what makes it kenpo?

[Turner]

This topic hits very close to home with me since it almost looks like Chris is telling my story. I started learning the martial arts when I was 7 and I'm now 24 giving me 17 years of experience in a variety of different martial arts. I've discovered that Kenpo is my art because many of the same principles that I discovered over the years (Web of knowledge, family groupings, Overskill, equation formula and etc) were also discovered by Mr. Parker long before I was even alive. That excites me, and yet as I look at the curriculum developed by Mr. Parker, I see problems. The techniques and the forms are great, don't get me wrong, but I feel that the same thing can be accomplished in a more efficient manner.

All of the techniques are very fun and I'm sure very effective to use. (I haven't used them in combat so I can't attest to their effectiveness.) Yet I see far too much of the same combinations used over and over in different techniques. In some cases it is necessary because it is teaching a certain point... that the same technique can be used in response to a different attack. That is wonderful and should be taught, but how many times? I believe that once is enough.

The web of knowledge is something that I believed in long before I even knew who Mr. Parker or Kenpo was and so I know that it should be taught and yet I think that the web of knowledge as presented by EPAK needs a little work to connect each level of the web and create the whole. The goal should be to provide the student the ability to defend themselves against an attack as soon as possible. Most arts teach that you might as well fall over and die if you get cornered before you reach your black belt. I disagree and think that you should have experience against as many different types of attacks as possible to give you a fighting chance as early as purple belt. So why are defenses against knives presented at the higher levels? Why are defenses against multiple assailants presented at higher levels? I think they should be included as early as yellow belt.

My approach to teaching my students is this: I'm responsible for his or her life if s/he is attacked. If I hold her back by teaching her foreign languages, how to weave baskets or by saying that she has to remain in rank for X amount of time and she gets attacked and doesn't know what to do... IT IS MY FAULT. So I want my teaching to be as efficient as possible. I know that I can't teach her how to defend herself against every single situation so I have to spend my time teaching her the basic concepts of self defense... how each move needs to flow with each other, how to add or subtract or rearrange moves in a technique so that she can adjust to fit the situation, how to maximize her attack by making the assailant work against himself. This is my duty... relaying the concepts of combat.

Mr. Parker was a brilliant man in his creation of Kenpo. Give him credit where it is due. But was he perfect? Absolutely not! Is it so illogical to think that someone can't continue to build where He left off? I don't have to be a brilliant man to take his teachings and improve them. I have a base to go on. The brilliance has been given to me and by looking at it and putting it under the microscope it is possible to see flaws and work on improving them just as I expect for someone to work on those improvements and find flaws and make it even better. That is the way of the world.

Since Kenpo is all about Analogies, lets use one. Inventing the wheel. Is this about reinventing the wheel? Absolutely not!
A long time ago someone discovered that round objects rolled and used that concept to make a stone wheel.
A long time ago someone discovered that the body could be used as a weapon.
Time passed and someone realized that it would be easier of the wheel where made out of wood.
Time passed and someone realized that elbow strikes were more effective than striking with the fist.
Time flies by and now we have a very light tire that is extremely durable.
Time flies by and now we have Kenpo Karate.

A tire still has room to evolve. It can be made lighter and more durable.
Kenpo still has room to evolve. That evolution can come from any one of us, whether it is a 23 year old or 50 year old. Age doesn't mean anything when it comes to making discoveries. It is all about perspective.

Chris may be utterly wrong in his approach just as I might be, but the seniors should do everything in their power to encourage him/me to help the art evolve instead of giving reasons why we don't have the experience to have a hand in it's evolution. As misguided as I might be, improving the art and seeking more efficient ways to convey the art should be encouraged rather than supressed.

That is my opinion and I'm a nobody so feel free to ignore me.

Doug

 

[lonekimono]

Hey turner when you write your book i'll buy it but this to long to read right now, have to go open the school,,oh and disco must be great to be the king

 

[Old Fat Kenpoka]

Right on! You two open-minded youngsters are why Kenpo has a bright future. Keep what works, discard what doesn't. Find out what else works, add it to your Kenpo. Most importantly, keep on keepin on.

 

[lonekimono]

OFK i was born in 1955, started kenpo in 65 u do the math, cause i don't like to anymore :rofl:

 

[Old Fat Kenpoka]

Lonekimono: I was born in 1961 and started Kenpo in 1973. You are clearly much more senior than I. I can only hope that you are not as fat as I am. I also hope that we can all respect and benefit from the inquisitiveness and open-mindedness of the next generation.

 

[twinkletoes]

Doug-

That was a very sensible and well thought post. I think we see eye to eye on many things. I'm glad to see we are not the only ones, either.

Certainly we recognize that a great level of knowledge went into the creation and organization of what we know as modern Kenpo Karate. We would be equally foolish not to recognize that nothing we do today is "the pinnacle of development" in any field. Kenpo must develop along with our understanding of everything else in the world. Times change.

(To that end, I think it was late in Infinite Insights Vol 1 that Mr. Parker used an example of a machine gun in the colliseum. If we still had the understanding and used the methods of that time, we would not be taking into account modern technological advances. I believe he says that it behooves us to keep abreast of new developments in ways to use our natural weapons. I believe that this also includes the way we train them.)

Best,

~Chris

 

[Disco]

Shhhhhh........ Not so loud, my wife mite hear...................

Have a good workout at the school.....:asian:

 

[Kirk]

Are you saying that:

Forms have been used for centuries in the martial arts. Mr Parker
passed away 13 years ago, and before his passing he mentioned
nothing of eliminating forms AFAIK. But in the past 13 years,
technology has advanced so much that we should now eliminate
forms and techniques and move on to something else???

 

[Old Fat Kenpoka]

Kirk: That is exactly the argument proposed by advocates of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, JKD, Muay Thai, and Mixed Martial Arts.

Even if you think this view is extreme, there is some validity in the argument that spenidng more time on basics, technique application, and sparring is a more effective method for training to fight.

 

[twinkletoes]

Kirk,

Yes and no. Boxing and wrestling have been around longer than many other martial arts, and they contain neither forms nor techniques. My understanding of the origin of kata is that it was often used to teach long-distance students who had limited amounts of time with the master. This way the material was in a memorizable and easy-to-practice format. In that contect, they are an excellent tool.

I know that people will say "but forms and techniques build attributes: they teach correct motion and movement, and they build attention to detail and accuracy, as well as focus an concentration. When done the right way they are also quite a workout." These people are right--there'so denying these things. There are other important attributes, though, like timing and distancing. These cannot be practiced fully through pre-choreographed routines, even two-man ones.

Forms and techniques DO develop the attributes I mentioned above. But so does bag work, pad work, and other kinds of drills. These drills can also build the other attributes I mentioned, and foster better ability for improvisation.

Does that mean they should be replaced? I'm not sure. That's a big decision. However, it does mean that they are not the "be all and end all" of learning the martial arts that some people would say they are. And even admitting that is a big step for some people.

Best,

~Chris

 

[A.R.K.]

Posted by Disco way back on another page...

"Kenpo is a mindset. We train to make that mindset a reality. That mindset is...... total annihilation"!

That was Ed Parker, right?

:asian:

 

[lonekimono]

OFK you are a man with wisdom:asian:

 

[Old Fat Kenpoka]

Lone Kimono: Thanks for the complement.