him breaking boards.

The upper belts at Mr. Pettit's (kenpo) place were totally astounding during sparring, during technique practice they were fast and precise.  I was also drawn to the systematic teaching.  I didn't choose kenpo specifically; I chose Mr. Pettit's school not knowing the difference between kenpo and anything else. 

I stay with kenpo because I want to become "good" enough to be "perfect" at it.  I do like to visit other schools (Kenpo and non-kenpo alike) to see some of the differences and to see what might become part of my kenpo.


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## newGuy12 (Nov 6, 2007)

I just started back with an American Kenpo teacher, as an aside to my TKD practice.  

How could anyone *NOT* like (American) Kenpo?  You study relative anatomy, see the brilliant techniques that are put together -- one move leads to another just right.

You study the "what if" scenarios to make it more "workable".  The techniques have cool names. :ultracool  There's a lot of very neat minor strikes to learn.

Hidden strikes.

Oh, and Ed Parker was a genius. 

Again, I'm a newbie with the Kenpo, but it just seems flat out amazing to me.


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## Flying Crane (Nov 6, 2007)

I began with Tracy kenpo, as it was the only school in my town when I was growing up.  I didn't know much about one art from the next, so I just went and did it.  I liked it, and kept it with me when I went off to college and could no longer train with my teachers.

I drifted into other arts over the years, and even had years at a time when I did no kenpo at all.  I even thought at times that I was done with kenpo.  But I always found myself drifting back to it and trying to reconnect. 

I finally began to retrain with a very skilled and knowledgeable instructor with Tracys, and it's been refreshing to relearn what I had forgotten, and clean up what I had been doing.  

I think it is a good system with a lot of solid methods.  I don't think it's perfect.  I've wrestled with the voluminous curriculum, sometimes it seems overwhelming, but I've sort of just come to terms with it and I do the best I can with it.  

I like the other systems I have trained in the meantime, and I don't intend to lay those aside.  I don't see kenpo (or any other system) as the "perfect" system, but I think it is very good and definitely worth studying under a good teacher.  Other arts offer things that I have not seen in kenpo in my experience, but kenpo offers things that other arts don't as well.  I see a lot of value in them all.

I guess I just feel a connection to it, I enjoy it, I like my teachers and my classmates, my wife trains with us as well so it gives us a shared experience, so I keep doing it.


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## mrhnau (Nov 6, 2007)

Flying Crane said:


> Other arts offer things that I have not seen in kenpo in my experience, but kenpo offers things that other arts don't as well.  I see a lot of value in them all.



If you don't mind, what are some examples you see in kenpo that are not in other arts?


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## Flying Crane (Nov 6, 2007)

mrhnau said:


> If you don't mind, what are some examples you see in kenpo that are not in other arts?


 
Sure.

I think it is really in the structure of how the curriculum is put together.  In Tracy kenpo, (and this exists in many other kenpo methods as well, altho perhaps we do it to a greater extent) our curriculum is centered around what we call "self defense techniques", which are little scenarios that deal with a specific type of attack and a specific type of response to that attack.  We have A LOT of them, and truthfully, it can be overwhelming.  I think critics of kenpo in general, and Tracys in particular, will often point to this and say "it's too much, you are trying to have a rote response to every attack, and it's impossible and impractical to do."

Well, what these techniques offer is some very practical and useful stuff, especially at an eary stage of training.  And with the large number of these that we have, it gives us the ability to see usefulness in abstract movement.  My wing chun sifu was teaching the Bil Gee form, and confessed that he did not have a practical interpretation to one movement in the form.  I immediately suggested two possibilities.  I believe I was able to make those suggestions from my experience with dealing with hundreds of SD Techs in Tracys.  My wing chun sifu was happy to have me make those suggestions, and was impressed with my ability to do so.

Other arts that I have studied, mostly traditional Chinese arts, tend to have a more abstract approach to techniques.  You learn the forms, and you interpret movements from the forms and figure out how to use it.  I think this is also a good method, it can potentially give you more mileage out of less material, but it can be frustrating for the beginner who has difficulty in making good interpretations.  So especially for the beginners, I think the SD Techs in kenpo are very useful and give the student a boost in having something useful that actually works in the early stage of training.  Later, after you have this experience, it becomes easier to find usefulness in more abstract methods like the Chinese forms.

Hope this helps.


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## Ping898 (Nov 6, 2007)

For me, it is the feeling that what I can learn in Kenpo never ends.  Even when I think I've learned all I can about even the most basic techniques, I get surprised with a new hidden move or decision path I could take when countering an attack.  I also like that Kenpo seems so flexible in its use and implementation so that a 6'5" 250 lbs man can be just an effective as a 5'4" 130lbs woman even if they are doing different things.


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## Goldendragon7 (Nov 6, 2007)

All the posters have excellent answers!   I myself love the foundation, the curriculum, and the structure of master keys in both mental and physical areas.  The total package.

GD


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## Kembudo-Kai Kempoka (Nov 6, 2007)

One of the things I forst loved about it was the flexibility of rearrangement. That learing a handful of moves lends itself to a couple doen variations of execution, depending on the influencing environmental and situational influences.

A nice coincidence...someone posted a clip of Mr. Parker yakking it up with some guys about kenpo, including a segment on rearrangement. In it, he blows through a couple of moves. Then we look at how those same moves can be stacked in a different sequential combination, based on one simple thing (bad guy has a hand up that interfere's with the path of 2 blows of the 4). And Mr. P. is just so bloody fast; I think I'm not allowing myself to quit or die until I'm almost there. 

D.

The clip:


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## Sorros (Nov 6, 2007)

To me it seemed the most realistic fighting form. The animal styles had all the had all the mysticism, and traditional essence that I was looking for in martial arts.
The fighting kempo styles, KAJUKEMBO, Tracy brothers, and such seemed so overpowering and the swiftness and movements were hypnotic.


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## newGuy12 (Nov 6, 2007)

Wow!  That was a great clip,  Kembudo-Kai Kempoka!


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## Touch Of Death (Nov 6, 2007)

I like the Art over Cerimony aspect.
sean


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## dianhsuhe (Nov 6, 2007)

Great question...

For me it is the family atmosphere we have.  I have almost "grown-up" in the system and I know I have folks who have my back (and I theirs), no matter what.

Great people basically.


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## KenpoDave (Nov 6, 2007)

I think, for me, it is the methodology of the training.  The concept that the structure of the curriculum, taught correctly, leads to spontaneity in action.

One of the master instructors that mentors me has referred to me as a "grinder."  I don't see a move and just pick it right up, I have to put in time and grind it out.  Within the structure of the system, I find freedom of movement, because the principles are right.

I also love peeling back the layers.  Kenpo is right on so many levels.  One can learn a few techniques, without even really "knowing" them, and be a decent fighter.  And one can go as deep as one wants.

Oh, and questions are welcome.  I have never heard, "Because that's just the way we do it," as an answer.


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## stickarts (Nov 6, 2007)

I like the wide variety of defenses. I also tend to be analytical and I like the structure and order of progression.


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## LawDog (Nov 6, 2007)

Back when I first started I found that, 
* the training was/is very street oriented, 
* the sparring/fighting was/is the main focus,
* contact was the order of the day,
* honor and respect was/is engrained,
* if you couldn't fight you were not allowed to teach,
* you were required to take as well to give.
* All of this created a lifetime bond between all of those who endured. This is why I have the mindset that I do.
:ultracool


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## Empty Hands (Nov 9, 2007)

KenpoDave said:


> One can learn a few techniques, without even really "knowing" them, and be a decent fighter.



I disagree.  Sparring shows you just how hard it is to employ those "ideal phase" techniques.  Surprises are always a possibility too.  After all, when someone grabs your left lapel with their right hand, you have to be mighty quick and powerful with Delayed Sword to avoid that huge hammer to the side of the head that is coming your way.

Of course, this is by no means unique to Kenpo.  Without semi-realistic training, no technique will do you much good.


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## bdparsons (Nov 9, 2007)

Efficiency.

Respects,
Bill Parsons
Triangle Kenpo Institute


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## youngbraveheart (Nov 10, 2007)

Almost eight years ago, I was interested in getting back into martial arts after a lifetime of not training, I had no idea the Chinese Kempo I saw on a Kempo/Kenpo registry on the internet would turn out to be the Chow/Chun system.  I had no idea who William K.S. Chow was or who William Q.C. Chun Sr. was. (I did hear and read the name Ed Parker while growing up.) I certainly did not know anything about Bill Chun Jr. and that the Chuns were around (in the same town I grew up in) when I was trying to kick like Bruce Lee as a twelve year old in Chinese Kenpo.

Once I met Master Chun and he let me train (not everyone is allowed), I found out how similar and how different yet how much more efficient, effective, and even simple his style is compared to the Kenpo I took as a kid.  I really enjoy not having to memorize so many self-defense techniques nor do I need to memorize specific ones to advance.  We train to simply react to a self-defense situation.  What I am impressed with are how inside and direct our style is without wasting any movement (without being fancy). There are less than ten black belts in the Chow/Chun system - going back to Grandmaster Bill Chun Sr. The lineage to Professor Chow is very short. The current students of the Chow/Chun system have been taught by both Bill Chun Sr. and Bill Chun Jr. or just Bill Chun Jr.


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## CoryKS (Nov 10, 2007)

I have very little familiarity with other styles, so I may be off here in thinking that this is unique to kenpo.  But here goes:

Kenpo seems like a language to me.  One learns the basics, then learns the techniques, which are predefined orders of movement.  As one learns more and more techniques, one sees that certain bits are reused and that the commonality is the position of one's body when that bit is used.  Like an etymology of movement, and once it's understood it becomes available at the moment one finds oneself in that position.  

So the sequence is: learn the alphabet (basics); learn to read existing words and sentences (techniques); and once you understand how they work together, you become conversant by using words and sentence you have arranged yourself, freeing yourself from rote technique.

So the answer to Why Kenpo? for me is that it is like a language or a puzzle.  And I really like languages and puzzles.


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## TheOne (Feb 13, 2008)

i learned kenpo accidently and felt in love since then


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## Josh Oakley (Feb 13, 2008)

I crossed over From San Soo, because it shortened my commute, and because it was the closest thing I could find to San Soo. But it also helped me refine my mind and be more analytical of the moves I was making.


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