What is Kenpo Good For?
- Thread starter Danjo
- Start date
Well, if nothing else, Kenpo makes for a nifty music video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJd_FpS3nPQ&list=FLeUEUZ0tsO5qtHnGqw6NqNw&index=153&feature=plpp_vid
But in seriousness every single martial art style has been dismissed for one reason or another, usually by someone repeating made up statistics. I'd just ignore all of that, and make up your own mind.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJd_FpS3nPQ&list=FLeUEUZ0tsO5qtHnGqw6NqNw&index=153&feature=plpp_vid
But in seriousness every single martial art style has been dismissed for one reason or another, usually by someone repeating made up statistics. I'd just ignore all of that, and make up your own mind.
Lightning Ram
Yellow Belt
A question if Kenpo is effective, it has for me in my health, mind, and for self-defense. I would say that for some people it is not, and that could because of there Instructor or how they trained and continue to do there training. I have worked out with people that would continue to abuse there body and mind with other aspects of there life and wonder why they were not progressing. I have people telling me that MMA is better for self defense but when I spar with them they don't want me to kick to the groin. I know a few fighters that train to fight but it does seem they are progressing in there mind. I think its how you put all aspects of your training together that makes you effective.
OLD DOG NEW TRICKS
Yellow Belt
Hello Dan, this is just my 2 cents worth. I am an old school martial artist from the late 70's with a BB in Moo Duk Kwan Tang Soo Do with over 12 years of instructing and training in the Detroit area. Also some Akido training in the mix. After a long period of not training, I joined a local American Kenpo Club and a TKD club a few years ago. The old boring TKD became old very quickly for me because it was very similiar to my Tang Soo Do training, but the Kenpo, WOW. American Kenpo Ed Parker system really is a study of motion and I feel is Chess to checkers with my old style.
It was not an easy transition going from old hard style Korean to Kenpo because everything was done in a different way and breaking my old habits took some training time. Now that I feel I have started to get a good feel for kenpo I believe it is a great if not superior addition to my background and would not hesitate to use pure Kenpo in a street fight over my old style. I do think the two styels compliment eachother very well, and to be a well rounded fighter I would need some more ground training as well, but I am getting to old for that beating, haaaaaaa. All styles are good depending on what you want to get out of it. All I know is that for a 50+ year old man I can hold my own in most situations and feel great training with all age groups.
Thank you
Dave H.
It was not an easy transition going from old hard style Korean to Kenpo because everything was done in a different way and breaking my old habits took some training time. Now that I feel I have started to get a good feel for kenpo I believe it is a great if not superior addition to my background and would not hesitate to use pure Kenpo in a street fight over my old style. I do think the two styels compliment eachother very well, and to be a well rounded fighter I would need some more ground training as well, but I am getting to old for that beating, haaaaaaa. All styles are good depending on what you want to get out of it. All I know is that for a 50+ year old man I can hold my own in most situations and feel great training with all age groups.
Thank you
Dave H.
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Good post! Welcome to Martialtalk Dave.
OLD DOG NEW TRICKS
Yellow Belt
NOW THE INSTRUCTOR BECOMES THE STUDENT. A Black Belt is a white belt, who never quit!
HAPPINESS IS WANTING WHAT YOU ALREADY HAVE.
"For evil to flourish, all that is needed is for good people to do nothing. MARTIAL ARTS MAGAZINE ( KENPO)
Kenpo Karate is a self-defense system based on the natural movements of the body, the basic law of science that for every action there is an equal reaction.
Kenpo is absolutely the most ferocious style of martial arts today. Kenpo is the best and most scientific self defense system in the world at this time.
The style emphasizes incapacitating your opponent quickly so you can be ready for another attack.Kenpo training emphasizes a scientific approach to combat and features techniques
influenced by various Chinese, Japanese and Hawaiian arts. Many rapid-fire hand techniques and combinations are used.
The more frequently one trains and becomes proficient at the martial arts, the more one discovers that they have less to defend against. Confidence begins to replace fear.
Defensive skills become internalized resulting in one’s ability to walk life’s path appreciating its simple pleasures rather than be blinded by its daily perils.
“Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son.”
- DEAN WORMER (John Vernon) in National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978)
I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.
J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967) American physicist, known as the "Father of the Atomic Bomb"
I see this thread has been around for quite some time with some long breaks in between posts. Since it has popped up fairly recently I will share my 2 cents. I think Kenpo is an excellent system for self-defense. Mr. Parker and a good many of the off shoots of his style really took the techniques to a different level. Kenpo is study of a combat art but very much a study of motion. An action causes a certain reaction which in turn causes a further action. A great many people take a martial art to "learn how to fight". I define a fight as one person steps up to another and the fight is on. Truthfully most of those turn into ugly flaying until it goes to the ground and then it turns into ugly grappling, technique goes out the window. Any art worth its salt will provide a student with "tools" different ways to strike, kick, grab as well as conditioning and target acquisition, will that in itself make a person a great "fighter"? ...no. It will make them better than no training at all. Kenpo as I stated is a excellent system of self defense, meaning with proper training and conditioning a well practiced student will commit movements to subconscious memory thus when grabbed, or pushed a certain way they will react without hesitation and pretty much come out of the situation for the better. That is very different then two idiots standing toe to toe bull chested waiting to see who throws the first punch.
As the hairs stand on the back of my neck, Other arts are not better for kicking they are different for kicking. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
As the hairs stand on the back of my neck, Other arts are not better for kicking they are different for kicking. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Kenpo has its own kicks (for example, ushiro geri keage). But explosive, high kicks usually aren´t as practiced by kenpoists as by taekwondists.
I can´t imagine Joe Palanzo kicking as proficiently as Suska:
But surely Suska´s uchi waza combinations are nos as speed as those of Larry Tatum:
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Explosive high does not mean the kick is better; it means the kick is higher.
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Explosive high does not mean the kick is better; it means the kick is higher.
In kenpo, taekwondo-style kicks are used, for example, "reprimanding the bears" is a set that could be easily used in ho sin sul (TKD self defense).
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I imagine anybody from a Kenpo system is going to make only positive statements about Kenpo. I am not of a Kenpo system so I speak freely and only base my statements on my personal experience. I only know Kenpo from a half dozen dojos, all in the New England area. Joe Espositos in Newton MA (I've dropped in and trained with them for over thirty years at the same place) Tony Cogliandro's organization and his schools past and present (same time frame) George Pasare's in Rhode Island, Kalii Kano Griffin's in Springfield MA, Nick Cerios (may they RIP)
I can tell you a couple things. They all trained hard. Real hard. (no dry gis on any night) They could all fight like the Dickens. Not just in the dojo and not just in tournaments, I mean those boys could fight. And all gentlemen and ladies.
I like Kenpo.
I can tell you a couple things. They all trained hard. Real hard. (no dry gis on any night) They could all fight like the Dickens. Not just in the dojo and not just in tournaments, I mean those boys could fight. And all gentlemen and ladies.
I like Kenpo.
That was TKD style, huh?
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MartialMellow
Green Belt
Is Kenpo similar to the Chinese "Quan" arts?:idunno:
Ap chagi, moo rop chagi, yop chagi are TKD leg kicks. Backfist are also used in TKD.
Really, "reprimanding the bears" is a technique that could be used in TKD. Also, TKD kicks training methods could be used in kenpo.
Lima lama is a fighting style that combines kenpo and TKD.
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Chinese styles often use longer movements. Kenpo movements use to be short range techniques.
That would be depend on who's Kenpo you are talking about.
wingchun100
Senior Master
This may be oversimplifying things, but the only time I have seen a martial art be ineffective is when you go to a school where you use it only against other people practicing the same style. I went to a school where all we did was spar as if we were in a tournament, which isn't realistic because people aren't going to fight that way on the street! You have to practice in self-defense situations.
Then why do you train? Or... do you train?
