You have to remember that I'm in the heart of Kenpoland, with access to alot of the Senior BB's around at that time, and was training in the West LA studio with Mr. Parker when you were merely thinking of doing Kenpo in High School, so I'm speaking from a much more informed position. It may come off as arroagance but it's actually knowledge. The reason I bring up your lineage and how far removed you are is usally indicative of the cloning effect. The more you copy the copy, the more degenerative it becomes, so in effect, we may very well be doing different systems.
Wow! Tell me you didn't say that. This reeks of that same old tired arrogance and elitism that Mr. Parker used to complain about when he was alive -- that some of his SoCal people think they know it all when they really didn't have a clue. Give me (and every other Kenpoist who doesn't live in SoCal) a break. Since when does your place of residence and pedigree give you a monopoly on the golden truth? Is a Catholic any better because he and his ancestors are from Rome? Well -- the Pope is from Poland.
Everything ain't equally good--the very claim that kenpo makes to being a science (now there's an arguable one) relies on the idea that, in the end, there is such a thing as the right way and the wrong way, the good concept and the poor one.
I agree that many alternatives people come up with violate principles, but you (Robert) and Clyde take it to the other extreme of there is one right way, and that is your way, and as soon as someone puts up another alternative, out comes the broken record of "well my instructor is so-and-so, I live in Kenpoland, etc., so my opinion carries more weight." (See above.)
If there is a right way or a wrong way, which one is the right way? The way it was done in the early eighties when your instructor and Mr. Parker split? Or the version that was around when Mr. Parker died? They are different, you know. (See your conversation about Kicking Set). The extensions changed in that time, too. How some of the base techniques were executed changed. So which is the true gospel? If there is a right and a wrong and there can be only be one -- which is it? Early eighties or 1990?
However, there are rights and wrongs in technique. For example, shoving down on the body with the heel palms is MOST LIKELY wrong because, a) it's awkward, b) you might force them to head-butt you, c) if they did go down ( unlikely) their feet might very well come up, and you be discomfited; d) this wouldn't jibe with the extension at all..
Well, since this is the technical forum, lets talk about Begging Hands. I actually saw Mr. Parker do the palm heels exactly as you are saying is MOST LIKELY wrong. This was just a couple of years before he passed. He actually slammed right down on the chest, torquing outward, not up under the ribs like you feel is so important, and how it is written. He said (paraphrasing), "I like to do it this way to crack the sternum and split the chest in two." Is this the way it is written? No. But do this and that precious little extension becomes unnecessary.
d) this wouldn't jibe with the extension at all.
I can't believe I am actually hearing this. Are you trying to justify a version of the base technique with the extension? That cart is way in front of the horse. Well, guess what -- if you ever even get to an extension there is something seriously wrong with your Kenpo.
I just have to laugh when people place such importance on the extensions. And, yes, I learned the 24 technique per belt system and the extensions. Got tested by Mr. Parker himself up through 2nd black, and he never asked once to see an extension. He wanted us to hit the base and then formulate based on what was there at the time. It soon became apparent to me that all of this endless memorization of patterns was for people who couldn't/wouldn't think for themselves, but who wanted to feel like they were learning something new. Do extensions have good ideas? Yes. But by then you should have the master keys and more than anything, they hide, by their sheer volume, what is really important.
Mr. Parker used to say that if he really didn't want to teach some one, he would dump on them more than they could handle. It seems to me there is a lot of that going on with the memorization of countless, endless pattern sequences and extensions and never learning what is really important. Anyone who thinks that Kenpo is about memorizing countless, endless pattern sequences exactly as written completely missed the boat and is sitting on the pier with their bags packed full of extensions.
All I ask is that you ACTUALLY listen and consider someone else's opinion. Treat others as peers, even if they are a 5th generation white belt living in Timbuktu, not subordinates. Who knows, you might actually learn something.
Derek
