Global Kenpo Council

[Gary Crawford]

I'll tell ya'll one thing that WKC could be a positive thing for,a central rank registration registry.What if someone earned rank a long time ago,and their school and instructors had died afterwards?Who do they look to ,to have a copy of it or for someone to verify their credentials?That is a worthwhile endevour of it's own.

 

[Seig]

Embrace the DARK SIDE Seig, is this an unusual post by Kenpo Yahoo? Let those who have those opinions go their merry way, besmirching the memories of those who tried to make something better, and keep the flame alive.

The reality bites in a lot of ways, but it is way too late to call it back, and if positive reframing does not work, there are always those who can say "I told you so" ... and everyone knows how most people feel about those who like to say "I told you so." Kenpo Yahoo finds his own level, you don't need to join him down there. I understand the sentiment however and respect it.

-Michael

Michael,
I wasn't stooping, I was trying to elicit a specific response, and I got it, read on.

I never said you couldn't think positively, but if you want your Global council to work the aforementioned issues will need to be addressed. What suggestions do you have for dealing with inter-organization cooperation?

Inter-organizational problems will always exist. The only way to do realistically deal with it goes back to my goverment model. By setting it up in a way that all members get to vote on issues. Like any democratic body, compromises will have to be sought on a variety of issues. You and I fundamentally disagree on many things, I am sure, but does that mean that a middle ground or a commonality cannot be found? I don't think so.

What would be the benefits associated with such a conglomerate?

I do not know all of the answers here, but there are some that would be obvious. First off, there would be a sanctioning body, this would help to root out and expose those that are giving EPAK a bad name in some quarters. I could probably write a dissertation on this but find this not the time or the place. It would also facilitate the passing of informatiuon between groups. There are what I call the purists and the evolutionists, both have valid ideas. Wouldn't be a positive thing to have a venue where these ideas could go back and forth? Then if someone did come up with a revolutionary new innovation, all could benefit from it.

Do the benefits if any really warrant the need for such an organization?

I believe so, there is too much bad kenpo and too many charlatans out there. This would provide a way for people new to Kenpo or those that have been defrauded into believing they are training with Ed Parker's secret ninja master to have a way to either validate their training or to invalidate something or someone that needs it. It would also provide a more open community to allow Kenpo to continue to grow. Look at people that have studied for years that wake up one day and find they have no instructor, this would make for a fall back scenario that would allow them to continue their journey in such a way that they would not continually have to start over.

Some people have mentioned they would like to see the Council and subsequent organization set up like a government. So how do you keep such a large group of instructors with their checks and balances, from turning into a Martial Bureaucracy?

That's the beauty of it, you can vote them out or impeach them.

No one said you couldn't be positive, but maybe you should be a little more realistic.

Negative does not always = realistic. There has never been a system that was perfect or even at it's best at it's inception. Everything has to go through grwoing pains and evolutions.

I never said seniors don't deserve respect, but how do you get so many Alpha male leaders to agree enough to get anything done?

So, you didn't say

As for the Kenpo Senior Council, I thought that was a joke.

?
I believe the "Alpha male leaders" agree more than you may think. Many of them maintain friendships to this day. It appears you are still thinking in terms of one person in charge indefinately. Since Mr. Mills and Mr. Tatum are both so popular on this board, I am going to use them as examples. Let's say that for the first term, Mr. Mills is President and Mr. Tatum is Vice President. Neither has autonamy, if they have a proposal, they have to put it to the "Congress" and "Representatives", once the idea has been worked out, it goes to the members. Once they have looked at it, it goes back up the chain. Is it efficient, probably not, but it is fair. I don't think the idea is to set up the Council of 12 to be the end all be all of Kenpo.

Again what would be the benefits of having such an organization?

Asked and answered. The benefits would continue to grow as the organization did.

Nobody has mentioned why such an organization is necessary or even more beneficial than your average association.

We see that argument all the time, standardization, not necessarily on curriculuum, but on quality. Also, validation. It might stop so many people that do not deserve ranks from putting them on in Mr. Parker's name.

Really the only thing that anyone has said is that it would be "COOL."

Ya know, it just might at that.

Seig, I'm sorry you had to stoop down to my level (right... :moon: :2xbird: ).

I didn't, I programmed you to respond in a manner I perceived you would.

I'm also sorry that you have neglected to answer any of the important questions, like how to make it work, or what the real benefits might be.

Actually, I posted very early on on how I would make a start of it. I'm not high enough on the food chain to "make it work". I also thought the benefits would be obvious to the open mind.

I'm not keeping you from your dream of reunification, I'm just stating my opinion which is based on what I've seen in the past. If you thought that this was such a great idea, you wouldn't have been so easily dissuaded.

I am not a Romulan. I do not see reunification as possible or realistic. What I see is a brotherhood built on friendship, comraderie, and commonality. I see Kenpoists supporting each other on their journeys. I still think it's a great idea and I was never dissuaded. I am really surprised you didn't see the sarcasm dripping from your screen.

By the way if you want to be pissed at me because the Easter Bunny isn't real you can go ahead and do that too.

First off all, I am a jew.

I didn't kill him

No, I did and he was delicious.

but then again I didn't kill the GKC either. Oh well.......

No, you didn't. If you were to take your thoughts and concerns and put them into a positive manner and use constructive criticism with your obviously good critical thinking skills, think of what an asset you could be.

 

[Kenpo Yahoo]

I think you misunderstood what I said or perhaps I wasn't clear when I said

As for the Kenpo Senior Council, I thought that was a joke.

I did not mean that I thought it was a joke, like hey what a bunch of losers look at them. What I meant was I thought it was a joke, like "hey that's not a real organization, it's something you made up."

I imagined some guy sitting around, watching Star Wars a few too many times, and then saying," Hey you know what we need? A Senior council, just like the Jedi have." With all this talk about the "dark side" and/or "the force is strong in this one" b.s., I just figured this was another Star Wars joke that somebody made up a while back. Especially since I hadn't heard of them doing anything within the community. That's why I was surprised when Mr. Conatser brought up the Senior Council which I thought to be myth, or in otherwords someone's joke.

Anyway, at least your last response brought a little objective substance to the discussion. Something being COOL only goes so far, then there has to be some sort of plan or reasoning to support it. I think it would be cool if I could own and carry, in public (in the U.S.), a fully automatic M-4 with grenade launcher and silencer (obviously for the gun not the grenade launcher), but why the hell do I need a toy.... errr.. I mean firearm like this? Sure owning such a weapon would be cool, but sorta unnecessary at least for my purposes.

I could really care less if anyone on this board likes me, but I am going to keep asking questions popular or unpopular? Just because there are methods in place doesn't mean that they are good, or even what Mr. Parker intended them to be at this time. It never hurts to question. If there is a valid logical reason that can withstand a little scrutiny, much like science or mathematical hypothesis' must face, then it shouldn't be a problem to question these methods. However, if they don't withstand scrutiny then a reason for failure must be found and/or an appropriate solution be drawn up.

Anyway, I'm starting to meander between subjects so I'll shut up now. Keep the Reunification Dream alive, if you so choose, but at least try to approach it in an objective manner.

 

[Seig]

Now, that was a good post.

 

[Rick Wade]

Pardon my mistake I do have a great deal of respect for Kenpo 2000. My apologies. And Yes Most all American Kenpo is incredible. As long as we can remember that we can all get along. I will consider this the first step in reconciling our chat room friendship. Truce?

Respectfully
Rick

 

[Touch Of Death]

Pardon my mistake I do have a great deal of respect for Kenpo 2000. My apologies. And Yes Most all American Kenpo is incredible. As long as we can remember that we can all get along. I will consider this the first step in reconciling our chat room friendship. Truce?

Respectfully
Rick

Truce. I have already forgotten what we were arguing about. :asian:
Sean

 

[DavidCC]

just for consideration, some thoughts from a manager:

the bigger the goal, the bigger the miss.

An organization has 2 parts - the leaders and the members.

The best members belong to benefit from the fruits of the labors of the leaders, and eventually bear fruit themselves. The worst members belong in order to become leaders.

The leaders are a team that produce something - benefits for the members.

It won't come to exist in a vacuum so you have to include existing leaders of the community that you wish to assist.

So, in light of all that...

You want to start a new organization, you have to start small - you need 2 things. You need a leadership team and you need to develop a benefit to offer.

To have a team you have to communicate. Establish a channel of communication between the leadership team. It must be open and available to address the group as a whole (not a phone list, more like a conference call) It must be frequently used. it must be private so that they can be candid. It must be personal so that it can be accountable. (that rules out a chat room or a forum).

So, the bigger the goal the bigger the miss. Develop one benefit, and offer it to people. That's not an organization, it's just a service to anyone interested. If that takes off do it again, a few times and then you might have the beginning of an organization. Don't try to replicate the Federal Beuaracracy, do you realize how silly that sounds LOL. What has the gov't done for you lately hahaha Who will run K-OSHA?

Start small, involve the existing leadership of the community, develop and offer benefits of real value and let those who appreciate them evolve into an organization.

possible benefits, just taken from this website iI've read in the last week: produce new texts, teaching materials, or visual aids. competition sponsorship and sanction. rank testing and sanction. school locator and references database. Instructor instruction (quality assurance). a clearing house and / or laboratory or library for research. a museum.

those are all very exciting ideas!

I could go on, but this post is already 3 times longer than I intended...

Thanks for your time...

David

 

[Kenpomachine]

No, we don't hate it. And even less if the post is helpful and gives some good ideas and is positive

 

[Fastmover]

Here are my short thoughts:

1. There are too many organizations..............extremely happy and successful
.........teaching and promoting their own philosophy. Why would these groups
want to join? At the moment there is something out there for everyone.

2. The seniors today, themselves do not agree on many issues involving Kenpo. If the seniors can not get together and agree with each other....
......then how are the rest of us expected to? Along these lines I do not think
such an venture would be successful without one true leader.

3. We all can not politely discuss and respect each others different opinions
on the forums, how would we ever do this within a close personal union?

4. So much of the leaders efforts would be spent dealing with political
pressures and agendas that nothing would probably ever get done. Certainly
dealing with so many issues would take time away from teaching Kenpo.
Sorry Id rather see the seniors dedicating their time to teaching and doing
seminars to pass on their knowledge.

I could be wrong and I hate being negative, but I dont think such
an arrangement would work.

John