Clips of vintage 16mm film that was shown at the Tribute to Ed Parker held in February 1988. Early footage of some of Ed Parker's first students Chuck Sullivan, Jimmy Ibrao, Rich Montgomery, Jim Grunwald, et. al.
All martial arts styles and systems utilized various versions of these hand positions because they are weapons developed from observing animals in battle. The tiger's claw, for example, may seem funny to a person until that claw permanently blinds them. Cheers
Pretty cool that Ed Parker was not only a great martial artist & friend to many including Bruce Lee but also was Elvis Presley's bodyguard from 1976-77
Wonderful to see Ed Parker in action. Supremely fast and powerful. To learn from him must have been a real privilege. Years ago my Mum brought me a book from a jumble sale for 20p. It was Ed Parker's "Secrets of Kenpo Karate." It advanced my understanding of Martial Arts 10 years, and is still one of my favourite books.
Yes, Master Ken is portrayed by Matt Page, a Kenpo black belt in the Jeff Speakman Kenpo 5.0 system in Albuquerque. It's funny, when I first saw him on RU-vid a decade ago, I could tell instantly he was a Kenpo guy.
Awesome footage! Mr Bleecker, did you ever meet a martial arts teacher called Haumea Lefiti during that era? I believe he was a friend or associate of Mr Parker, and taught a style of kung fu that resembles Kempo. He passed away suddenly in the early 1970s. Some of his art made its way to the UK, and I have been fortunate enough to learn a bit.
Ed Parker never had a black belt when he started his own school. He was street fighter and created his first school by "borrowing" Okinawan Kenpo Karate and using that as a base and then He and his other pals made up techniques on top of that. To make them sound more esoteric like "Chinese based techniques" He labeled them like: Sword of Destruction, Deflecting Hammer, Captured Twigs and Mace of Aggression, ect. It's ok to add on to Kenpo and many schools out there do. The problem becomes when it's students think that Ed Parker created Kenpo all by himself and ignores very real and legit past Okinawan Kenpo Karate instructors before him.. That when it's not right.
You're certainly entitled to your opinion, although those who were around during EPAK's founding years, including me, would disagree with your assessment. Thanks for your comments.
@@TomBleecker Respectfully, it's actually not my opinion, is factual information. I also am from first generation and know the history of Kenpo and others I know that back my comments is true. I'm not saying, that Mr. Parker was a bad person, or the modifications of Kenpo that he and others made are not effective. Nor am I saying that modifying or adding techniques on to a existing style is wrong. What I (and others know) that many students out there as well as current generational instructors believe that Mr. Parker made Kenpo and it did not exist prior... That is not true. It goes back to Okinawan Kenpo Karate. And this also is before William Chow and James Mitose involvement in Kenpo, regardless of both mens contributions.
@@mrsmithsmith8418 You wrote, "I also am from first generation." I'm not familiar with a first-generation black belt with the last name of Smith. Perhaps you'd be willing to share your true name if it's not Smith?
I don’t think so. Just looking at the body language of both him and his partner shows that they had a lot of prior experience, like the blade of his side kick. You don’t get that kind of body language overnight.
I respect any martial artist. Being one myself.I train mainly Bjj. and these guys are martial artist. Not to be confused with anything to do with self-defense. These guys will get killed in a real fight!
Based off of what we are viewing even I myself being a kenpo student will admit that this is not great kenpo. But I believe that kenpo today has evolved so much that it is prepared to deal with any and all situations. Now when I say kenpo today I'm talking about the schools that have implemented ground work and some modern concepts to deal with the threat they face today. That threat is of course people knowing how to properly throw punches and grapple. I will say this kenpo is not a art that is easy to understand. It will look silly to someone who doesn't practice it and the will criticize the art rightfully so from what they see. But as a kenpoist we all know that in reality we never pull off these techniques very rarely! what matters is are you good at the basics or not because what it all comes down too. The basics. The techniques are there to teach you the principles and movements. Not to be seen as a way to deal with every situation. It's the ideal phase for a reason! Ideally everything goes right! But we know from logic that never happens. So we teach students to techniques and break them down and form realistic solutions to real problems. Of course at the end of the day you have your opinion I have mine. But I always believe in reaching to those who differ from me to hopefully to give a different perspective on the art. Thank you!
