What is Kenpo?  Where did it come from?  Who are the biggest influences.  When did it begin? How did you get involved in it.  Why do you do it?  What do you get out of it?

Bueller?  Bueller?  Bueller?

SIFU I WAS GIVING THIS ONE SOME TIME BEFORE I PUT MY THOUGHTS IN….....BUT WHAT ABOUT EVERYONE ELSE. HUMMMM!! THAT SAYS A LOT.

MAYBE WE NEED A KENPO HISTORY SEMINAR?

Kenpo is a method of self defense. It had alot of Martial art influences,but its originator was Ed Parker. The biggest influence for me is Sifu Dan of course! It began the day I committed to it. I am addicted to it.
What do I get from it? A sense of belonging, an extended family, life goals, a sense of achievment, playtime, the opportunity to give back to something that is such a huge part of me, mostly it is my center, it brings balance, it is a very healthy outlet.

GOOD JOB LENE!

ANYONE ELSE?

I can’t speak to the history of it but as far as the other questions go…
I started doing it because I saw Connor and Taylor do two man set at the first Brand X pincnic at Tony’s house, and thought… “How graceful, how beautiful. I can’t dance (the whole two left feet thing) but maybe I can look pretty doing Kenpo.” (still trying, let me know when it starts looking good) I do it because I love it. I feel like I get most of my self defence stuff from krav, so kenpo is mostly about taking care of my mind. It’s a constant battle, but that’s what draws me to it. Nothing in my life has taught me to have more patience then kenpo. Kenpo is all about the character building fro me. Self disipline. It’s a long hard road, but I learn something new from it every day I do it.

I also have the most incredible exteneded family thanks to it. I have like a million little brothers and sisters that I get to share this with when I teach them. I get to me part of a tradition, and I get to leave a legacy with the kids I pass my knowledge onto.

Oh, and I love wearing black.  8)

Ken I poke you in the eye ?

Jeff likes to kenpoke people in tthe eye…

How did i get involved in Kenpo?  I had done a martial art many years prior and my dad suggested i check out brandx and i just loved it from the beginning.  I continued doing it because i was immediately addicted to evreything.  I love the discipline, the challenge, the constant learning, the sense of timelessness that you get, you’re a part of something much bigger than yourself.  And most of all it is family, because only a few are able to stay with it for an extended period of time those that are there get to really know each other and can depend on each other.  kenpo for me is what makes brandx feel like a family. It’s no passing thing to be taken lightly.

for me, Kenpo is a therapy session but cheaper than a shrink. The best part…no one asks me “how’s that make you feel?” I don’t have to talk about my feelings! Let’s do techniques…sparring! I’m good to go.  It feels soooo good to hit stuff, and it’s becoming easier not to laugh but I still smile cuz it’s sooo much fun. I know, I still need to work on my control. So I apologize in advance to my dummies! Thanks for the therapy session guys!

I saw the movie Fists of Fury and knew that I wanted to do some fancy kicking and jumping around. I bugged my dad until he signed me up for classes in El Cajon. I remember taking my first lesson and walking past the large red dragon art work at the front of the studio. I remember being terrified that they were going to beat me up, as my lesson. They didn’t, and this was my first taste of Kenpo. This was October 1973 and have been going ever since.

I do it for the physical and mental discipline, and for the extended family. I have branched out in my learning, but still consider Kenpo my primary art.

I’m sure I’ve shared this before.
I was a freshman in high school and my best friend was 5’8” and about 110 pounds…she was skinny. One day we were goofing off with some of the cutest boys in school and one of them started being a jerk since he knew she was involved in karate. The next thing I knew, the guy was on the ground unable to breath and I had never even seen her move. That day I decided I wanted to be a karate chick.

I may not be a cool karate babe like my old friend. But I am striving to achieve the grace and confidence she had. Too bad it took me until I was a middle-aged mom.

BTW, I ended up marrying the brother of that guy my friend put to the ground. Some day, I’m going to put him down just like she did. Lest you think I’m a ruthless sister-in-law, he IS a USC fan!!!!

GO IRISH!!!!

Darby,
Who were the teachers at that school in El Cajon?  I was at a kenpo school in El Cajon at that time.

I joined this forum for the crossfit, I live in new york so will probably never step into your school, but I’m a kempo man too hope y’all don’t mind me chiming in on these threads.

The real originator of american kempo(or kenpo) is Professor william kwai sun chow. He was a student of his Fathers, a chinese Kempo man. When Chow came to hawaii, he made friends with James Mitose, of the Kempo jiu jitsu system. It is thought that mitose taught Chow, however I found an interview with Chow where he stated Mitose was not his teacher, just a friend who showed him a few things. Chow had many students who went on to leave legacies in martial arts, some of whom are Ed Parker who started the American Kenpo version, Sijo Emperado of Kajukenbo, Sonny Gascon, Walter Godin, etc.

I came into Kempo by accident, I wanted to do martial arts and asked my family for a gift certificate, my sister got me one for where I am now. My teacher, Kyoshi Rich Spatola and Renshi Enzo Aliotta learned under a few teachers, some of who are Steve DeMasco, known as the American ambassador to Shaolin in China, also they studied under Nick Cerio, and also Proffesor Kimo, a student of Walter Godin.

To me, Kempo is a lifestyle. In the beginning, its just about memorization and trying to remember certain techniques. you reach a certain point, and you start to understand the underlying reason for the technique and thus become one with it. Kempo is a road to self-mastery. Learning to master these techniques can help you understand how to master yourself, to keep your emotions in check, resist negative influence, etc.

Well said.

The Kenpo I studied seems a bit different than what you guys teach.
American Black Cat Kenpo - founder Grandmaster Raymond Gay.
It is interesting that we use Sensei instead of Sifu, which is decidedly Japanese. Most terminology is also Japanese.

This is where my instructor, a 5th Degree Master, learned.
http://www.abkusa.com/style.html

Trying to figure out the history before Master Gay is mind boggling.