Taijutsu and Ed Parker Kenpo

[Goldendragon7]

My instructor tells me that my Kenpo training will complement the Taijutsu.
Thanks -

I believe your instructor is correct. Kenpo can complement any martial art. It's base is in the logical study of motion and mechanics from a pragmatic point of view.

:asian:

 

[Grey Eyed Bandit]

The question is, are you sure you're not trying to fix something that isn't broken?

 

[Don Roley]

I believe your instructor is correct. Kenpo can complement any martial art. It's base is in the logical study of motion and mechanics from a pragmatic point of view.

I used to make statements like that. But experience has taught me the fact that using wide ranging generalizations such as "any martial art" should not be used.

Nothing can be everything. There are limits on what we can do and what things can be. To do extremely well in one area you usually have to sacrifice other areas.

There is nothing wrong in either a Ferrari or an 18 wheeler truck. Both do the jobs they were designed for very, very well. But it is wrong to try to put the engine of the 18 wheeler into the Ferrari. If you try to get the performance of the Ferrari with the carry load of the truck you will end up with some sort of Frankenstein's monster that does neither very well. Even just the wheels, despite the fact they are both round and black, cannot be shared between the two without changing the entire set up of the vehicle and it's purpose.

And humans have been developing and systemizing ways of harming others for far longer than they have been building automobiles.

I have found that the habits I see being built up in one art are "wrong" in another art. Neither art is bad. But the way they approach the problem makes for a certain reality that they have to follow. Habits are built up and a good habit in one approach is a bad habit in another.

From what I see of Kenpo, there are some similarities. There are similarities in just about everything under the sun. But the Tao Te Ching says that they use of a wheel is in the part that is void and Dirty Harry said, "A man has to know his limitations." The differences are there and they are important.

Without a good teacher and/or the experience to see the differences and the reasons for them, it is very easy to bring old habits into a new art and think that you are doing well. In my youth I thought a punch was just a punch. But now I have come to see that there are great differences and the reasons for them in the ways different arts hit with a closed fist. And that differences in punching are only the tip of the iceburg.

Those that do not really have a core, do not know their own art and know little of other arts tend to fall into the trap of being the frog that sits at the bottom of a well and thinks it knows all about the great seas. I do not beleive that any art is the grand ultimate style and I have seen enough of the great wealth and diversity in all the martial arts out there to not make any broad generalizations.

In this case, I think that Mister Mike is the best placed to talk about the differences between the two arts. He seems to love them both and talks about the differences in the subtleties between them. I would advise we listen to him.