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American Kenpo's "New" Voice Part 2
By Doc - Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:10:46 GMT
Originally Posted at: KenpoTalk
====================
One of the unique things about Ed Parkers American Kenpo is its advocacy of the principle of Tailoring. Tailoring has allowed thousands of Kenpoists throughout the world to interpret and practice His innovative system with no fear of invalidation.
My Dad felt that physical principles and sound concepts of motion form your basic knowledge, and any exploration that uses these guidelines couldnt be wrong. Once again, he encouraged all of his students to study the system, its principles, and to interpret them. He encouraged students to tailor and create their own style.
One must realize however, not to Tailor out of laziness or ease. Lack of hard work to develop a move or technique does not constitute proper tailoring which leads to effectiveness. Tailoring does allow the art to be taught, and practitioners to train at whatever level they chose to study. My Dad felt everyone should be graded based on his ability, potential, and educational background. This is what accounts for the wide disparity in Kenpo practitioners skill and knowledge today.
However, to this end, Dad was like a Kenpo University that was offering many courses. They included philosophy, ethics, physics, math, music, etc. as well as The Theory of Motion course. However, His University was offering only one lab. This lab course was entitled The Study of Motion. Think about it! Knowing that American Kenpo in its most simplistic form is advanced college course work; he was trying to lay a foundation for the next level. Without the understanding of motion and a firm grasp of body mechanics, he knew this would not be possible. He was trying to get students to understand the concepts of motion.
He expounded on the Universal Pattern (a doctoral thesis in itself) direction, methods, paths, dimensions, and angles. Teaching tools such as these or the study of the offensive equation formulas of prefixing, suffixing, inserting, rearranging, altering, adjusting, regulating, and deleting movements, were only stones to the gaseous states of motion.
Everything was motion, motion, and more motion. Where was he going? American Kenpo has a very distinct purpose and goal that contained the humane ability to control the level of devastation one could deliver at any given movement. Unfortunately, he never had time to offer this to the majority of His students.
I often get upset when I hear people say, this is how Ed Parker said this technique had to be done. Ed Parker NEVER told anyone a definitive way to perform techniques. As long as you use proper principles of motion, which produced the desired effect for the situation, it doesnt make any difference.
He may have agreed with how you performed a technique, but only in principle. When asked how a technique should be done, he always said Show me how you do it. Then he would either confirm your principles, or make suggestions to get you back on track. He often asked Does this work for you? As long as the technique worked for you, and the principles were logical, it was OK! He often reminded students that techniques were only ideas.
The groundbreaking Technique Manuals he produced, and I slaved over, were only designed to keep people on track. They were not meant to be quoted like scriptures, mistakes and all. He said that when you leave gaps, it encourages the avid practitioner to use logical, practical, thinking to fill in the gaps. A large part of what my father was about was to encourage and enlighten the mind and help his students to think for themselves.
From this perspective, there is no one right way to perform American Kenpo techniques. Indeed My Dads greatest contribution was to liberate the martial arts from the age of superstition and heresy. With Mr. Parker, anything was valid if it was logical, and conformed to sound scientific physical principles.
Nevertheless, even if there are many right ways to do Kenpo or perform its techniques, serious kenpo practitioners must ask themselves whether their particular style might be hindering them from taking their art to new realms of proficiency. If such is the case, they do not need to discard what they already know. However, they should begin to explore principles of other levels of American Kenpo, to allow their personal interpretation of kenpo to become stronger, and more vigorous. Elements that may not be general knowledge in the Kenpo Community.
As I perform seminars throughout the country, criticism has been leveled from those who find it hard to believe such groundbreaking information I demonstrate was inherent in American Kenpo but for some reason my Dad didnt share it with them personally. Well ponder this. Everyone knows He used Slap-Checks in the execution of techniques. However, you will not find any reference to a Slap-Check in any of his written works, (which I edited) nor did he specifically teach the use of Slap-Checks. So ask yourself the questions: Why not? What else might he have held back?
I personally watched him place the term Positional Check in many places where a Slap-Check was appropriate. When I asked him Why? he said, The times not right. I believe he would have eventually began teaching other levels when he was satisfied with the current state of his writings, and the progress of the art and his students overall.
Read More...
------------------------------------
KenpoTalk.com Post Bot - Kenpo Feed
By Doc - Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:10:46 GMT
Originally Posted at: KenpoTalk
====================
American Kenpo's "New" Voice
Part 2: "American Kenpo, Who's Right?"
By Ed Parker, Jr.
Part 2: "American Kenpo, Who's Right?"
By Ed Parker, Jr.
One of the unique things about Ed Parkers American Kenpo is its advocacy of the principle of Tailoring. Tailoring has allowed thousands of Kenpoists throughout the world to interpret and practice His innovative system with no fear of invalidation.
My Dad felt that physical principles and sound concepts of motion form your basic knowledge, and any exploration that uses these guidelines couldnt be wrong. Once again, he encouraged all of his students to study the system, its principles, and to interpret them. He encouraged students to tailor and create their own style.
One must realize however, not to Tailor out of laziness or ease. Lack of hard work to develop a move or technique does not constitute proper tailoring which leads to effectiveness. Tailoring does allow the art to be taught, and practitioners to train at whatever level they chose to study. My Dad felt everyone should be graded based on his ability, potential, and educational background. This is what accounts for the wide disparity in Kenpo practitioners skill and knowledge today.
However, to this end, Dad was like a Kenpo University that was offering many courses. They included philosophy, ethics, physics, math, music, etc. as well as The Theory of Motion course. However, His University was offering only one lab. This lab course was entitled The Study of Motion. Think about it! Knowing that American Kenpo in its most simplistic form is advanced college course work; he was trying to lay a foundation for the next level. Without the understanding of motion and a firm grasp of body mechanics, he knew this would not be possible. He was trying to get students to understand the concepts of motion.
He expounded on the Universal Pattern (a doctoral thesis in itself) direction, methods, paths, dimensions, and angles. Teaching tools such as these or the study of the offensive equation formulas of prefixing, suffixing, inserting, rearranging, altering, adjusting, regulating, and deleting movements, were only stones to the gaseous states of motion.
Everything was motion, motion, and more motion. Where was he going? American Kenpo has a very distinct purpose and goal that contained the humane ability to control the level of devastation one could deliver at any given movement. Unfortunately, he never had time to offer this to the majority of His students.
I often get upset when I hear people say, this is how Ed Parker said this technique had to be done. Ed Parker NEVER told anyone a definitive way to perform techniques. As long as you use proper principles of motion, which produced the desired effect for the situation, it doesnt make any difference.
He may have agreed with how you performed a technique, but only in principle. When asked how a technique should be done, he always said Show me how you do it. Then he would either confirm your principles, or make suggestions to get you back on track. He often asked Does this work for you? As long as the technique worked for you, and the principles were logical, it was OK! He often reminded students that techniques were only ideas.
The groundbreaking Technique Manuals he produced, and I slaved over, were only designed to keep people on track. They were not meant to be quoted like scriptures, mistakes and all. He said that when you leave gaps, it encourages the avid practitioner to use logical, practical, thinking to fill in the gaps. A large part of what my father was about was to encourage and enlighten the mind and help his students to think for themselves.
From this perspective, there is no one right way to perform American Kenpo techniques. Indeed My Dads greatest contribution was to liberate the martial arts from the age of superstition and heresy. With Mr. Parker, anything was valid if it was logical, and conformed to sound scientific physical principles.
Nevertheless, even if there are many right ways to do Kenpo or perform its techniques, serious kenpo practitioners must ask themselves whether their particular style might be hindering them from taking their art to new realms of proficiency. If such is the case, they do not need to discard what they already know. However, they should begin to explore principles of other levels of American Kenpo, to allow their personal interpretation of kenpo to become stronger, and more vigorous. Elements that may not be general knowledge in the Kenpo Community.
As I perform seminars throughout the country, criticism has been leveled from those who find it hard to believe such groundbreaking information I demonstrate was inherent in American Kenpo but for some reason my Dad didnt share it with them personally. Well ponder this. Everyone knows He used Slap-Checks in the execution of techniques. However, you will not find any reference to a Slap-Check in any of his written works, (which I edited) nor did he specifically teach the use of Slap-Checks. So ask yourself the questions: Why not? What else might he have held back?
I personally watched him place the term Positional Check in many places where a Slap-Check was appropriate. When I asked him Why? he said, The times not right. I believe he would have eventually began teaching other levels when he was satisfied with the current state of his writings, and the progress of the art and his students overall.
Read More...
------------------------------------
KenpoTalk.com Post Bot - Kenpo Feed
