Excerpt from an in-progress article
In the beginning on the mainland when Ed Parker began studying with many Chinese Masters, he taught Kenpo from more of the traditional Chinese perspective. This prompted his first book Secrets of Chinese Karate. The Chinese Arts were unknown to the American Public and Ed Parker was attempting to show the roots of Karate were from the Chinese. During this time, the slap-check or pak-sao in Chinese, was a natural part of his personal interpretation of his art.
Film and video from the late sixties on demonstrate Ed Parker always slapped checked in his technique execution. However he never explained why nor did he ever write anything on the subject. This should give pause to those that think Infinite Insight contains all the knowledge of Ed Parker. It also suggests there was, at the least, other information that was not being generally dessiminated to so-called close students.
Infinite Insights philosophically explains the conceptual commercial art he called Motion-Kenpo, obviously because it is motion based. But students of this art must remember there was no Motion-Kenpo before the early seventies, and many seniors like Dave Hebler or Chuck Sullivan learned Kenpo from a different perspective long before Motion-Kenpo existed. Therefore it should not be much of a stretch to suggest the previous versions of his art (that contained the Slap-Check) existed concurrently with his commercial version(s) until he died. especially since he never stopped Slap-Checking.
In his transition to his commercial art, American Motion-Kenpo, the Slap-Check virtually disappeared from his teachings and writings as well. Although he still utilized it in his own execution, he did not teach it or ever explain its use in any detail. Many of his later students would attempt to mimic him not realizing when where and how you slap yourself can have a profound positive or negative effect. Student misuse of the slap-check they didnt understand is what gave Kenpo its derisive nick name from traditionalist as, the slap art.
In the Chinese Combat Science, the Slap-Check (Pak Sao) is used in part essentially as it was used by Ed Parker in the early days. Its other related concepts are Lop-Sao (blocking hand), and the Chi-Sao (sticking hand). Most in Motion-Kenpo are unaware of its existence and only a few attempt to mimic Ed Parkers use of them, but are unaware of their depth or how they actually function.
The reason for the lack of knowledge for such a important part of American Kenpo comes from Mr. Parkers decision to begin, by personal preference and necessity, to teach a motion based concept. This motion component does not utilize the Slap-Check and was abandoned by Mr. Parker in his teachings in the sixties, in favor of a more interpretive and less strict in-formal style of Kenpo, that emphasized Positional Checks, over the Pak-Sao.
Unfortunately, even then, students of Ed Parker attempted to mimic Mr. Parkers use of the Slap-Check. Their mis-understanding is the origin of the term slap art. Some of the non-Chinese traditionalist didnt understand it, along with Ed Parkers students who attempting to mimic their teacher, mis-applied it because a lack of instruction............
this methodology is in fact taught as a specific component of execution in Sub-Level Four Kenpo of American Kenpo. In fact, you cannot get to the higher levels of Kenpo in general unless you have been properly taught why, how, when, and where to Slap-Check. Where you Slap-Check is important because if you strike yourself at the wrong place at the wrong time, you make yourself susceptible to injury as you interrupt your own energy. Ive seen a couple of well-known Kenpoists do this incorrectly......................................
Purely on a mechanical level it is important to the balance of the body that neither side be Passive in its Execution of Movement. As an example, when you walk, you use both sides of your body in opposition to create a balanced movement. Did you ever try running real fast with your hands in your pocket?
Although in many way mechanical, anatomical, etc, the most intriguing aspect is how it forms the basis for simple energy transference from one side of the body to the other. When executed in conjunction with proper anatomical movement, internal energy is harnessed and moved within the confines of the overall circuit (the human body) and can actually be concentrated in one part of the body to bolster or provide substantial support. The simplest form of this is simply moving energy from one side of your centerline (conception vessel) to the other..........
Because of the complexity of its use, it is not necessarily something that can be interjected into a persons training except on a case by case physical application basis. Its use is quite specific and its misuse can have explicit complications. It is designed in SubLevel-4 to be taught in conjunction with the methodology of the specific application technique. Taken out of context it will not necessarily yield the same benefits or results, and can have as significant negative impact on its user. In other words, it is part of the overall process that it must be taught to yield consistently positive results from created energy..........................................
