What IS Ed Parker Kenpo?

[Great Sage]

Has anyone ever taken Ed Parker Kenpo? If so, what is it like — the prinicples of circular movement, etc... Ed Parker is undoubtedly one of the great innovaters of modern martial arts, but there seems to be a lot of controversy surrounding his art. For instance, why is American Kenpo segregated from Ed Parker Kenpo? Can someone shed some light on this?

— According to Americankenpo.com, Ed Parker didn’t trust any of his Black Belts and chose not to have a successor. He believed he was the only one who truly understood Ed Parker Kenpo. So what exactly IS Ed Parker Kenpo?

— Ed Parker was a Brown Belt in Chinese Kempo, then theorized about combat motion. Later, he would award himself with 10th Dan Blackbelt... Hmmm... But then again, Bruce Lee did the same thing in retrospect. Who’s to argue with those two GIANTS?...

— Is Ed Parker’s Kenpo being taught incorrectly as his family insists? The IKKA dissolved faster than a TUMS because the Parker family didn’t care about its Black Belts. Now, the WKKA seems to be the authority in Kenpo. What’s the difference?

— Ed Parker made a living off of demonstrations... But, just how effective were his techniques?

Basically, I’m just curious about Kenpo, particularly Ed Parker’s Kenpo. As a kid, I heard a lot about Ed’s system and always wanted to learn it. However, now I’m more content with just reading about it.

[Old Fat Kenpoka]

Great Sage:

Ed Parker's American Kenpo is a pretty complex standup fighting system. Can't be explained in a thread. I strongly suggest you visit a Kenpo school, if you can't do that, at least visit Kenponet.com and kenpothoughts.com. Also visit the Kenpo technical forum on Martialtalk.com

Compared to Japanese/Okinawan Karate, Kenpo incorporates a wider variety of strikes, more circular and continuous motion, more hand speed. It is about 70% hands vs. TKD which is 70% feet. Ed Parker introduced a rich vocabulary and analytical theories to help Kenpoists understand and apply the system.

American Kenpo is synonymous with Ed Parker Kenpo. There are other related branches descending from Ed Parker: Tracy's Kenpo Karate and several others who still refer to themselves as Chinese Kenpo Karate because they did not incorporate Ed Parker's innovations from the 70's and 80's. There are also several branches of Kenpo descending from Ed Parker's instructor William K.S. Chow and from Chow's instructor James Mitose. All Kenpo systems track their legacy back through Mitose. Most through Chow and a majority through Ed Parker.

Ed Parker did not name a successor. He obviously didn't think he would die so young. That mistake has resulted in a very fragmented Kenpo community.

Ed Parker was a Black Belt in Kenpo Karate under William K.S. Chow. The history is well documented. Ed Parker greatly modified and enhanced the original style and did indeed promote himself to 10th Dan. This promotion was not instantaneous, but happened by degrees over several decades. NO ONE either inside or outside of Kenpo who knew Mr. Parker or his contributions has ever questioned Mr. Parker's rank.

Ed Parker's techniques were very effective -- in their day. Many consider them to still be very effective. One of the key innovations involves the practice of Kata technique on a dummy with hard contact and "what-if" variations.

Ed Parker did not make his living off of demonstrations. He made his living teaching. Demonstrations were a tool to grow his student base, educate the public on Karate (he was one of the first Karate instructors in the US in the late 50's).

There are over 250 Kenpo websites if you search Google. I think you will find good information on some of these sites. But, there is no substitute for experience. Go visit a Kenpo school.

P.S. the Kenpo I studied is descended from Ed Parker and Al Tracy but is not part of the Kenpo mainstream known as "Ed Parker's American Kenpo"

[Great Sage]

Thanks a lot Old Guy, I'll check out some Kenpo schools when I have time.