Acord Kenpo Distance Learning Program

[Mark Weiser]

I as well as at least two other former Distance Students have had a very disappointing experience with the Acord Home Study Program. Another Home Study Failure. I was disappointed in the response(s) and at times the lack of communication that I got from his BB's in regards to Home Study Students. Well once again another Association bites the dust. I am not sure if Acord Kenpo System will ever recover from the PR damage that has been done in the last 60 - 90 days.

 

[michaeledward]

I bought the CD of his material. I was never part of the Distance Learning program though.

It was nice to have his technique write-ups. Most of the techniques are pretty similar to what I've learned, but there are a few differences.

I did think it was odd that there was a copyright attached to the manual, as much of the material is obviously drawn from other, sometimes copyrighted, sources.

I did not see anywhere in the manual, any references to other material.

Sorry it didn't work out for you.

 

[masherdong]

I have not been in it full force but from what I have heard from other HSP students, the Acord team has failed to respond to emails or telephone call backs. From what Alex and Mr. Acord have told me, they have over 800 in studio students. Now, if you are going to start a Home Study Program and you already have that many students daily, then you better have a team of BB's to run that program. I have not spoke to anyone of them since I have been busy with my schoolwork and all. ( I got a B for Cal 2!) But, in the beginning, they were pretty good in answering emails and keeping up with the message boards. But now, the message board is like a ghost town. Also, I have heard that Mr. Acord's health has gone bad. Now, just because the head guy is down gives you any reason to drop the ball with your students. Now, Alex and Missi have tried to take the reins but I feel they need to improve on how they handle the HSP. Just my dos centavos.

 

[Mark Weiser]

I did make that suggestion to the Team today about assigning a team of Black Belts. Or if you are too busy to address your HSP students have the backbone to let them know your too busy or you discovered you do not have the manpower or talent to run it and then refer your students to other associations. We would have respected Acord's Kenpo Studios more this way. I personally will be changing over to the Larry Tatum Association studing both with Mr. Justice and via Video Training directly with Mr. Tatum. I hope the Acord Group gets it together. They should also stop selling the Video Tape Series on Ebay in which. Mr. Acord is not on the tapes but Master Tatbatai's Videos which caused me to question why Mr. Acord is reselling his Tape Series? I do not belive Mr. Acord ever was his student.

 

[Dark Kenpo Lord]

I did make that suggestion to the Team today about assigning a team of Black Belts. Or if you are too busy to address your HSP students have the backbone to let them know your too busy or you discovered you do not have the manpower or talent to run it and then refer your students to other associations. We would have respected Acord's Kenpo Studios more this way. I personally will be changing over to the Larry Tatum Association studing both with Mr. Justice and via Video Training directly with Mr. Tatum. I hope the Acord Group gets it together. They should also stop selling the Video Tape Series on Ebay in which. Mr. Acord is not on the tapes but Master Tatbatai's Videos which caused me to question why Mr. Acord is reselling his Tape Series? I do not belive Mr. Acord ever was his student.

Tatum taught Tabatabai. I also wonder why they are reselling Moe's tapes, again LOL? Well, best thing to do is to track down where Acord got his/their Kenpo training. All they've done is taken info freely available off Kenpo websites and put it in a binder, quite clever, but plagiarism none the less LOL.

Tell Walter Hi, can't wait to see him in Vegas to kick that new rank on LOL

DarK LorD

 

[Mark Weiser]

I just shot off an email to Tabatabai asking if Mr. Acord was ever under his training. I also asked him if Mr. Acord had the ethical and legal right(s) to resell his tapes and use his program to promote his own Kenpo Karate Studios. I will let you know how it turns out.

I can see some problems in advertisements seeing how Acord Kenpo Studios do not tell you it is not Himself on the tapes( on Ebay or on his website) prior to purchase nor the fact that you do not send in video testing to Master Tabatabai for grading even when using his materials and saying that it is his own. Hmmmm I think I am starting to smell something funny.

Matter of fact Mr. Acord does not have his Martial Art Background on his current website.

 

[Michael Billings]

He could be a re-seller of the video's and providing a residual to Jody Tabatabai. That still does not say anything about he or his Kenpo.

-Michael

 

[Mark Weiser]

When I asked Mr. Acord about the cost of his videos. He stated that he sells the Videos at cost of course that is subjective to the seller. He sells the tape series on ebay all 31 tapes for $140. He is making about $3.50 per tape that is about $93 per set of tapes assuming he is buying his blank video tapes in bulk and at wholesale.

Not bad ( from a fiscal point of view)considering he sells about 3 - 5 sets per week. And if He is giving royalities to Master Tabatabai then someone needs to let him know he can make more money selling them directly from his own studio.

 

[Seabrook]

Tatum taught Tabatabai. I also wonder why they are reselling Moe's tapes, again LOL? Well, best thing to do is to track down where Acord got his/their Kenpo training. All they've done is taken info freely available off Kenpo websites and put it in a binder, quite clever, but plagiarism none the less LOL.

Tell Walter Hi, can't wait to see him in Vegas to kick that new rank on LOL

DarK LorD

Clyde,

Well I was aware of this, I was surprised to see quite a bit of differences in the way the two do a lot of the extensions. I would have thought Tabatabai's would have been identical to the way Mr. Tatum taught him?

Why do you think there are so many differences?

Jamie Seabrook
www.seabrook.gotkenpo.com

 

[KENPOJOE]

I as well as at least two other former Distance Students have had a very disappointing experience with the Acord Home Study Program. Another Home Study Failure. I was disappointed in the response(s) and at times the lack of communication that I got from his BB's in regards to Home Study Students. Well once again another Association bites the dust. I am not sure if Acord Kenpo System will ever recover from the PR damage that has been done in the last 60 - 90 days.

Dear Mark,
I was sorry to hear about your unfortunate experience with Mr. Accord and his LD training program. I remember when one of my friends & instructors bought the series to see what Mr. Accord was offering. He was surprised to receive not only the tapes of mohammed Tabatabi [which he didn't have all of them anyway] but also certificates up to the rank of 5th Degree Black Belt as well as a special certificate with the artwork from the original large IKKA certificates [designed by Ed Parker Jr.] for his "assistance". We had a good laugh over my instructor's "promotion". I was ,however, interested in his chuan fa program and had one of my students order the Chuan Fa program so I could see the format. My student sent and received the program manual on CD in .pdf format as well as the certificates of rank up to Black Belt in Chuan Fa. But, no videos because Mr. Accord had not produced them but promised that he was "working on it" I had occasionally IMed the various individuals who I would see on "Accordskenpo" on AOL and ask then for more info.When I heard of Mr.Accord's cerebreal anurism, I sent emails and IMs of concern and support to his students and assistant instructors. I joined the Accord message board and gave information on the Kenpo history. After I corrected Mr. Accord on the proper spelling of Mr. Parker's First name as well as other points regarding kenpo, and for my effort I was "banned" from Mr. Accord's message board [apparently for daring to correct "lord god king accord" ] He allegedly told those who would ask why I was taken off the board that it was because "I was not a direct long distance student". That was a lie and I have the certificates to prove that. Some of his LD students contacted me and told me of not receiving responses and the unfortunate people who bought the chuan fa programs were "S.O.L" because he no longer taught that and had no intentions of ever doing a video on the material. One individual who directly contacted Mr.Accord regarding my sudden departure from his message board [and the deletion of all my posts] was told by Mr. Accord that it was "all a misunderstanding" & that "He would be calling Kenpojoe next week!" well, i'm still waiting for that phone call [thank god I wasn't holding my breath for that!].
I remember when Mr.Accord met Ed Parker Jr. & bought a set of kenpo kards & didn't even wait for the ink to dry before he had a set for sale on EBay! So, unfortunately I'm not surprised by the present turn of events.
The last thing I heard was that Mr.ccord was going to switch to the AKKI curriculum of Paul Mills, so I wonder what will become of the tabatabi tapes he's selling as his program?
On the good side, you have a good series of kenpo tapes by Mr. Tabatabi so perhaps you should contact him directly and see if you can obtain his assistance in your search for kenpo knowledge?
Again, I hate to say I told you so...
My sympathies,
KENPOJOE

 

[KENPOJOE]

I bought the CD of his material. I was never part of the Distance Learning program though.

It was nice to have his technique write-ups. Most of the techniques are pretty similar to what I've learned, but there are a few differences.

I did think it was odd that there was a copyright attached to the manual, as much of the material is obviously drawn from other, sometimes copyrighted, sources.

I did not see anywhere in the manual, any references to other material.

Sorry it didn't work out for you.

Hi Michael!
Which version of his manual do you have? He made at least 2 version, one allegedly based on when he was under Jay T. Will [or perhaps his past dealing with Brint Berry of EKKS fame], then a later version that was more in keeping with the EPAKK format.
You are completely correct in your other observations unfortunately...
BEGOOD,
KENPOJOE

 

[evenflow1121]

The Tabatabai tapes are excellent series, whatever you do Mark dont get rid of them. I have his series and I use it for reference, prob only 2nd to Larry Tatum's When Kenpo Strikes.

 

[KENPOJOE]

I have not been in it full force but from what I have heard from other HSP students, the Acord team has failed to respond to emails or telephone call backs. From what Alex and Mr. Acord have told me, they have over 800 in studio students. Now, if you are going to start a Home Study Program and you already have that many students daily, then you better have a team of BB's to run that program. I have not spoke to anyone of them since I have been busy with my schoolwork and all. ( I got a B for Cal 2!) But, in the beginning, they were pretty good in answering emails and keeping up with the message boards. But now, the message board is like a ghost town. Also, I have heard that Mr. Acord's health has gone bad. Now, just because the head guy is down gives you any reason to drop the ball with your students. Now, Alex and Missi have tried to take the reins but I feel they need to improve on how they handle the HSP. Just my dos centavos.

Hi Masherdong!
You have told me the same thing regaring your experiences with Mr. Accord and I appreciate your imput and candor in telling me what had gone on with board after my "banishment". If Mr.Accord's health has taken another unfortunate downward spiral, that is sad to hear,and with only younger bbs trying to control the HSP students would seem unlikely. I've spoken to alex and several others via IM and was saddened and disappointed by their actions [or lack thereof]. One never knows what the future holds but we'll have to wait and see...
BTW, since Mr. Accord is out of Pennsilvania [sp] perhaps other Penn. based martial artists have heard about Mr. Accord's "big expansion" plans and his 800 student studio?
BEGOOD,
KENPOJOE

 

[KENPOJOE]

I did make that suggestion to the Team today about assigning a team of Black Belts. Or if you are too busy to address your HSP students have the backbone to let them know your too busy or you discovered you do not have the manpower or talent to run it and then refer your students to other associations. We would have respected Acord's Kenpo Studios more this way. I personally will be changing over to the Larry Tatum Association studing both with Mr. Justice and via Video Training directly with Mr. Tatum. I hope the Acord Group gets it together. They should also stop selling the Video Tape Series on Ebay in which. Mr. Acord is not on the tapes but Master Tatbatai's Videos which caused me to question why Mr. Acord is reselling his Tape Series? I do not belive Mr. Acord ever was his student.

Dear Mark,
I seriously doubt they will stop selling the tapes as long as iot turns a profit for them. Will they improve their present format to assist HSP students? Only time will tell...
I was glad to hear that you are now studying with Mr. Justice! He is a wonderful person and I was honored to be at his "Bad Boyz" tournament in Kansas while visiting one of my students in nearby Iowa. Perhaps I'll get to see him again when I visit this upcoming July! Please tell him I said hello!
If Mr. Accord's health is on the wain, then I doubt you will see any new videos, [although Mr. Accord told me that they had completed his own series of videos some time ago...] Simply stated, Mr. Accord probably bought the videos "en bulk" at a substancial discount and sold them for a profit [although Mr. Tabatabi's info is at the end of the videos and if you google his name you will find his new website]
When I asked Mr. Tabatabi about Mr. Accord, He told me that he was not a student under him but he was surprised that Mr. Accord was selling his [tabatabi's] tapes under the accord school format.
I hope that I was of some service,
KENPOJOE

 

[KENPOJOE]

I just shot off an email to Tabatabai asking if Mr. Acord was ever under his training. I also asked him if Mr. Acord had the ethical and legal right(s) to resell his tapes and use his program to promote his own Kenpo Karate Studios. I will let you know how it turns out.

I can see some problems in advertisements seeing how Acord Kenpo Studios do not tell you it is not Himself on the tapes( on Ebay or on his website) prior to purchase nor the fact that you do not send in video testing to Master Tabatabai for grading even when using his materials and saying that it is his own. Hmmmm I think I am starting to smell something funny.

Matter of fact Mr. Acord does not have his Martial Art Background on his current website.

Dear Mark,
Good luck with that email, please let us know what you hear,you might also want to call Mr. Tabatabi as a follow up and see what he says regarding the entire matter. As someone who has had and have seen people selling their tapes on ebay I can relate to how you feel and the questions you ask.
As the old shakespere adage states "something is rotten in the state of denmark"!
BEGOOD,
KENPOJOE

 

[masherdong]

The last thing I heard was that Mr.ccord was going to switch to the AKKI curriculum of Paul Mills, so I wonder what will become of the tabatabi tapes he's selling as his program?

NOOOOOO!! I am taking Kenpo through Terry Mccord and we are associated with the AKKI. Maybe I can give a head's up to people, huh? lol I hope his program takes a better turn because I dont think Mr Mills will put up with what he has done.

 

[Mark Weiser]

Honestly I am not going to waste anymore of my time which is in short supply with College, Work and starting next week with Mr. Justice at his new temp location.
The main point is this if Mr. Acord is doing something illegal then he needs to be stopped if it is unethical then we in the Kenpo Community need to warn other Students to ensure that Kenpo does not get a bad Rep from Instructors like this.



Sincerely,
Mark E. Weiser

 

[masherdong]

I will drink to that!

 

[kenpopr]

I as well as at least two other former Distance Students have had a very disappointing experience with the Acord Home Study Program. Another Home Study Failure. I was disappointed in the response(s) and at times the lack of communication that I got from his BB's in regards to Home Study Students. Well once again another Association bites the dust. I am not sure if Acord Kenpo System will ever recover from the PR damage that has been done in the last 60 - 90 days.

I have to say that 3 dissappointments out of 400 is a very good retention record! Obviously it is impossible to fully satisfy everybody but the important thing is the intent to do so. I just wonder, what the problem actually was? Was it the response time? Or the communication method?

Or maybe. . . "buscandole la quinta pata al gato"!! )

 

[kenpopr]

I did make that suggestion to the Team today about assigning a team of Black Belts. Or if you are too busy to address your HSP students have the backbone to let them know your too busy or you discovered you do not have the manpower or talent to run it and then refer your students to other associations. We would have respected Acord's Kenpo Studios more this way. I personally will be changing over to the Larry Tatum Association studing both with Mr. Justice and via Video Training directly with Mr. Tatum. I hope the Acord Group gets it together. They should also stop selling the Video Tape Series on Ebay in which. Mr. Acord is not on the tapes but Master Tatbatai's Videos which caused me to question why Mr. Acord is reselling his Tape Series? I do not belive Mr. Acord ever was his student.

Mr. Weiser,

If this is so you should start updating your website! I just saw it and it says that you are under Mr. Acord's training. I suggest you change it as soon as possible to prevent this thread you started in becoming hypocritical.

Best regards,

Luis