American Society of Kenpo Karate

ONLY IN AMERICA…

You load up your gi made in Pakistan into your car from Korea. You drive to your martial arts academy.

You train Judo first, that’s Japan. Then you stick around for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu from, well, Brazil.

After class you go out to dinner. Mexican sounds nice. Maybe you have a lager with your entree. Germany is in attendance.

Friday at work, you get your paycheck. Uncle Sam gets his pound of flesh. Oh well, at least Election Day is coming. Thanks, Greece and Rome.

Saturday morning. You wake up, Fall is coming. You take your rifle to the shooting range and make sure you’re still sighted in. You plan to do some public land hunting in a few months. There’s the Second Amendment in action.

Saturday evening, maybe you take your family to the new Chinese buffet.

Sunday morning, you load up and head to a denomination that traces roots back to John Calvin, a Frenchman, and Martin Luther, a German. You worship Jesus Christ, a Nazarene.

Only in America can we exercise such extraordinary freedom.

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY

Learning, training, internalizing and mastering Kenpo is an endless cycle of refinement; a process that will continually peel back layers of understanding and skill. It is said that earning one's black belt is the start of true learning, and this is especially true in the Art of American Kenpo Karate.

At white belt, you must open your mind, trust the process and immerse yourself in your training.

Next, you begin learning the movements and sequences, lots of repetition and unfamiliarity.

Now you're starting to develop your attributes of speed, power, accuracy, etc., even though the Concepts and Principles are still so new and confusing - until you reach a point beyond rote repetition in which you begin to apply them to your movement.

In this stage, you see the Basics through the lens of the applied Principles, and begin to refine them beyond the superficial.

As you grow in this step, you begin to slowly understand the reasoning behind the sequences, the applications and the Principles; the larger picture is starting to reveal itself.

Now, you're ready to focus on flowing in totality - transitioning between ranges, between offense and defense, between levels of intent in your techniques.

And finally, upon reaching black belt - you open your mind yet again and begin the cycle anew.

In Kenpo forms, we are meant to pay attention to specific details, such that running the form allows us to sharpen our skills through mindful repetition.

Recently saw a Long Form 1 version that had none intensity, but missed on some technical points. If you are willing to invest the time, Mr. Planas does an excellent job of elucidating the finer points.

Huk Planas - Short Form 1 - Long Form 1 - American Kenpo Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

TetsujiinKai Karate is based on many concepts and principles found within American Kenpo, most notably: maintaining a strong base, using footwork to establish a superior angle of entry, and pressuring through the opponent with swift, surgical precision. This streamlined Karate system can be readily applied to freestyle fighting, full-contact Kumite, kickboxing and personal defense.

In the A.S.K.K., we often talk about the role of torchbearing; to be a torchbearer of the Art of Kenpo is to accept a responsibility far greater than the memorization of techniques or the preservation of curriculum charts. A torchbearer carries forward the spirit, principles, and relentless pursuit of understanding exemplified by Ed Parker himself. The Art survives not merely because techniques are written in books or passed down with rank structures, but because dedicated practitioners choose to embody the depth, discipline, and innovation that gave the system life in the first place.

The Olympic torch serves as a powerful symbol of continuity between generations. For centuries, its flame has represented the passing of knowledge, purpose, and tradition from one era to the next. No single runner owns the flame; they merely protect it for a time before carrying it onward and entrusting it to those who follow. In much the same way, Kenpo practitioners inherit a proverbial torch lit by the efforts, sacrifices, and insights of those who came before them. Our duty is not to let that flame diminish in our hands!

Far too often, martial arts systems risk becoming museums rather than living disciplines; forms are repeated lacking intent, techniques become rigid rituals to check off a box and instructors blindly settle into complacency. A true torchbearer resists this pull towards stagnation – he/she understands that carrying forward the Art of Ed Parker means preserving the written material while also preserving the mindset and context of mastery behind it! The written curriculum is the map, but it is not the territory; instructors understand the map, whereas Masters understand, adapt to and transform the proverbial terrain itself!

This mission demands high standards, standards that transcend a simple claim of lineage or rank; torchbearers must continuously refine their skill, deepen their knowledge and pressure-test their understanding – perpetually striving toward a level of competence and insight worthy of the Grandmaster whose legacy they represent. While a precious few, if any, may ever equal the brilliance and contribution of Ed Parker, the pursuit itself honors the Art.

Comfort is the eternal enemy of growth.

A torchbearer also recognizes that teaching is an act of stewardship. Every lesson taught carelessly weakens the flame, while every lesson taught with precision, honesty, and passion strengthens it. Students usually mirror the standards of their instructors; if instructors settle for shallow understanding, future generations inherit an increasingly-shallow Art.. However, if instructors pursue excellence, then future generations can keep the Art relevant and true.

- Jason Creel
Professor of the Art

Mr. Parker in action.

Kenpo Vintage Commercial - Ed Parker Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

I once had an amazing conversation with Mr. Rich Hale, and something he said really stuck with me; he told me that “Kenpo needs a renaissance..” And in the twelve years since that conversation, I’ve come to believe him more and more.

People often talk about ‘evolving the system,’ and sometimes, they’re right; Mr. Parker evolved with the times. BUT, Mr. Parker had also internalized, understood and mastered what he had been taught and had himself taught - this is where many proponents of ‘evolution’ go astray.

To evolve a system, you must have first mastered both that system and the driving forces behind it (and no, personal opinions or preferences are not among said driving forces).

I once asked a first generation black belt, why only a few people moved anything like Mr. Parker? He said, quite confidently, that Mr. Parker was a showman, and moved like that just for theatrics and to “sell the art.”

I was taken back (and disappointed) by that explanation; I meant, if moving like thunder and lighting and hitting like a Mack truck is showmanship, then I wanna be PT Barnum!!

The question remains: why do so few move like Mr. Parker? And I don’t mean the whole “no one can move like Parker, you should move like you” line of logic… Mr. Parker moved with ridiculous speed and profound power, accented with a seasoned elegance and primal authority that few rise to.

In short - because there’s the CONTENT of Kenpo, and then the CONTEXT.

The content is the system, the physical vessel used to teach the lessons of the Art and the dynamic principles and concepts which drive it. Be it a loosely-referenced or barely recorded curriculum, be it the 32 or 24 or 16-technique layout.. the system is the vehicle, not the destination.

Now, the CONTEXT of the Art! THAT is where Mastery is found. This is where Mr. Hale’s statement of Kenpo needing its renaissance rings true; that before folks talk of ‘evolving the system’ or boldly cry ‘revolution!’ like a Lin-Manuel Miranda play, they must first reach back towards the source of the spring.. to find the process and knowledge that we have witnessed yet somehow lost along the way.

Don’t be satisfied with the sequence, the technique journals, the requirement charts. Don’t assume that Mr. Parker (or Mr. Mills, or Mr. Hancock, or Doc Chapel - just to name a few) was born with some mystical X-factor allowing them instant mastery. They sought the process and looked beyond the obvious; they continually peeled back the layers and they broke it all down on every level.

Follow the example, and seek the wellspring.

-JCreel