# Why is EPAK so hard to find in England???



## Simon Curran (Dec 8, 2004)

Hi everyone,
this is my first time starting a thread, so please excuse me if it is in the wrong place or incorrectly formulated, but here goes
I have been studying American Kenpo here in Denmark for a few years and have been looking for a school in England with little success, having tried all manner of search engines.
I have managed to find some schools in The Channel Isles and the south west (which I'm sure are very good, just too far away...) but nothing in the region of Bedfordshire or Northamptonshire or anywhere north of London for that matter.
I understand that most of the members here are from the other side of "The Pond", however I was hoping that there may be some representatives of the UK here, or that maybe some of you may know of someone...

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Simon


----------



## KenpoTess (Dec 8, 2004)

Hi Simon 

Welcome to the Board~!

Here's a list of schools in England.. Hope it helps~

http://www.kenponet.com/studionet/europe/uk.html

Good Luck~!

~Tess


----------



## Jonah (Dec 8, 2004)

Good Afternoon Sir,

I hope Mr Dominic Jones of the BKKU reads this. He has done some serious research into Kenpo stats and the like (i assume from reading his posts on various Web boards). He is a member of this Forum. May be you could look him up and send a PM or E-mail

Respectfully,

Jonah


----------



## Dominic Jones (Dec 8, 2004)

Hi Simon

As Johah said, i have tried to ID most of the Kenpo clubs in England and Wales (over 70 clubs).  You are right in saying that they are concentrated towards the South West of England, since that`s where Kenpo first arrived (Swindon in 1966...I believe).  However there are Kenpo clubs in London, Cheltham, Birmingham, Gloustershire, Leeds, South Shields, Peterborough, Sunderland.

As for travelling to get kenpo training.  How far do you want to go in your Kenpo journey?  

If you get the chance then the South West is a great place to visit.  My student Philip is travelling from Japan to Exeter, UK.  Where no doubt he`ll be given some training, a few beers and a warm welcome.  

See this post for a list of kenpo websites, perhaps they will give you some leads. 
http://pub3.bravenet.com/forum/202059768/fetch/414921/


If you need any more help drop me a line.

Cheers Dominic
Sendai Kenpo :asian:


----------



## Simon Curran (Dec 9, 2004)

Thankyou all very much for your input:- I have book marked the pages mentioned.

Special thanks to Mr Jones, I found a few more pages there than I had found previously, and in answer to your question sir;
At present I am still living and studying in Denmark, however (fingers crossed) I am hoping to be returning to the UK some time next year hopefully to join the fire service in West Yorkshire, therefore the club in Leeds has woken particular interest.
I really would not mind traveling to and from training, however to drive to the South West from the North East several times a week would be something of an undertaking, especially considering the shift system for fire fighters...

Once again, many thaks for all your help everyone.
Simon


----------



## AnimEdge (Dec 9, 2004)

Maybe becouse its a American Kempo System


----------



## kenpoworks (Dec 10, 2004)

There are some top rate Kenpoka in England who's lineage can be traced directly to Mr. Parker, the most internationally recognised are ..............in no particular order are​Mervyn Ormond.

Jackie Mc Vicar

Gary Ellis.

Diane Wheeler

Other notables are

Kevin Mills bkku

Les Grihault AKKI ( a good guy who is based in the Newcastle area)

Martin Fell is based in Carlisle and takes instruction from Paul Dye.

There is a Larry Tatum group in Peterborough (I think).

There are a lots of splinter groups who practice Parker Kenpo in the UK.

If you can try and train with Mervyn, Gary, Jackie or Diane these four I have known for a long time and IMO would be top notch Kenpo Teachers in any Country.

Kevin Mills has a large group with some good connections.

LES is a hard working never say die sort of person who is putting a lot of time and effort into teaching the finer points of Mr. Mill&#8217;s system to the "Geordies" (personal opinion he is well worth a visit).

Martin Fell teaches good , solid and realistic Kenpo technique and has real insights into other systems.

If you crossed the sea to Ireland there is a lot quality Kenpo clubs and instruction and if you crossed the sea to Jersey(C.I.) Then you would find more quality Kenpo per Sq. mile than anywhere else in the world*....IMO *

With Respect

Richard.

Ps I wrote this in haste and off the top of my head hence no addresses but any of the above are not really that hard to locate.

PPS OK DOC


----------



## Michael Billings (Dec 10, 2004)

You can also contact LimeyDog here on this Board.  He is from the UK and had a substantial group, now being trained by his father, also a UKS-Kenpo black belt.

 -Michael


----------



## dsp921 (Dec 10, 2004)

Isn't Satan's Barber from the UK?  He might be able to point you in the
right direction.  I believe his club is based on EPAK.  I have no idea
where in the UK he is, though.

-Dave


----------



## kenpoworks (Dec 10, 2004)

_*"You can also contact LimeyDog here on this Board. He is from the UK and had a substantial group, now being trained by his father, also a UKS-Kenpo black belt."*_


I read "limeydogs" profile, if he or his father could contact me , we could talk some Kenpo.
Respectfully 
Richard


----------



## Simon Curran (Dec 12, 2004)

Once again thanks to all those who posted some information about Kenpo in the UK, it seems a little less hopeless now...


----------



## Michael Billings (Dec 12, 2004)

kenpoworks said:
			
		

> _*"You can also contact LimeyDog here on this Board. He is from the UK and had a substantial group, now being trained by his father, also a UKS-Kenpo black belt."*_
> 
> 
> I read "limeydogs" profile, if he or his father could contact me , we could talk some Kenpo.
> ...


 If you are the student seeking a teacher, it seems more appropriate to me, as an instructor myself, that you initiate the contact.  He is very open and friendly, just say I referred you.  PM him on the drop down box when you click on his name in any post he has made.  Or email/PM from his profile.

 I also have a good friend teaching in Ireland, Eddy Downey, a member of the AKTS, and founder of the European Kenpo Karate Association (EKKA) [font=Arial,Helvetica][size=-1]European Kenpo Karate Association although this may not be workable for you, you can check his site or the AKTS for schools near you (if any)?

 -Michale
 [/size][/font]


----------



## kenpoworks (Dec 13, 2004)

-Michale
Thanks for the advice and I will follow it, I am an eternal student of Kenpo but do not need an instructor at the moment (have a quick squint at my profile),
I know Eddy we where in the same team at Long Beach in the 90s (we where "robbed" ha!ha!).
Rerspectfully 
Richard.


----------



## Michael Billings (Dec 13, 2004)

kenpoworks said:
			
		

> -Michale
> Thanks for the advice and I will follow it, I am an eternal student of Kenpo but do not need an instructor at the moment (have a quick squint at my profile),
> I know Eddy we where in the same team at Long Beach in the 90s (we where "robbed" ha!ha!).
> Rerspectfully
> Richard.


 Ha-Ha, & whoops.  My mistake.  I responded to you as the original poster on this thread, did not realize it was someone else.  MY BAD.

 Jersey is full of Kenpo it sounds like when Prof. Sepulveda and I get together.  Lots of Martial Arts for an island 45 square miles.  Of course it is the warmest place in the UK from what I hear.  Do the rest of the Channel Islands have as much Kenpo as Y'all do (Texan for "You All")?

 Apologies for the mistake,
 Respect,
 -Michael


----------



## Simon Curran (Dec 13, 2004)

Again, a lot of help here,

And thankyou Mr Billings, at the moment I am still living in Denmark, and had the (pleasure???) of attending a seminar over here recently with Mr Downey, and I must say it was a fantastic, if somewhat painful experience...
However, as and when I am in England (some time in the near future) I would just like to be able to find a place to train regularly, and as it seems that I am going to be in the west yorkshire area quite probably "Satansbarber" seems like a very promissing prospect being based in Leeds.


----------



## kenpoworks (Dec 13, 2004)

Ha-Ha, & whoops. My mistake. I responded to you as the original poster on this thread, did not realize it was someone else. MY BAD.
*I thought thats what happened, it is easily done , ce la vie*


Jersey is full of Kenpo it sounds like when Prof. Sepulveda and I get together. Lots of Martial Arts for an island 45 square miles. Of course it is the warmest place in the UK from what I hear. Do the rest of the Channel Islands have as much Kenpo as Y'all do (Texan for "You All")?
*Jersey has a high concentration of Kenpo the other main Channel island Guernsey has one club run by Andy Bourgais (sorry if i spelled your name wrong Andy), it aint so warm here at the moment though.*

*Respectfully*
*Richard*

*p.s. I loved the Y'all*


----------



## kenpoworks (Dec 15, 2004)

c'est la vie


----------



## Simon Curran (Mar 31, 2005)

Old thread I know, but I would just like to thank all of those who offered information, altough it looks as though it may not be needed just yet... (Might be staying in DK longer)


----------



## kenpoworks (Mar 31, 2005)

Simon who do you train with in DK?
regards
Rich


----------



## Simon Curran (Mar 31, 2005)

With Mr Claus Pedersen, under Mr Eddy Downey, Mr Sepulveda and Mr Planas respectively


----------



## kenpo3631 (Apr 1, 2005)

Simon,

Don't forget Mr. Gary Ellis. I believe he's in Plymouth. His web address is www.progressivekenposytems.com


----------

