What is this Stance Called?

[Gyakuto]

Errrr…who’s Ed Parker?

 

[Star Dragon]

Errrr…who’s Ed Parker?

Short answer: The founder of American Kenpo.

 

[Gyakuto]

Is he highly rated as a practitioner? I now vaguely remember his grey-haired image on the cover of Blackbelt magazine!

 

[Flying Crane]

Is he highly rated as a practitioner? I now vaguely remember his grey-haired image on the cover of Blackbelt magazine!

Depends on who you talk to.

 

[Gyakuto]

…and I thought Ameri-Do-Te was a spoof

 

[Flying Crane]

…and I thought Ameri-Do-Te was a spoof

My understanding is, the American-do-te fellow is an actual kenpo teacher, and he is parodying martial arts in general and kenpo in particular. There can be some rich material for lampooning there, but it depends on how it is done.

There are people who think very highly of Mr. Parker, and others who do not. Like anything, it depends on what you see in his methods and how well you perceive it as fitting your needs and interest. There are lots of people who studied under him and then essentially established their own downstream lineage. They are not all done the same way. That has historically caused both confusion and conflict between lineages, but I would say most people have let those issues go in more recent years.

Mr. Parker changed what he did and how he did it over the years, so a lot of the difference In lineages reflect when someone trained under him. Other people have simply decided to make their own alterations, including mixing elements of other methods, and created their own versions.

I believe there is kenpo in Ireland, if not other parts of the UK.

 

[Gyakuto]

Thank you, Flying Crane, that’s very informative.

 

[Flying Crane]

Thank you, Flying Crane, that’s very informative.

My pleasure. My beginnings in the martial arts was in a downstream lineage under Al and Jim Tracy, who were early students of Mr. Parker, beginning in the 1950s. They eventually split from him and rejected the changes Parker was making at the time. Since then, they have also done some changes of their own. Jim Tracy died some time ago, Al died more recently, in the last several years. I trained under a couple of teachers, one of whom was a very senior and direct student of Jim and Al. I simply refer to it as Tracy lineage kenpo. Ultimately I no longer train kenpo at all; I found that white crane simply meets my needs and interests better.

At any rate, Mr. Parker grew up and trained in Hawaii, then attended university at Brigham Young University in Utah where he taught some people before moving to California where he began to teach and develop his business model in earnest. It did flourish and his system has proliferated in various forms across the US as well as gaining footholds in some other nations. Some people feel that he developed a commercial system as a business and income model that was easier to proliferate but perhaps fails to hold to the highest standards, which was different from the kenpo that he personally practiced at a much higher standard. I am not in a position to comment on that. So he is held in very high regard in some circles, while not so high in others.

He passed away unexpectedly in 1990, I believe was in his 50s, not an old man.

 

[Gyakuto]

It’s so odd for me to hear of lineages prefixed by Western names! I’m used to ‘Harusuke‘ or ‘Masamichi‘ ha, but I suppose the martial arts were established in the USA well before they were in the U.K.!

 

[Flying Crane]

It’s so odd for me to hear of lineages prefixed by Western names! I’m used to ‘Harusuke‘ or ‘Masamichi‘ ha, but I suppose the martial arts were established in the USA well before they were in the U.K.!

Well the kenpo world in particular went through that in part to simply have a meaningful and accurate description, and also to separate and distinguish one from another. The later lineages that stayed connected to Parker until he passed came to be simply called American Kenpo in the general sense, while some referred to it as Ed Parker’s American Kenpo or EPAK. Tracys called theirs Traditional Kenpo, and often used Karate at the end, but as I came to understand the history better and recognized that even those who stayed with Parker to the end often disagreed and did things differently, there really is no unification. So I then just started calling it Tracy lineage, and I tend to refer to others by the name of the first generation student under Parker, for example Tatum lineage, etc. but even within these lineages they may not show unification down the lineage. When I started in 1984, my understanding was there was Parker style and Tracy style Kenpo, but I came to understand it was it so simple as that.

So that’s just my own short-hand, I don’t know that others refer to it in the same way.

Add to the confusion the fact the term kenpo is a generalist term, and other systems also use it i their name. In addition, there are other lineages that trace back to Hawaii and to Parker’s teacher, but not through Parker, and there are all kinds of kenpo/kempo, some of which are closely related or more distantly related, or not related at all but simply use the same term in their title.

 

[Flying Crane]

I believe there is kenpo in Ireland, if not other parts of the UK.

My mistake. I referred to Ireland as part of the UK. It is not, and I know that.

 

[Star Dragon]

It’s so odd for me to hear of lineages prefixed by Western names! I’m used to ‘Harusuke‘ or ‘Masamichi‘ ha, but I suppose the martial arts were established in the USA well before they were in the U.K.!

You may find it interesting that American Kenpo traces back to Kosho-ryu Kempo, a style founded by Hawaiian Japanese James Mitose in the early 1940's. While it developed as an eclectic style (notably, incorporating elements from Danzan-ryu Jujitsu and Southern Shaolin Kung fu), it does have its root in the Okinawan Karate/Kempo of Mutsu Mizuho and Motobu Choki. You can still see this foundation even in Mr. Parker's much revised version - for instance, American Kenpo employs all the stances characteristic of Shorin-ryu Karate, however, you won't find typical Shorei-ryu stances like sanchin-dachi or shiko-dachi in it.

And unlike modern Japanese Karate, where many traditional stances are regarded as more of a historical footnote or restricted to kata training, American Kenpo actually applies all of its stances - sometimes in idiosyncratic ways. A good example is the extension of the self-defence technique "Clutching Feathers"; watch the following video from the 6:30 mark on:

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

Errrr…who’s Ed Parker?

Nobody to be overly concerned with. Yeah I said it.

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

Short answer: The founder of American Kenpo.

First off, the book titled the secrets of Chinese karate was mostly stolen content from one James Wing Woo. Sifu Woo had the original drawings and diagrams in his kwoon that were used in the book.

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

Is he highly rated as a practitioner? I now vaguely remember his grey-haired image on the cover of Blackbelt magazine!

Depends on who you ask.

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

You may find it interesting that American Kenpo traces back to Kosho-ryu Kempo, a style founded by Hawaiian Japanese James Mitose in the early 1940's. While it developed as an eclectic style (notably, incorporating elements from Danzan-ryu Jujitsu and Southern Shaolin Kung fu), it does have its root in the Okinawan Karate/Kempo of Mutsu Mizuho and Motobu Choki. You can still see this foundation even in Mr. Parker's much revised version - for instance, American Kenpo employs all the stances characteristic of Shorin-ryu Karate, however, you won't find typical Shorei-ryu stances like sanchin-dachi or shiko-dachi in it.

And unlike modern Japanese Karate, where many traditional stances are regarded as more of a historical footnote or restricted to kata training, American Kenpo actually applies all of its stances - sometimes in idiosyncratic ways. A good example is the extension of the self-defence technique "Clutching Feathers"; watch the following video from the 6:30 mark on:

The only thing missing is master Ken.

 

[isshinryuronin]

Some people feel that he developed a commercial system as a business and income model that was easier to proliferate but perhaps fails to hold to the highest standards, which was different from the kenpo that he personally practiced at a much higher standard.

I was exposed to a number of his direct black belt students (of various degrees) and they were all tough, excellent technicians. But sadly, proliferation and commercialization often lead to lower standards and is seen in all styles.

Is he highly rated as a practitioner? I now vaguely remember his grey-haired image on the cover of Blackbelt magazine!

Ed Parker was a physical force to be reckoned with. Some had negative opinions of his personality and business dealings, but this should not bleed over to the art he practiced. Before Bruce Lee he was the major MA personality and influencer in the USA.

it does have its root in the Okinawan Karate/

This is an underappreciated fact. While the Chinese side of his art was usually highlighted, many similarities can be seen between EPK and advanced traditional Okinawan karate regarding doctrine and principles, and even (to a lesser extent) technique.

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

I was exposed to a number of his direct black belt students (of various degrees) and they were all tough, excellent technicians. But sadly, proliferation and commercialization often lead to lower standards and is seen in all styles.

Ed Parker was a physical force to be reckoned with. Some had negative opinions of his personality and business dealings, but this should not bleed over to the art he practiced. Before Bruce Lee he was the major MA personality and influencer in the USA.

This is an underappreciated fact. While the Chinese side of his art was usually highlighted, many similarities can be seen between EPK and advanced traditional Okinawan karate regarding doctrine and principles, and even (to a lesser extent) technique.

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

Sifu Rich Montgomery, Sifu James Wing Woo, Sifu Leo Whang.