Yeah, you're not missing much over there. Its the usual Tatumite nutswingers doing their preaching. LOL. Nothing against Tatum, but, you know.
I started at a Kenpo 2000 school. I was at a Tatum school for a while. Instructor was nice (No names or places need be mentioned).. Tatum moved well at seminars, and I learned some good stuff from them. But suffice it to say, I was very conditioned into the whole "If you make a change, you just don't understand the technique" way of thinking. I was sold on the x amount of techniques done this way is kenpo and anything else isn't.
I went to my AKKI school very reluctantly, but when I moved, its all there was anywhere near me. This turned out to be the biggest blessing in my martial arts journey. Mills is just so far beyond and in his own league compared to what I had experienced before. I don't say this to denigrate any other Kenpo associations or instructors. There are many talented and skilled guys out there, and many I've never seen who are probably awesome. I say it just to make the point that Mills is incredible. Not just his own ability, but his ability to teach, analyze, change and reorganize..... and yet many won't even look at it to find the things they could learn from him.
I've gotten to the point where, these days, I just say "If you really want to know and see the difference, contact me privately, and I'll see about getting you an invite to a camp."
One thing the change has really exposed me to is how much people will cling against all reason to something dated, traditional or dogmatic. Tragic.
And yes, I've heard my share both online and while physically speaking to people, about Paul Mills, how he 'isnt doing Kenpo anymore', how this isnt the same, that isn't the same, blah, blah, blah.
It's weird. IMO, its the best example of American Kenpo available. Now, I understand that's not gonna be everyone's opinion (I think it would be if they went to a few camps
) but to say it isn't American Kenpo is just dumb... I'm mean, just watch a brief clip of the man and it's obvious. I've seen Trejo and Chapel teach unique things.. are they not doing Kenpo? yea, right.
You mention the same thing that someone on that KN thread recently did, about violating the basic principles, concepts, etc. I agree. IMO, I think its very possible, to make a change and still keep the concepts, ideas, etc. I think much like when some people hear BJJ, they automatically think ground, likewise, when some people hear change, they automatically think that it means totally rewriting the moves and forgetting about the rest.
You know when one person can't do something, they think no one can? Or they can't conceive of how it could be possible? Most martial artists need to be taught. They can't harness and synthesize principles and techniques from various styes with any real continuity. Thus no one can. Rather than look at what Mills (or any other innovator) has done, it's easier to just blow it off (especially when, if he is right, they might have to re-think some things, or start some things over).
Something my AKKI instructor use to do - we would get new students who were ranked in other styles. We would be working technique line, and he would say, "who has a technique from another style against this attack?" Someone would demonstrate, and then he would ask the class "what works in this technique?" then he would ask, "what principles does it violate, and how does it make the technique less effective or more risky?" And we would break it apart, and then "make it kenpo". Sometimes all the technique needed was application of better mechanics to "clean it up", but otherwise was a strong technique. Sometimes an angle or sequence needed to be changed or delete entirely because there was just too much wrong with it, it was too passive a movement, unneeded compound trapping, wasted motion, dead space or it left the attacker too many options etc. Doing this really built a very real understanding of Kenpo principles. Once that happened, you realized, the memorized sequence only mattered so much - the big picture was there. After that, I couldn't hardly communicate with the little picture guys. Caring about number of techniques or extensions and phases and all this other stuff was just silly. I know that sounds condescending, but it is what it is. That's why FMA's fit so well with the AKKI... its all about simple, direct, effective concepts. They don't care about anything else, and if you change a technique, no one cares, if it is simple, direct and effective. It just flows, just like AKKI kenpo.
