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The Origins of Kenpo
Kenpo is considered
by many to be the first eclectic martial art. Its origin evolved
from Karate which; according to legend, began over a thousand
years ago in China.
At the beginning of the seventeenth century two families,
Kumamoto and Nagasaki brought knowledge of Kenpo from China to
Kyushu in Japan. Modified throughout many years into its current
form, it is referred to as Kosho-Ryu Kenpo, or Old Pine Tree
school. It is from here that most modern forms of Kenpo are
derived.
 According
to modern legend, in 1916 at the age of five, James Mitose was
sent from his homeland in Hawaii to Kyushu for schooling in his
ancestors' art of self-defense called Kosho-Ryu Kenpo. After
completing his training in Japan, Mitose returned to Hawaii.
Near the beginning of World War II in 1936, Mitose opened the
"Official Self-Defense" club in Honolulu. It was from here that
the five major Kenpo influences; Thomas Young, William K. S.
Chow, Edmund Howe, Arthur Keawe and Paul Yamaguchi would study
and bring Kenpo to the rest of the world.
William K.S. Chow adapted Mitose's approach and "Americanized"
the art. He is perhaps responsible for the largest leap of Kenpo
to the general public. In 1949, Chow opened a school of his own
at a local YMCA and referred to his art as Kenpo Karate.
Ed Parker
Edmund K. Parker, who is probably the most famous of Chow's
practitioners, began studying Kenpo with Chow at the age of 16.
Parker further adapted the methods so that they would prove
practical in an actual fight and opened the first commercial
Karate studio in 1954. He created a logical organization for the
basic Kenpo techniques, dividing them into eight categories,
such as stances, blocks, punches and so on. Parker graduated
from Brigham Young and moved to California where he opened his
second school in 1956 and also founded the International Kenpo
Karate Association the same year. Parker taught the martial arts
to many actors and celebrities such as Elvis Presley and Steve
McQueen. He also appeared in movies and television shows like "I
Love Lucy." Grand Master Edmund Parker is the undisputed
"Father" of American Kenpo Karate.
When Mr. Parker died in December of 1990, the International
Kenpo Karate Association went through some major restructuring
due in part to political differences, as well as other reasons.
Many of the senior students went off to create their own
associations and promote their own style of the American Kenpo
system. Today Kenpo remains very strong in the martial arts
industry.
MG Kenpo Academy
We at the MG Kenpo Academy pay our greatest respects and
admiration to Grand Master Ed Parker and his skill and insights
into Kenpo Karate and the lasting legacy he has left. We are
determined to teach Grand Master Ed Parker's Art the way he
outlined in volume 5 of the Infinite Insights Series which is
the way he taught us. We intend on making the Parker Kenpo
System continue to be the most well known style of Martial Arts
in the world. We have both the authority and ability to promote
all who wish to learn the Parker Kenpo System and welcome the
sincere and conscientious instructor and student with open arms.
If you are a Parker Kenpo System practitioner, we are here to
serve as a support group.
At this school we are not involved in the disputes of the Kenpo
societies. Kenpo as taught by Ed Parker or any of Ed Parkers
students who ever they and their down lines are, is still Ed
Parkers Kenpo. It really makes no difference if its Tracy Kenpo,
TRACO, Tatum Kenpo, or EPAK (Ed Parkers American Kenpo) it still
came from the same source, Senior Grandmaster Ed Parker. Kenpo
is a sophisticated system of pure self defense and is easy to
learn. However, it takes a lifetime to master.
Kenpo Today
As mentioned earlier Kenpo today is splintered at best. The
biggest problems involve egos. Many believe their style of Kenpo
is the superior to the next guys. This is not really correct.
The Kenpo systems today have simply moved on, just as SGM Parker
continued to change his system. The masters and grandmasters of
Kenpo today continue to grow and adopt. This is a good thing
unless you are in the ego crowd and consider everyone else
wrong. Tradition has a place in all martial arts but so does
change. For instance, the flying side kick was originally
designed to remove horsemen from their saddles, this is not
important today. Is it? For traditions sake, maybe, but not
really practical.
For the student to really understand Kenpo they need to visit
the different styles and draw their own conclusions. If they
look hard they will see there are only slight differences in the
techniques and the way they are taught. They will also notice
some technique adopted from other styles that have been
"kenpoized". This simply means adopted to there style of Kenpo.
The real question is how many ego-maniacs are willing to try and
prove Masters Frank Trejo, Larry Tatum, Paul Mills, or Huk
Planas, just to name a small few that they are even slightly off
in what they teach. The point is in Kenpo and all martial arts
"leave your ego at the door and try to learn". No one knows it
all and we all have room for growth!
for a real in-depth explanation of
Kenpo Karate, please click here |
