Ed Parker Jr Seminars

[cdhall]

Mr. Parker, Jr. will be conducting a seminar on
Sub-Level Four Principles of Kenpo Self-Defense
in San Antonio, TX on Sat June 29, 2002 from 12:00noon-3:30pm.
Cost is $40.

I hesitate to post Mr. Abernathy's phone number here but he is the contact. If I get his permission I will post his number.

The reason I'm doing this thread is the same as my reason for the one I did for Kenpocamp. I plan to attend this seminar and I would appreciate it if other seminars of Mr. Parker, Jr. could be collected here in this thread as well so I and we can keep track of them and perhaps plan to attend.

Also, I would like to know if anyone has gone to one or more of his seminars and how the seminar went. I went to one of his in '99 (I think) at the same place and on a very similar topic and it was Great! I loved it. He knows what he's doing and I hope to go back.

Thank you.
:asian:

 

[Kirk]

Originally posted by cdhall

Mr. Parker, Jr. will be conducting a seminar on
Sub-Level Four Principles of Kenpo Self-Defense
in San Antonio, TX on Sat June 29, 2002 from 12:00noon-3:30pm.
Cost is $40.

I hesitate to post Mr. Abernathy's phone number here but he is the contact. If I get his permission I will post his number.

The reason I'm doing this thread is the same as my reason for the one I did for Kenpocamp. I plan to attend this seminar and I would appreciate it if other seminars of Mr. Parker, Jr. could be collected here in this thread as well so I and we can keep track of them and perhaps plan to attend.

Also, I would like to know if anyone has gone to one or more of his seminars and how the seminar went. I went to one of his in '99 (I think) at the same place and on a very similar topic and it was Great! I loved it. He knows what he's doing and I hope to go back.

Thank you.
:asian:

This saturday, can't wait!

 

[Rob_Broad]

Everybody attending will have a blast. Mr. Parker has a very insightful view of kenpo that is often missed.

 

[cdhall]

Some of the guys I know from a few studios are getting together Sunday to review the seminar. I'll be sure to post my comments about the seminar and such here.

I can't wait either. I hope it will be as cool as before. Last time I went there was more grappling than I wanted, but I'll let you all know how it turns out.

 

[cdhall]

Here are some of my notes from the Ed Parker Jr seminar hosted/sponsored by Mr. Curtis Abernathy in San Antonio.

There was one large class of about 50 adults. Mr. Abernathy has a pretty big "mat."

We all became Honorary Hawaiians.

We did:
- peripheral awareness drills
- Hubid drills
-ground defense drills to help us be comfortable with being on the ground and defending against an incoming attack
-briefly worked on nerve strikes/disrupting the electrical system of the body/causing knockouts/disturbing your balance by interrupting communication from your brain to your legs. This led to balance disturbing drills
-balance disturbing drills leading to takedowns and which could be combined with nerve activations/specific target strikes but which worked fine by just disturbing your opponents balance. This was a pretty amazing exploration of Mr. Parker Jrs. "Passive Kenpo" material

There were also a few themes employed to compliment the drills such as:
-Relaxing was the Major theme. Not being physically tensed up.
-Nerve strikes that actually cause the body to respond, not becaue of "pain" but because they cause certain movement of the body when you activate them. I think I understand this concept better now, although I'm not even familiar with the basics of it. I had previously thought you were inducing pain or something, but you can actually make someone "sit" by pressing (activating) a certain nerve area

These are only notes. Mr. Parker reminded us that he did not hardly work out with any of us. He paired us up, gave us ideas and we learned from each other and from having a receptive mind open to trying his ideas. We could have saved money and stayed home by ourself if we didn't want to try what he had to offer (paraphrasing a thought he stated more than once).

It was a very good seminar. It ran about 4 hours including some Q and A at the end. Mr. Parker is very personable and knowledgeable. If this report sounds good, believe me, it was way better to be there. This was the second time I have been to his seminar. I reccomend everyone go see him at least once. And he is also a phenomenal artist if you didn't already know that.

Thank you.
:asian:

 

[Kirk]

Great summation! The only thing you didn't mention was the
fact that he has a great sense of humor. Damned good speaker,
too!

 

[cdhall]

Thank you Kirk. This kind of thing is what I was expecting from these threads I started where I solicit comments about events like this.

Mr. Parker Jr. did crack a lot of jokes. I understand that Mr. Parker was always being funny too.

I don't know if he discussed this during the seminar itself, but he has said that he looks at Kenpo as something of his Dad's private joke.

I mean in Sword and Hammer for example you kill the person with a chop to the throat and then you smash them in the testicles. This is not something you would ever Have to do in real life. Likewise in Leap of Death (he uses these 2 examples when he talks about this) you kill the person by breaking their neck and then you stomp on them as you leave.

I always inherently understood this. I used to laugh everytime I got a new technique. Almost every time. They are funny. I mean, some guy is presumably picking on you, maybe trying to disable you and rob you... and you just Kick his @$$! The more violent the technique are, the harder I laugh.

One night in the advanced class I had just before I left my school in SA to move to Austin, we got Dance of Death with the extension. I just cut up. Sifu just looked at me. I couldn't help it. I mean Kenpo is funny. I think this is why Mr. Parker used to cut up and why Mr. Parker Jr cuts up so much now. If you really dwell on what is going on, it is grimm serious stuff.

Anyway, yes. He was funny. You know, I think both of my teachers, Sifu Swan and Mr. Duffy are both comedians. I think they spend about 25-33% of the class making jokes. Well, not doing standup, but making some humorous reference or analogy when they teach. I sent a guy to Sifu Swan to study. Months later he came up to me and said "You know, Sifu is funny!" I may not ever have been to a seminar where the instructor didn't tell at least one joke. I never thought of it before, I took it for granted, but now that we are on this board I'll ask.

Has anyone ever had a class or seminar where the teacher didn't make at least one joke? Go for one laugh? I mean I think the Cobra Kai dudes in Karate Kid might not, but I don't think I've ever seen it.

OK. This is a tangent. Mr. Parker is very nice, personable, up front and real. He considers himself a real person. He will tell you if he takes offense at something, but he can cut up with the best of them. I like him. Good point Kirk. I'm going to shut up. It's late, I may just be rambling.

 

[Rob_Broad]

That is a great way of looking at the self defense techniques. Interesting perspective.