training in hawaii

[lonecoyote]

I know some people on this board train in hawaii. What's it like to train in the birthplace of kenpo? Do you know any oldtimers in hawaii who trained with Chow, Parker, or Emperado? Are there any kenpo landmarks to visit, places that should be important to kenpo practitioners?

 

[Les]

I know some people on this board train in hawaii. What's it like to train in the birthplace of kenpo?

Personally, I wouldnt have classed Hawaii as the birthplace of Kenpo.
Mr Parker started his training there, but when he created the American Kenpo system he was living on the mainlandland of the USA.

I would have said the birthplace of Kenpo either had to be Provo, Utah, or Pasadena, California.

Les

 

[dsp921]

Utah or California might be the birthplace of EPAK, but Parker is not
the originator of all kenpo/kempo. Most forms of kenpo/kempo can trace their
roots back to Hawaii, I'm with lonecoyote, what we know as kenpo/kempo
today got it's start in Hawaii. Even Parker started there.

 

[Rick Wade]

I have seen sensi Bobby Lowe who is deffinetly an old timer just do some incredible things reguardless of his age. He runs a GREAT dojo and can still hold his own with anybody. He has me by at least 40 years and I wouldn't want to be opposing him in a dark alley. He is still that tough. For you non history guys. Boby Lowe is the fifth person to earn his black belt after Hawaii became a state. He latter left Proffesor Chow and went on to spend a 1000 days under Masa Ooyama in Japan where he did nothing but eat sleep and breath Martial Arts. But training here is really great I know some of Mr. Parkers relatives and it is great to here stories of the Old Man on a personnal level.

Respectfully

 

[Karazenpo]

Without out a doubt, the birthplace of modern kenpo/kempo is Hawaii. The vast majority of all the kenpo/kempo systems practiced today trace their roots to post World War 2 Hawaii.

 

[Les]

I totally agree that modern Kenpo has it's roots in Hawaii.

But having your roots there and it being your birthplace aren't the same thing.

Take this example:

Your family come from Wyoming. Your father is in the military, and is posted to a base in Europe. Your mother, pregnant with you, is with him and you are born in Germany.

Your roots are in Wyoming, but your birthplace is Germany.

Maybe I'm being a little pedantic, ( a French word with it's roots in Italian) but thats how it seems to me.

Les

 

[Rick Wade]

I am not going to argue roots verses birthplace but I will say I talked to some locals that Mr. Parker used to teach (yes he taught before he moved to America, and yes Hawaii wasn't a state back then) and they said Mr. Parker would teach them as long as they helped his father, brother and him build the Mormon church on the weekend. If you didn't show up to help with the church he would come looking for you.

V/R

 

[Rick Wade]

If any of you are planning a trip to Oahu Hawaii. Pm me and we can get together I will show you around and we can work out.

Until then Aloha and Mahalo

Rick

 

[TigerWoman]

What it would be like to train in Hawaii? Well, you wouldn't have to go shovel your drive to get your car out to find out that nobody else made it to the dojang either in the winter. We went to Kauai and it was HEAVEN, we didn't want to come back. I even looked to see where the nearest TKD was, but just karate and hapkido, if I remember right. But I did do Yoga on the beach and it was fantastic. I haven't been to the other islands but they can't be that different. What a fine place for Kenpo to have originated from.

 

[Rick Wade]

What it would be like to train in Hawaii? Well, you wouldn't have to go shovel your drive to get your car out to find out that nobody else made it to the dojang either in the winter. We went to Kauai and it was HEAVEN, we didn't want to come back. I even looked to see where the nearest TKD was, but just karate and hapkido, if I remember right. But I did do Yoga on the beach and it was fantastic. I haven't been to the other islands but they can't be that different. What a fine place for Kenpo to have originated from.

I agree with you it is great to be in Hawaii, however I will diagreeevery island is as diffrent as another country as far as landscape. Oahu is very modern and very much like a city, where as Kuaai is the garden island and very green and tropical. The big island is very rough terain with the volcanos and all. It actually snows in the winter ontop of the big Island not much but it does snow. I know some people that snow ski in the morning and surf in the afternoon, just to say they did it.

V/R