hongkongfooey said:
So what is the incorrect system of Kenpo? Just because it is the latest doesn't make it correct. I would take an older version of Kenpo taught with correct basics and body mechanics over the "correct" version that many schools teach today.
And therein lies the controversy.
What is the difference between complete and correct? There are several who teach the complete kenpo cirriculum...techs, extensions, sets...2 man, staff, etc. Stuff that, for one reason or another, has been dropped out by others in kenpo. Even among them ("them" being the guys who do the complete system) you won't find 2 who teach 5 swords the same way. Minor variations will exist from school to school, and from generation to generation.
Correct differs from complete. I'm still working on my footwork in Short 1, and on making sure my hammerfists land like hammers, and not puffs (I figure, a hammer breaks whatever you hit with it, since the targets are softer than the striking tool. So, until I'm breaking bones or rupturing organs with every hammerfist in Thundering Hammers, I got no business moving on to the extension). This, to me, is correct-focused kenpo.
There are a few who will be able to do it all. I ain't one of them. Personally, I would rather really own about 1/2 dozen sparring combinations, 1/2 dozen kick-boxing combos, about 1/2 of the kenpo technique body, a handful of throws, and some wrasslin'. And I mean OWN it. I can still explore and discover new things in simple basics that I'd never seen before. Aside from participating in this thread, the bulk of the day has been spent reviewing the biomechanics of the shoulder with throwing activities, and on identifying kinematic chain dysfunctions and how to fix them. This info interestingly applies to much of what we do as kenpoists, and suggests some rather needful changes from what most do, most often.
So now, instead of tromping off to practice the complete system, I'm tromping off to re-evaluate shoulder muscle dynamics in kenpo blocks & strikes. I gots no business burning more data deeper into memory if my mechanics need improving. And my mechanics ALWAYS need improving.
But that's just me. I'm also an idiot: Ask my ex-girlfriends.
Dave