Doc
Senior Master
Recently several questions have arisen on issues of using the term commercial Kenpo, on honorary ranks, competition versus street skills, and the quality of kenpo being taught today. This is a post from another Kenpo open forum (San Jose Kenpo) by Mills Crenshaw, an old student of Ed Parker who predates my entry into the arts under Ed Parker and therefore my senior. His perspectives have always been interesting, and for me, very insightful. His post could have easily been written by myself. The truth is, most from that era who don't make a living teaching, and willing to be public, share the same general feelings. Let the discussions begin.
Doc
REALITY !
September 12 2006 at 9:17 PM
MillsCrenshaw (Login MillsCrenshaw)
Response to Mills Crenshaw - Kenpo Questions
An excellent question, Sifu Chet,
Ed Parkers early Black Belts were trained as warriors. It was a very hard system. By that I mean brutal not just difficult. As Im sure you heard Ed Parker say:
To hear is to disbelieve; to see is to doubt; but to feel is to be convinced! We FELT every technique again and again. Kenpo was not a game. It was not a sport. It was life and death reality. We knew that each skill worked because we experienced it. Thats the way we were taught; and that was the way we were taught to teach.
The sport of karate is a recent development that has seriously distorted and degraded both the meaning and practice of the art. Make no mistake, competition is fun. But competition changes the skills of the competitors and breeds political discord between competing schools. In fact, through the years, politics has replaced honor and the pursuit of trophies has replaced the quest for personal excellence. Its sad that most students will never know what Kenpo was really like.
I fought Mike Stone in Chicago (that was during the Jurassic period as I recall). He was a warrior, and a man of honor at that point in his life. Time after time points would be scored that were too fast for the judges to see...or were scored with weapons with which the judges were un familiar. I recall Mike looking around at the judges and pointing at his temple about the third time they missed a hard back-knuckle . It was a gesture of a true champion who wanted no unearned honors.
Today you find that integrity in golf but not, I fear, in the martial arts. As a result, many years ago, I lost interest in contests between preening and posturing combatants who wouldnt last 30 seconds in a life and death struggle.
To this day, if you ask any of my students they shudder when they remember the rigors they undertook to achieve mastery of their art.
Tony Martinez was recently honored with his 10th degree black belt (Im sure you are aware that in Ed Parkers system any rank above 5th degree is honorary).
I was invited by Tonys students to speak at the surprise banquet held in his honor. It was a privilege to pay tribute to a valiant warrior who had been trained in the old school and who never forgot the basic fact that the art had to have its foundation based in reality.
Tony, Dan Lynch, Casey Clayton and the many police officers I was privileged to train never forgot that lesson, because they were convinced they felt the reality of the techniques they were taught.
Forgive me, I didnt mean for this answer to turn into a book;.but it was an outstanding question; one that deserved an answer... An important final point. There are men running dojos who brutalize their students and call it training. These men are not worthy of being called teachers let alone Master. I taught the way Ed Parker taught me. Pain was a valuable instructor. When teaching a new technique each student was allowed to be convinced that it was really effective. Then he was allowed to convince me. My average advanced class had 35 students. Therefor, for every punch a student took, I took 35. That was Ed Parkers method of preventing his instructors from becoming brutal with their students.
Sadly, American students are not willing to put up with the discomfort necessary to really understand the art.
The Tracys were quick to understand that and modified their training to make it short goal oriented and user friendly.
Their choice was neither right nor wrong. They were clever enough to package their version of the art for American consumers. It was commercially successful.
Many, including Ed Parker, came to the realization that in order to to make a living they would have to teach consumers commercial Kenpo.
But never forget, beneath the many colored belts and friendly forms, there lurks a deadly REALITY.
MC
Doc
REALITY !
September 12 2006 at 9:17 PM
MillsCrenshaw (Login MillsCrenshaw)
Response to Mills Crenshaw - Kenpo Questions
An excellent question, Sifu Chet,
Ed Parkers early Black Belts were trained as warriors. It was a very hard system. By that I mean brutal not just difficult. As Im sure you heard Ed Parker say:
To hear is to disbelieve; to see is to doubt; but to feel is to be convinced! We FELT every technique again and again. Kenpo was not a game. It was not a sport. It was life and death reality. We knew that each skill worked because we experienced it. Thats the way we were taught; and that was the way we were taught to teach.
The sport of karate is a recent development that has seriously distorted and degraded both the meaning and practice of the art. Make no mistake, competition is fun. But competition changes the skills of the competitors and breeds political discord between competing schools. In fact, through the years, politics has replaced honor and the pursuit of trophies has replaced the quest for personal excellence. Its sad that most students will never know what Kenpo was really like.
I fought Mike Stone in Chicago (that was during the Jurassic period as I recall). He was a warrior, and a man of honor at that point in his life. Time after time points would be scored that were too fast for the judges to see...or were scored with weapons with which the judges were un familiar. I recall Mike looking around at the judges and pointing at his temple about the third time they missed a hard back-knuckle . It was a gesture of a true champion who wanted no unearned honors.
Today you find that integrity in golf but not, I fear, in the martial arts. As a result, many years ago, I lost interest in contests between preening and posturing combatants who wouldnt last 30 seconds in a life and death struggle.
To this day, if you ask any of my students they shudder when they remember the rigors they undertook to achieve mastery of their art.
Tony Martinez was recently honored with his 10th degree black belt (Im sure you are aware that in Ed Parkers system any rank above 5th degree is honorary).
I was invited by Tonys students to speak at the surprise banquet held in his honor. It was a privilege to pay tribute to a valiant warrior who had been trained in the old school and who never forgot the basic fact that the art had to have its foundation based in reality.
Tony, Dan Lynch, Casey Clayton and the many police officers I was privileged to train never forgot that lesson, because they were convinced they felt the reality of the techniques they were taught.
Forgive me, I didnt mean for this answer to turn into a book;.but it was an outstanding question; one that deserved an answer... An important final point. There are men running dojos who brutalize their students and call it training. These men are not worthy of being called teachers let alone Master. I taught the way Ed Parker taught me. Pain was a valuable instructor. When teaching a new technique each student was allowed to be convinced that it was really effective. Then he was allowed to convince me. My average advanced class had 35 students. Therefor, for every punch a student took, I took 35. That was Ed Parkers method of preventing his instructors from becoming brutal with their students.
Sadly, American students are not willing to put up with the discomfort necessary to really understand the art.
The Tracys were quick to understand that and modified their training to make it short goal oriented and user friendly.
Their choice was neither right nor wrong. They were clever enough to package their version of the art for American consumers. It was commercially successful.
Many, including Ed Parker, came to the realization that in order to to make a living they would have to teach consumers commercial Kenpo.
But never forget, beneath the many colored belts and friendly forms, there lurks a deadly REALITY.
MC
