The first 3 times Kenpo made you said WOW...

[Klondike93]

1. The first was my first kenpo lesson ever. My first instructor was David Hemingway, a second degree at the time. I had just made black belt in TKD and watching him go through the yellow basics on me was, well, Wow. I was hooked on kenpo from then on.


2. Number 2 was the only time I ever got to meet Mr. Parker. Mr. Hemingway brought him in for a seminar which I got to attend. Watching and listening to him was sooooo cool and I was in such awe of him, and I still am.


3. Third was when I got my first lesson from my current kenpo instructor, Brad Scornavacco. He's a Lee Wedlake black belt and has been with him for all of his kenpo learning. It was his lineage to Mr. Wedlake that brought me to him because Mr. Wedlake had such close ties to Mr. Parker.


More "wows" to come though.


:asian:

 

[WilliamTLear]

#1) The first time Kenpo made me say wow was when I saw Rick Jeffcoat doing five swords in Larry Tatum's Kenpo Studio in Pasadena, back in 1994... before I signed up.

#2) The second time was when I saw Larry Kongaika performing techniques on a student at Ed Parker's Karate Studio in Pasadena.

#3) And, every now and then I get the itch to see Tatum beat the hell outta Clyde over and over again on his Kenpo Video Tapes... WOW, that had to hurt (rewind)... OH, that had to hurt (rewind)... he he he, look at Clyde scream like a woman!

All in good fun,
Billy

 

[IKCAMemberGary]

... was my first seminar with Chuck Sullivan and Vic LeRoux in Florida. After spending years in Shotokan, it was certainly different. And just when I thought I had seen it all, LEG CHECKS, LEG BUCKLING... Man oh man! A front stance that could be used to take someone down???? WHAT????

That was what did it for me.

Gary

 

[FUZZYJ692000]

I honestly can not remember the first time Kenpo has made me say WOW, there's been so many. Let's see, it can go from one of the first days of class when i got my arm twisted and face on the ground, to seeing a few peers being thrown and slammed on the ground, ouch, probably when a few of them have gotten some extra flier miles when getting a jumping side/jump spinning side, hook or anything else and sending them across the dojo or down the hallways, my brother walking out with blood in hand from not putting his gear on right and having it come back and hit him in the mouth....Can you see the dilemma of remembering what all came first?

In the end I think every class makes me say wow or ouch!

 

[big351stang]

#1. The first night of class at college, when I first saw my soon to be Sensei. When he walked in i was WOW this is going to be awsome.

#2. Was about half an hour later after the whole role call and BS was over and we started the hurtin stuff. As Mr. Stewart put it whe fellign that your arm was falling off durring the first 5 hand positions.

#3. Was the first time I earnd my wing and got the first of my many flier miles. after I cought my breath I said wow.

#4-infinity. Comes every night when I realize something new that makes my head spin or makes me fell pain of fly high in the air.

 

[M F]

This thread hasn't had a post in a while so I'll add my two cents here.
My first three Kenpo WOWs.
1-I walked into a little white buliding with a red roof in West Jordan, Utah. I met a man named Paul O'Bray, who was teaching a class at the time. He stepped off the mat to wlecome me. He left one of his Brown belts(Mike Arnold) in charge of the class. He talked to me about MA for a long time. Then as a demonstration that Kenpo was not a "Slap Art", he hit me with a hammer fist in the ribs from about 3"-4". I said WOW(among other things) when I caught my breath.

2-When I tested for Blue Belt at my first AKKI International Camp. Just trying to remember Form 1 while standing in front of 30 or so high ranking black belts for the first time was tough. I'm sure many of you know the feeling.

3-At this same camp I saw Paul Mills move for the first time. I had been in awe of all my instructors before this, but Mr Mills was on a different level. I've heard people say they could feel the room shake when Mr. Parker hit people. This is exactly what I experienced with Mr. Mills.

I enjoyed the WOW moments I read here, so I thought I'd leave mine. I'd also like to hear some more. Thanks.

 

[shotman]

1)My first ever viewing of a Larry Tatum seminar tape,his speed was well WOW
2)All the Ed Parker Principles in motion tapes!!
3)When I first got made a Blackbelt

In fact kenpo as a whole is still WOW, what an awesome art!!:samurai:

 

[Nightingale]

The "Wows"

1. The Compete Tournament at the Pomona Fairplex. The kenpo guys were KICKING ***!

2. The first lesson I had with Mr. Darrin Phillips and Mr. Michael Grilli. It was a moment of clarity and a thought of "now THIS is Kenpo!"

3. Visiting Mr. Larry Tatum's school and watching him teach a private lesson.

 

[Brother John]

1st Time:
1984: I was studying Tae Kwan Do, had been for a while. My instructor, Mr. Manual C. Pina, made a friend of Mr. Jack Farr, a student of Mr. Parker's. The two really hit it off and Mr. Farr made it to our school often times to teach us and help "Kenpoize" what we were doing. It made a big difference. Really my first WOW in Kenpo came not from the impressiveness of getting struck, or in anyone else getting hit... it was through the power of the logic and practical knowledge/principles that changed our practice from the ground up.

1987 (might have been 88', can't recall right off) Mr. Parker did a Seminar in my area. I attended. I was ASTOUNDED when I saw him and some of Mr. Kelly's upperbelts move!!! That was my first WOW over the speed and power of Kenpo.... it's sheer destructive value!!!!!!

1999, My best friend Sean J. Carey, who was also a student of Mr. Pina's, had moved away and had studied under Mr. Ron Boswell and then Mic and Lori Holgate... all three of whom are Mr. Mill's students... Sean calls me up and says that he is flying me and my wife and our 1 year old son out to Las Vegas where he was testing for 1st Black in the AKKI. That was 3 solid days of having my jaw ON THE FLOOR! I'd NEVER seen such power, speed and destructive AWESOMENESS!!!!!!
I was hooked...
and it's only gotten better from there.

Your Brother
John

 

[JD_Nelson]

Okay the movies served its purpose and brought about my interest. With that said.......


#1. The perfect Weapon.

#2. Seeing clips of Mr. Mills on the AKKI website.
(Sorry to bring up Organizations, but to a potential kenpo student those clips are very impressive.)

#3. In class and executing Grip of Death and watching the attacker sail through the air with very of the chest beating type effort.

The third example was a real turning point. I realize the techniques and practicing the basics are a necessary essential for any level of student. But the drilling of these makes these second nature.

Every class I make it too, leaves me in a WOW state. It is truly amazing to me that once the yellow belt curriculum is learned a kenpo player has an arsenal that will help him/her to cover her butt.

Sincerely WOW :asian:

Jeremy

 

[Michael Billings]

Kenpo related only, I had a decade of other Arts prior:

1. Tournament as a Brown Belt in Taekwondo and a saw this tall skinny dude come out into the middle of the Black Belt ring and his hair was in a pony tail to his waist. He cleaned house on everyone else in the weapons & empty hand divisions. Well it was Brian Duffy in Austin, where I was living also. Sharp shiny swords and Tiger and Crane. Gave up my Brown Belt (it was tough) and started over in 1979 in Chinese Kenpo.

2. Watching Tom Kelly at camp circa early 1980's do American Kenpo. I was used to Sigung LaBounty (punch their heart out, build the spirit, heart, and body) or Sifu Gary Swan (Hung Gar and Kenpo, way cool), but Sibok Kelly was a big man exploding and totally Annihilating any and all, opponents lucky enough to be selected as a "dummy" (yes, me included.) But he was so much more sophisticated than than I was in the Art. I was "Primitive" at best. Mr. Swan and Sigung LaBounty were not, but not enough had rubbed off on me yet.

3. Dennis Conatser (darn him) He came and did a seminar in Poteet, Texas in 1984 or 85 and lured Mr. Duffy and all his students at the time to the Dark Side ... You know, American Kenpo. He made techniques we stuggled with for years easy. I quote him regularly, "If it's hard, you are not doing it right." Mr. Duffy talked with all of us about switching over, and we were given the option, all of us switched - I am eternally grateful he trained in American Kenpo, but stayed with the Chinese Kenpo an extra year to allow me to get my Black from Sigung LaBounty, Sibok Kelly, and Gary Swan.

Between he and subsequent Mr. Parker seminars, visits from Tommy Burks, Bob Liles, Dian Tanaka, Howard Silva, John Sepulveda, etc., etc. My mouth pretty much just hung open in a constant state of WOW!

To all those who came before - OOS and Thank You,
-Michael

 

[satans.barber]

Originally posted by JD_Nelson

O
#2. Seeing clips of Mr. Mills on the AKKI website.
(Sorry to bring up Organizations, but to a potential kenpo student those clips are very impressive.)

Having scoured the Net for hours and hours over a long period of time, I've managed to gather just about every kenpo clip out there, and the Paul Mills ones are the best I can assure you!

They're the ones that I always show to people if they're curious as to what Kenpo is like.

I wish they'd make some more!

Ian.

 

[Brother John]

I wish they'd make some more!

They do Ian! And they really rock!!!!
Those on the web-site are only a few, there are others out there on the net, but there are still more. Mr. Mill's has made a DVD of many of them. If you visit the AKKI website you might find a way to buy one. WEll... it might not be available YET, but it may be soon.
later...
Your Brother
John

 

[pineapple head]

Having scoured the Net for hours and hours over a long period of time, I've managed to gather just about every kenpo clip out there, and the Paul Mills ones are the best I can assure you!

They're the ones that I always show to people if they're curious as to what Kenpo is like.

I wish they'd make some more!

Ian.

Hi Ian,

You seem to admire Mr. Mills and the AKKI for there techs ect....
Im curious, they is an AKKI club not too far from yourself (you are lucky) why don't you pay us a visit , it would be great to train with you.

Regards,
Gary.

 

[satans.barber]

Originally posted by pineapple head

Hi Ian,

You seem to admire Mr. Mills and the AKKI for there techs ect....
Im curious, they is an AKKI club not too far from yourself (you are lucky) why don't you pay us a visit , it would be great to train with you.

Regards,
Gary. [/B]

Firstly, I wouldn't call Durham 'not that far' really, it's still a pretty expensive train ride away for me, however, I might come up one day.

At the moment I have terribly little time, I'm in my final year at University, and working on the big project that I have to do, so I really haven't been anywhere very far afield since I started the semester!

If I did come up, there might be some differences of opinions though! We tend to irk EPAKers a bit sometimes I think...

The IKKA don't like us, but I think that was something to do with us winning every category at those competitions, hehe

Ian.