Ed Parker's
International Kenpo Karate Association
Where the Journey Began

The irony is really strange as this biography is written.  It has been several years since the passing of Mr. Parker, and a great many things have changed since that time.  Changes have even happened in rather unexpected directions.  However, change in positive directions generally works out.  One element of irony is that with all of the changes that have taken place, the one thing that hasn't changed is the belief in the system Mr. Parker started.  Many can argue in about the different elements and factions of the art, and where the art is going.  Nonetheless, I don't think anyone involved in American Kenpo can argue that the fundamental style of Kenpo Karate, in all of it's phenomenal power and scientific methodology, is one of the finest forms of self-defense in the world.         Another bit of irony would be one of the individuals who came up with the Dragon Tales and Martial Fusion concepts and a great deal of the material created as an homage to Mr. Parker, never got the chance to meet him.  However, this fact is one of the driving forces behind the material that has been created for both Dragon Tales and Martial Fusion.  Many stories have been told about how Mr. Parker lived, and what kind of man he was.  Some of them good, some of them not so good.  By not so good we mean, painful, very painful.  To someone who had never met him, those stories could have a huge influence on the legacy he left for all of us.  On the other hand, anyone who truly believes in what he had made great, or read any of his published material, or experienced any of the information put forth by Mr. Parker, would have a pretty good idea what kind of man he was.  As a side note, there is a book on the market by SGM Ed Parker's wife, Leilani Parker, which gives a rather difinative look into Mr. Parker's life.  We highly recommend this book to anyone who might be interested.  The book is called Memories of Ed Parker.         Beyond all of the changes and other bits of irony, nothing could be more true than the fact that this biography has been written with the utmost respect for Mr. Ed Parker and the International Kenpo Karate Association.  Yet, this will not be the typical biography of either subject.  Here are some links to some sites with the general information on Mr. Parker and the IKKA, for those of you who have not already been exposed to the material: Kenponet.com         More sites will be put forward later.  Now for the rest of the biography.  First, let's start with the truth about Kenpo.  To be completely honest, the style Mr. Parker spent his entire life perfecting is simply that. American Kenpo Karate is a way of LIFE.         Now a quote that we are rather fond of "any point worth making should prove itself."  We could stop there with the statement above and be just fine, however, there may be a need to prove any statement that blunt.  For those of you reading this who have been involved in the Art for a while, surely there isn't a need for a great deal of proof.  For everyone else, here is what we are talking about.  This statement goes far beyond Mr. Parker's ability to use analogies and methods of explanation for motion in terms found in everyday life.  Like the motion used to comb your hair altered to become an elbow, or the simple motion of walking forward altered to be used as a kick or knee strike.  Or my personal favorite, instead of carrying around weapons like nunchuku or kubaton, using items that can be found anywhere like a tree branch or a table leg.  There is so much more beyond the statement made before that is sometimes missed.         When Mr. Parker was first studying the Art of Kempo he found, from the experience he had, that there needed to be some changes to make the Art more effective.  Since that time he developed the system to constantly be refined to be completely effective in it's own time and place.  He continued to do this until his passing.  He was a firm believer in the idea that when something stops moving forward it does just that.. it stops.  It stops growing, it stops evolving, it stops being effective.  To keep Kenpo moving forward requires many attributes;  such as intellect, creativity, humility, patience, an open mind, the ability to see things on different levels and dimensions, teamwork, and most of all a real love for what you are  doing.  These were also qualities he made great strives to pass on to his students as he continued to move Kenpo into the future.  He wanted his students to not only understand the refinements he was making, but to also be able to make those refinements for themselves.  To make the Art of Kenpo something more personal and effective for each individual student, while keeping within the same basic principles and guidelines.  This, in many ways, made the style of Kenpo a living entity, always moving forward to serve it's purpose for existence.         Another idea illustrating the statement has to do with the fact that Kenpo involves elements from almost every style of the martial arts in it's design.  Either in the attacking or defending stage, and sometimes in both.  Within American Kenpo, there are self-defense techniques, forms, freestyle concepts, weapons usage, grappling, joint-locks, throwing techniques, circular and linear motion, and multiple hand and feet related strikes from both the hard and soft methods of execution.  We couldn't think of a system of self-defense out there that doesn't have something that can be found in American Kenpo in some fashion.  Well, all right, Capoeira, but there isn't really a lot of truly effective self-defense stuff in that style anyway.        Ok, so that was a joke, besides there are a few concepts from Capoeria too.  It was even mentioned in one of Mr. Parker's Infinite Insights books.  We just wanted to check if you were still reading.  One of the idea's that further supports this amalgamation of different martial arts concepts put forth by Mr. Parker is a very timely and conscientious point of view concept.  To train in the martial arts and be effective you must train from two viewpoints.  The viewpoint of the attacker, and of the defender.  Actually, there are three points of view found as a reference in the Kenpo system, those being attacker, defender, and bystander, but this is a different issue for another section.  Back to the point, to do this, he analyzed as many different types of attacks from different types of fighting strategies, and then found the best ways to defend against them.  All of this created a comprehensive style of the martial arts that was meant to change with the times.         How does this have anything to do with the statement made before.  Quite easily, truth be known.  Every system of the martial arts, traditional or not, at it's core is based on movement.  This motion can be used for defensive or offensive purposes if taken in the right direction.  Movement is something we do everyday.  From getting out of bed in the morning, to going back to bed at night, and everything in between.  Mr. Parker simply (and we use that word sparingly) found ways to refine motion into self-defense applications.  There is more that we could go into on this manner, but this should do quite well for some basic information on American Kenpo Karate and Ed Parker.  On a final note, when thinking of Kenpo, remember something Mr. Parker wrote in the Zen of Kenpo;  one of many books he published:  the Kenpo System is based on the outer limits of simplicity and the starting point of complexity.  This was a quote we feel sums up American Kenpo quite nicely.