Well, I think it was less the Kenpo and more the people teaching it. Both Roland Roemer and Bruce Juchnik were focused on why and how things worked and kenpo was one of their vehicles for getting that done. They taught understanding the way to people in combat interacted, the timing, distance and angle and when and where you wanted to be postioned in relation to an attacker. I have to say Roland is an excellent teacher. You would look at a student doing something and you knew it was wrong but I couldn't explain how to correct it...he would come in and in a few short words get the student doing the right thing...amazing. Bruce Juchnik...when I first attended one of his seminars (he would come to our school about 4 times a year ) I was amazed. I've seen Ed Parker move, as young guy on film and later when he was older...and I have to say Bruce was better...he knew how to apply the art and was amazing to watch when he did it. When he was doing technique based on his Chinese Kempo background...his arms were like they were spring loaded and he was in complete control of his attacker...you had to see it...
Both Roland and Bruce brought in experience from other arts to our training as well. Roland and our other instructor Dan Pauley trained with a man named Dennis Decker...He had been a long time student of Shotokan and Judo, back in the 60s and 70s and he made the tranistion to Kung Fu in a way I haven't seen other hard stylists from shotokan manage...more later...