Help on Chow Research

[Gentle Fist]

I almost feel like the true history of kenpo is similar to the rise of Gracie Jiujitsu…

A small seed from Kano Jiujitsu (Judo) was left in the hands of some tough dudes with a thirst to perfect combat and it developed into its own art based on users experience and not so much traditional concepts. If you look at Gracie Jiujitsu it is apparent that none of the original students got a full grip of judo but rather just the base concepts. They ran those few concepts into the ground with reps and physical testing against others wanting to fight.

Kenpo seems to be the same way. Mitose sparked an interest but had limited knowledge in the arts; and people like Chow and those early Hawaiian students went out and made it evolve through street tested combat.

Maybe I’m way off, but I feel this is more likely than all the mystical connections claimed by many.

Not sure why so many people want the connection to Asia when an art born from the streets of Hawaii could be seen as pure and natural even more so.

 

[Doc]

I almost feel like the true history of kenpo is similar to the rise of Gracie Jiujitsu…

A small seed from Kano Jiujitsu (Judo) was left in the hands of some tough dudes with a thirst to perfect combat and it developed into its own art based on users experience and not so much traditional concepts. If you look at Gracie Jiujitsu it is apparent that none of the original students got a full grip of judo but rather just the base concepts. They ran those few concepts into the ground with reps and physical testing against others wanting to fight.

Kenpo seems to be the same way. Mitose sparked an interest but had limited knowledge in the arts; and people like Chow and those early Hawaiian students went out and made it evolve through street tested combat.

Maybe I’m way off, but I feel this is more likely than all the mystical connections claimed by many.

Not sure why so many people want the connection to Asia when an art born from the streets of Hawaii could be seen as pure and natural even more so.

Not a whole lot to argue about there and it pretty much sums it up. The Kenpo of Hawaii is such a mixture of arts and their influence, depending upon lineage the degree of the various influences may vary. it is no wonder this melting pot of cultures spawned the original mixed martial arts style, Kajukenbo. But let's not completely ignore the dominant Chinese Influence, whether you believe it came from Sifu Chow and teachings from his father or other sources. While I feel that influence seemed to take a back seat to what Henry Okazaki brought to the table, I also know that the Chinese Influence was either added to or was resurgent in Kenpo in the Parker Lineage under Sifu Ark Wong and his senior student Haumea Lefiti, with other influences as well like Jimmy Woo. And while most of that influence was stripped away when Modern Ed Parker's Kenpo Karate was created in the late sixties, there was/is enough "flavor" and references to the Chinese embedded within the framework for those who would have the experiences to explore and find it. And most certainly, while missing to a large extent in Modern Kenpo, it was always quite prominent in Mr. Parker's personal interpretations as he continued to grow and evolve, and it accounts for things he did in his own execution but did not generally teach because the framework he settled on for his business was not generally conducive to its inclusion. But the material lives on in the few he trusted with the information, like his son Edmund K. Parker II.