# American Kenpo or just Kenpo in MMA.



## Mider1985 (Jul 27, 2010)

Well most of Ed Parkers kenpo doesnt really have anything to do with original kenpo like from Professor Chow. Ed Parker said taht maybe only 10 percent of the stuff in American Kenpo was Chinese Kenpo. There are alot of sites that say that the black belts of American Kenpo have sullied the name of American Kenpo because they added or took away things from it. Tracy Kenpo is one of these orginizations. Also i think i noticed Bob White a great kenpo teacher adding some stuff that Ed Parker didnt usually have such as grappling i think or takedowns. Anyway I wish that someone from maybe Bob Whites Dojo could make it to MMA and win in the cage because thats the measuring stick for anyone these days. I heard that one of his black belts Jeff Newton has not a great MMA record but that in a recent tournament he was kinda shafted because he was dominating the stand up game and the guy didnt realy make him tap out on the ground. Alot of witnesses say that it was a BS decision.

But my question is does anyone do MMA and Kenpo? Either it be Kenpo or American Kenpo it doesnt matter. Someone said that when they spoke to Chuck Libell he supposidly told them that what he learned in Hawaiian Kenpo he could never forget but thats just something i heard. So does Kenpo and MMA work?


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## Mider1985 (Jul 27, 2010)

By the way I have nothing against American Kenpo in fact if i could learn any art American Kenpo would be on the list of arts id wanna learn. It looks very interesting for stand up fighting. Im glad that people like Bob White is adding diffrent things to American Kenpo because every art has to evolve. He's also a big humanitarian.


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## Rabu (Jul 27, 2010)

Hmm...

MMA is a venue.  Training to be succesful in that venue is a must if thats what you are seeking.  

The training outline is fairly well documented at this point and much like any other venue (Boxing, Wrestling, Shoot fighting) the fighters all tend to end up with very similiar skillsets.

Kenpo is a specific style which could be part of the training regimen for an MMA fighter, and like Keith Hackney, some have had that background.

But the MMA ring fighting looks very little like the arts from which the techniques are taken.  It is its own thing. 

I am not sure you will recieve a response which fully impacts your question in the fashion you may expect or desire, but I hope my response helps in some way.

Bet regards,

Rob


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## MJS (Jul 27, 2010)

Mider1985 said:


> Well most of Ed Parkers kenpo doesnt really have anything to do with original kenpo like from Professor Chow. Ed Parker said taht maybe only 10 percent of the stuff in American Kenpo was Chinese Kenpo. There are alot of sites that say that the black belts of American Kenpo have sullied the name of American Kenpo because they added or took away things from it. Tracy Kenpo is one of these orginizations. Also i think i noticed Bob White a great kenpo teacher adding some stuff that Ed Parker didnt usually have such as grappling i think or takedowns. Anyway I wish that someone from maybe Bob Whites Dojo could make it to MMA and win in the cage because thats the measuring stick for anyone these days. I heard that one of his black belts Jeff Newton has not a great MMA record but that in a recent tournament he was kinda shafted because he was dominating the stand up game and the guy didnt realy make him tap out on the ground. Alot of witnesses say that it was a BS decision.
> 
> But my question is does anyone do MMA and Kenpo? Either it be Kenpo or American Kenpo it doesnt matter. Someone said that when they spoke to Chuck Libell he supposidly told them that what he learned in Hawaiian Kenpo he could never forget but thats just something i heard. So does Kenpo and MMA work?


 
You're probably more likley to see people from Kajukenbo, compete in MMA.  GM Harper has some students that have done quite well in the MMA arena.  There are people that Rabu mentioned, such as Keith Hackney that've stepped into the cage a few times.  Chuck comes from a Kempo background.

There're people like myself, who, while I really have no desire to jump into the ring and compete, have adopted some MMA training methods.  Personally, I dont think that MMA is "The" measuring stick that some people think that it is.  As rabu said, its a measuring stick for that particular arena, but to say that it applies to everything....I'd have to disagree, but thats just me.  Again, as I said, there are IMO, very important things that should be incorporated into every art, such as the grappling, first and foremost, the striking, contact, etc., but just because someone doesnt jump into the cage to compete, doesnt mean that they're not capable of defending themselves on the street.


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## MattJ (Jul 27, 2010)

Kenpo can work fine as part of an MMA skillset.  I don't compete, but I have dipped a toe into MMA waters, to see how things work there. EPAK has worked very well for me in stand-up, and I see no reason that it wouldn't work in the same capacity for anyone else.


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## Tez3 (Jul 27, 2010)

Rabu said:


> Hmm...
> 
> MMA is a venue. Training to be succesful in that venue is a must if thats what you are seeking.
> 
> ...


 

I don't understand what you mean by saying MMA and other arts are a venue? A venue is a building, stadium, arena or something similiar where one holds events, how can MMA be a venue?


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## Rabu (Jul 27, 2010)

Hmmm...

I suppose you are correct in that I am abusing the term 'venue' in that regard.  Though I have heard 'boxing arena' and 'boxing venue' used to describe the _sport_ by commentators when discussing people performing their training.

I short circuit to simply using the term 'venue' to describe 'where' a set of training is going to be used.  That is a failure on my part.

I sincerely apologize if my lapse caused my post to detract from the conversation and I will try again:

I have to assume OP meant MMA in the context of sport fighting as seen in the UFC and other similiar public and sensationalized fights.

As in any sport performed before crowds, or really any sport in general, there are specific types of training proponents of that sport must engage in to be succesful. The more specialized the sport, the more similiar the training methods become.

On occasion something comes along to 'revolutionize' the sport, such as the 'fosbury flop' in high jumping and arguably the use of BJJ in public mixed martial arts events, (or even the idea of mixed martial arts as currently shown in sporting events). (all apologies to the shootfighters and open strong man fighting contests which predated it)

What I wanted to suggest, is that there is training which is quite specific to that type of sporting event and that certainly Kenpo of any grain _may_ contain much of what you need, but certainly not all. 

I would suggest that varying levels of success have been seen by kenpo fighters over time, almost all of them have had to cross train or develop a specific regimen of training in order to be succesful in those events.

Often that meant departing from standard kenpo training altogether in favor of a sporting event specific regimen.

It is my opinion that my statements really apply to all arts which are not designed specifically for the MMA sporting event as I described above.

Hope that helps,

Rob


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## Manny (Jul 28, 2010)

Mmmmmm my experience in Kenpo is not large but I can tell you Kenpo Karate is an outstanding self defense sistem that can be  used with sucess on the streets. Things like UFC, MMA, etc are sport oriented martial arts and yes a good MMA fighter can be sucessfull on the streets. However the kenpoist trains to learn how to defend him/her self while the MMA practiciones train to fight inside of a cage. 

Manny


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## jorgemp (Jun 7, 2014)

Kenpo is perhaps excessively stilized to be used in MMA.

But Chuck Liddell, a kenpoist, was a good MMA fighter, but his style was not elegant. ????


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