The Rise of American Kenpo As I Saw It
(Infinite Insights into the Master - Part 1)
by
Will Tracy
revised 1/17/98
Preface
The rise of American Kenpo, as I saw it, is not the rise of
American kenpo as (the late) Ed Parker, or his myrmidons would like it to be. Unlike the
many American Kenpo students who have written to criticize what I have written about Ed
Parker, I have no personal agenda. I am not a part of Tracy's Kenpo Karate, other than to
provide the web site for my brother, Al Tracy. If what I write appears to agree with what
Al Tracy writes, it is because we both lived the period of history about which I write, or
we were both told the same things by Professor Chow, Ed Parker, his father, and those
close to him. The history of Kenpo, it seems, has become the lies upon which the black
belts of American kenpo agree. Their apotheosis of Ed Parker makes any derogatory, though
truthful statement about him, a heresy. They have abandoned the Nine Principles of Kenpo and prefer lies to the Way. The articles I write here will not paint Ed Parker as the
"High Priest and Prophet " (Ed Parker's words, not mine) of kenpo. If the reader
wants nothing but praises of a man who is arguably one of the most influential figures in
20th century martial arts, he (or she) can get those from those who make their living
singing his praises. However, I do not believe I treat Ed unkindly, or with disrespect. I
knew Ed for nearly 35 years. I liked him and counted him as a friend. He came to my house
on numerous occasions, and when I did not live in the Los Angeles area, he would stay at
my house when he visited my area, instead of staying at a motel or hotel. With the
exception of Tom Bleecker, and my brothers, I know of no other persons WHO TAUGHT KENPO
with whom Ed had this closeness. How long did this last? I last saw Ed about six months
before he died, when he came to my office to talk about eschatology. I have received a
great deal of criticism to the effect that Ed Parker is not here to defend himself. First,
I do not attack Ed Parker. I defend the Way of Kenpo, and much of what I write
demonstrates Ed Parker's divergence from the Nine Principles of Kenpo. That aside, the
fact is, Ed Parker wrote books (which are still being sold-for profit) and articles (which
are still in print), and gave interviews, (at least one of which was printed after his
death). His students, who rely on his writings as part of their likelihood are still
capable of defending their master's works. The problem, as I see it is few, if any of Ed
Parker's black belts, were with him before 1980, and all have abandoned him in death to
claim rank he never gave them in life. It is ludicrous, however, for anyone to think that
the works of an author and founder of a martial arts system upon which the entire system
rests, cannot be criticized because he is dead. Amid all the criticism from the myrmidons
of American kenpo, not one has yet to make an "offer of proof" that anything I
have written is incorrect. I do not claim what I write be absolutely correct. Time fades
even the best memory, and my ego does not prevent me from correcting anything I have
written.
When Ed Parker showed me the rough draft of his book Infinite Insights into Kenpo, 1
Mental Stimulation I told him that he was playing fast and loose with his early days.
It wasn't the way he and others had told me it happened twenty years earlier. Ed justified
this as being artistic license. As a writer I can accept this, but it is not the Way of
Kenpo, and it certainly is against the First Principle of Kenpo, "Do not think
dishonestly ".
While Ed was lying in the shade of the rubber tree at my Santa Monica Beach bungalows
one afternoon, keeping his sharp kenpo eye on the half dozen bikini clad girls who
frequented my place, I told him I had read his second book and it was filled with garbage.
"I know this. You know this. But none of my students know this", Ed told me.
" The first one who comes to me and tells me this, I will make my successor ". Ed Died without naming a successor. This was no oversight. Ed did not teach during his
last 10 years, and he taught only occasionally for the last 20 years. He would have liked
to have named a successor, but there was no one to succeed him. What he left, instead, was
his organization, the IKKA, which he had fashioned to take his place.
For the tiresome critics who claim that Ed Parker never stopped
teaching, please read the interview with Ed Parker in the March, 1991 issue of Karate
and Fitness International, page 39 on what Ed Parker said about how Steven Seagal got
started in films.
"When I stopped teaching, Joe Hyams one of my students, went over to Seagal."
Does this make me a liar because I said Ed stopped teaching? Or does it make Ed a liar
because he said he stopped teaching? Or does it depend on whether you claim that you were
taught by Ed after he stopped teaching?
It is recognized that Ed did not completely abandon Kenpo in the last 10 years. He
certainly put on his gi and showed a few moves during this period. But that is not "
teaching " as Ed Parker, would define it. But it is dishonest thinking to claim Ed
Parker was teaching someone when all he did was show a few moves.
Ed Parker was not the man people saw. Nor was he the man those who thought they were
close to him saw. He was open and he was secretive. He told everyone that he wanted his
students to be innovative, creative and to think for themselves. They followed him like
sheep. Ed was serious and a deep thinker. But he waded in shallow pools. Ed Parker had the
opportunity to be close friends with some of the most brilliant minds in the country. He
chose instead to keep them as acquaintances, while keeping his closer associations with
those for whom he was a intellectual superior. Ed told me that he taught blatant
absurdities so the chosen could discover them. None discovered them. It is, therefore, not
Ed Parker who deserves criticism for this. That criticism belongs to American kenpo, and
those who blindly follow its precepts.
The differences between Kenpo and American kenpo
are great, so great as to make American kenpo unlike any other system of kenpo, and even
make it a system that is not really kenpo. The most obvious difference is, of course, the number of techniques in Kenpo,
which has over 400 required for black belt, and 600 for Godan, while American kenpo has
only about 178 techniques total in the entire system. But these raw numbers are deceiving.
American kenpo claims its techniques to be " new," but the only thing "
new " is what they omit, what the techniques are called and how they are taught. When
viewed objectively, American kenpo techniques are often little more than the first part of
a kenpo technique. The rest of the technique is then taught as a completely " new
" technique in that system. In addition (or subtraction) Ed Parker removed all Jiu
Jitsu from his system. This means, as Ed Parker claimed, the system only teaches about 10%
of the original techniques. Proponents of American kenpo defend so few techniques on the basis that they teach the
concepts and principles of the "how(s)" and "why(s)," which makes 500
techniques unnecessary. This is not the Way of kenpo, as the Way is in training. The
"how(s)" and "why(s)" of self defense are better taught through a
larger number of techniques, each of which conditions the application and reality of the
concepts and principles; and it is reality and the Way of kenpo that American kenpo
neglects. From a self-defense standpoint, theory is not important in the first stage of
learning. What is important is learning a move and practicing it correctly. Not all
students learn or apply the same techniques the same way. Some beginning students find it
extremely difficult to learn certain techniques, while other techniques come natural. If
the number of techniques is limited, so to is the avenue the student has to learn. When Ed Parker was still teaching Traditional Kenpo, some Japanese systems had as few as
640 moves. Those were not techniques, but moves. A punch being one move, a block a second
move, a punch and block being a third move, a kick a fourth move, a kick and punch a fifth
move, and so on. A kenpo technique might have from three to 10 moves. The instructors of
thos Japanese systems required each move to be learned in the proper order, and claimed
that after 10 years one could be proficient in all 640 moves. Ed Parker followed the Way
of kenpo, where 5,000 moves would be taught, and in six months a student would have
mastered 640 of those moves. That principle was true in 1665; it was true in 1962; and it
is true today. The only thing that has changed is American kenpo no longer follows the
Way. The concept of "thinking" through moves is not original with Ed Parker.
Napoleon Hill had been teaching it for years before Ed Parker was aware of it. Between
1968 and 1974, I personally worked "mind games" with Ed Parker, demonstrating
the application of mind-practice over physical practice, which were very much like the
precepts then being taught by Jose Silva's Mind Control and Alexander's, Mind Dynamics,
which would later develop into EST. Ed was so impressed with the results of these mind
games that the concept would become his own. Fifteen years later Ed would tell me that a
person could learn any physical movement, any sport, even Kenpo, without having to
physically practice the technique. For those who required physical practice, he had
developed American kenpo. But the Way of kenpo is in training. Thinking through the move
is only part of that training. What Ed Parker failed to realize is, he was reinventing the wheel. All his ideas, all of
his concepts and precepts had been advanced, argued and attempted from the beginning
Eastern and Western thought. Critics have pointed this out, and argue that if those
concepts and principles are superior to any other system, then the system would dominate
the sports aspect of kenpo. The fact that American kenpo has not produced one notable
national champion caliber competitor in the 20 years of its existence raises serious
doubts as to the effectiveness of American kenpo principles and training. But the
strongest criticism of American kenpo is that many of its concepts and principles are not
only flawed, but absurd. After watching himself on 16 mm film, Ed Parker played the film backward instead of
rewinding it. From this Parker claimed to have discovered that reverse motion is the other
half of motion. New and innovative? No! Absurd? Yes! Zenos argued the same matter 2,400
years ago. Homer advanced the concept when he had Odysseus redouble his path between
Skylla and Charybdis. The concept had been ridiculed by Aglenoce when she sought to put an
end to the cacodoxy of Orpheus, and the Zen masters put an end to the argument by saying,
"The arrow released will not return." The concept of reverse motion has been
used by film- makers since silent films to undo events for the audience, and change them.
It is the "principle" upon which "time travel" is predicated, and the
concept has been used by Star Trek, Superman, and countless other fantastic characters.
The principle is, however, scientifically, unsound, and its application is impossible. Yet
reverse motion is one of the "scientific principles" upon which American kenpo
is founded. And there is not one proponent of American kenpo who can scientifically define
reverse motion, or demonstrate its application. But even more fundamentally, those who
know the Way of kenpo, and those who are in the Void, know " reverse motion " is
not in the Way. Another American kenpo "scientific principles" which defies reason and
application is "checking." In theory, "checking" allows the Kenpo
student to anticipate the opponent's every possible use of every weapon and to prevent its
use. In practical application, a 97 pound American kenpo master is not going to check
(prevent) a 200 pound champion boxer, like Mike Tyson, from throwing a punch. He may
anticipate the boxer's every move. But think about it. Have you ever seen a boxer
"check" his opponent? Don't you think that where millions of dollars are at
stake in a single boxing match, someone would have discovered the American kenpo technique
of Checking and used it to prevent his opponent from even throwing a powerful punch? And
again, "checking " is contrary to the Way of kenpo. It does not exist in the
Void. It is axiomatic that the best swordsman in all of France does not fear the second best
swordsman in all of France. He knows his opponent's weaknesses. Instead, he fears the
worst swordsman in all of France, because he doesn't know what he will do. This,
incidentally, was one of the original principles Ed Parker taught before he was diverted
to American kenpo. To understand this, the reader needs to know what Kenpo is.
At this
point the reader should know that kenpo is a Japanese term which designates a Chinese
style of self defense. Thus in Japan we find systems like Shorin-kenpo, Shorinji-kenpo,
and others which all, while being different, still use many of the same, or at least
common moves or techniques. The most common thread is, they are Japanese systems teaching
an art that is considered to have originated in China. Then there is Chinese Kenpo.
While there are some schools in Taiwan teaching Chinese Kenpo, to my knowledge, there is
no system in mainland China calling itself "Chinese Kenpo." In 1962, Alex Jung,
the owner of three kenpo school in Taiwan, came to study at the Tracy school in San
Francisco. Alex and I became close friends. His system was not truly "Chinese,"
as Alex had learned it from Japanese businessmen in his country. His style of kenpo was so
similar to the Tracy's style that some of the Tracy students thought Alex had studied with
the Tracy brothers when they taught at Ed Parker's studio in Pasadena. In Taiwan, Alex's
students wore Japanese gis, and he awarded Japanese black and brown belts. When Alex
returned to Taiwan he took the Tracy-belt system with him. According to Alex, there were
four other kenpo schools in Taiwan at the time, and all were run by instructors who had
learned kenpo from Japanese instructors. Except for the few kenpo systems that American servicemen learned in Japan and Okinawa,
most, if not all, kenpo styles in the United States can trace their origin to Hawaii and
James Mitose's kosho kenpo jujitsu. William K. S. Chow studied the Mitose system and
founded his own system which he called Kenpo Karate. However, the techniques of Kenpo
Jujitsu and Kenpo Karate were so similar as to make them virtually indistinguishable prior
to 1959. Between 1954 and 1960, Ed Parker would claim that Chow's style of kenpo was much
the same as Mitose's system, but that Chow's system was designed for the street. However,
commencing in 1961, Parker began to tell his students that Chow had added the circular
movements (which, according to Parker, Chow learned from his father and uncle) to kenpo. I
had studied with Great Grand Master Fusae Oshita and knew the circular moves were in the
Japanese system from the beginning, and I knew this "dishonest thinking " and a
divergence from the Way. In later years Ed would claim that Chow had "restored"
the circular, Chinese, movements which the Japanese had eliminated. The differences between Mitose and Chow were more in philosophy and the application of
the kenpo techniques than the techniques themselves. The differences certainly had nothing
to do with circular motions. Mitose taught that the best way to win a fight was to avoid a
fight. Chow on the other hand was a street fighter and by all accounts, a tough one. It
was his abilities on the street and his abilities to teach, that allowed him to claim the
title of "Professor ". Neither Mitose nor Chow had a building of their own which could be called a school. They
taught in Hawaii's YMCAs and cultural halls. Many of Chow's first students, (c.1949-1953)
were tough street fighters who came to the "Professor" to hone their street
fighting skills. Two of Chow's best students, Sonny and Joe Emperado, were also tough
street fighters. The Emperado brothers broke with Chow and began teaching on their own
(c.1953). This break hurt Chow financially, as his former students took two of the YMCAs
which each paid $48 a month. But it was not until later, when Sonny Emperado took 11 of
Chow's YMCAs and clubs that Chow became angry with Emperado. Despite the animosity between
Chow and Emperado, Chow always acknowledged Sonny as his best and most gifted student. The next generation of Professor Chow's students included Ed Parker, who, like Chow, was
a Mormon. There are three important "facts" to know about Parker and his
instructor:
First, Chow never studied kung fu from his father, uncle or anyone else, as Ed Parker
would claim. When I asked Professor Chow about this, he laughed and told me he had never
studied any system other than kenpo. He went on to explain that he had seen Kung Fu men
training, but found them all to be sissies. He had broken too many Kung Fu fighter's heads
on the street to believe they had anything to offer. Chow would say of Ed Parker in later
years, that Parker had made him a Kung Fu master so he could claim he had learned a secret
Chinese style from him. Professor Chow would, however, use this fiction to claim his new
Chinese systems were taught by his ancestors. These were divergences from the First
Principle of kenpo, and I chose not to follow that path.
There are still those who claim Chow learned kung fu from his father and uncle. However,
a good indicia of what Chow learned can come from his four brothers. All of them taught
the martial arts. Yet not one of his brothers taught anything even remotely resembling
kung fu. Had their father, uncle, grandfather, or any relative been a kung fu master, we
could expect that they would have also taught some elements of that Chinese system to
their sons and nephews. All of Chow's brothers were Jujitsu men and never claimed to teach
any Chinese system, except kenpo. Additionally, we have the police account of a fight
involving Chow's father, Hoon Chow, where he was sent to prison for 10 months. The
sentence was not imposed because Hoon Chow used some deadly kung fu technique, but because
after losing the fight he bit his a man so badly and so many times that the man nearly
died from the bite infections. Although Hoon Chow struck at the man many times, he never
threw what anyone though was a punch, and no one though he was actually fighting the man
until he started biting. If Professor Chow learned this style of biting, he never taught
it to any of his students.
Second, is the early training of Parker. Parker only studied
with Adriano Emperado for two weeks before going over with Chow. Sonny Emperado told me,
"I think we were too tough for him." However, Sonny Emperado did give Ed Parker
a Shichidan certificate in the late 1960s.
Nor did Ed Parker study with Frank Chow commencing in 1946, as Ed would claim. Frank
Chow was professor Chow's younger brother, and like his brother and Ed Parker, he was a
Mormon. There is little doubt that Frank showed Ed some moves, however in Ed's book he
relates how he began studying the martial arts after Frank Chow showed him how he defeat a
bully. Ed said he was so impressed that he knew then and there he wanted to learn from
Frank. The problem is, Ed Parker and his father both told my brothers and me that Ed began
studying judo when he was very young, (8 years old according to Ed's father) and that he
was a Shodan in Judo before he began studying kenpo. And this presents the question, why
would Ed begin training with Sonny Emperado if he was so impressed with Frank Chow. Professor Chow also told me, that Ed was a good judo student, but did not know any kenpo
when he came to study with him a few months after Chow had begun teaching. Chow could not
remember the exact year, but he knew it was shortly after he opened his first club, and
only a few weeks before Ed went to the mainland to attend college. While there is no exact
date for when Chow began teaching, we do know he started his first club in early 1949
(March-April) One thing is certain, Ed Parker went to BYU in September, 1949, (5 months
after Chow began teaching), and he was at BUY until the summer of 1951. He did not return
to Hawaii before 1952. Ed would tell everyone that he was drafted when the Korean War broke out, and it is a
small matter that he volunteered for the Coast Guard. It was not just fortune, but his
agreement with the Coast Guard recruiter that he would be based in Hawaii after 6 months
training. Again, that was the first time Ed returned to Hawaii since he left for college. Although Ed was stationed in Hawaii, he had at least three tours at sea, each of which
lasted nearly six months, and Ed told my brothers and me many stories of his adventures in
Philippines, Japan and Hong Kong while with the Coast Guard. This, confirms what Chow told
me, that Ed was sporadic in his training.
Third, Chow claimed that he never gave Ed
Parker a black belt, and he never knew that Ed Parker wanted to establish kenpo on the
mainland until, just before Ed opened his School in Pasadena in 1956. However, Chow
acknowledged that Parker was a natural at kenpo. The problem was, he was never around
enough to get a black belt; Parker would be gone for long periods, come back and study,
then go away again. Chow also admit that Parker was a strong brown belt, and he had
learned all of Chow's kenpo system. Because of the events in the fall and winter of 1961,
it was quite obvious that Chow had not yet given Ed Parker Shodan.
Ed returned to BYU in the fall of 1954 where he began teaching Kenpo. Ed would later
claim Chow had given him his blessing, and the two had discussed opening a chain of Kenpo
schools before going to the Mainland. Chow on the other hand, told me that he never knew
Parker was teaching Kenpo at Brigham Young University, until Ed asked him for a black
belt. He also showed me a letter written by Ed in 1956, in which Parker requested
Professor Chow's permission to open a school in Pasadena. Sonny Emperado was also shown
the letter and writes of Ed Parker, "..He saw that there were no Martial arts schools
and wanted to open one. Professor Chow spoke to me, showed me Ed's letter and asked me
what I thought of the idea. 'Why not' I said if Ed has the opportunity to open the first
Kenpo Karate school in Los Angeles..."
It would appear that money and not ability was the reason Chow refused to give Parker a
black belt certificate. When I first started training with Ed in 1957 Ed told me he was a
Sandan. When I went to Hawaii in 1959 to study with Professor Chow, I learned the truth.
Shodan was the only black belt rank awarded in kenpo at that time. Ed Parker was claiming
Sandan, and trying to get Sonny Emperado to go along with him by claiming Sonny was Godan.
Professor Chow was having personal, emotional, problems, but all the time I was with him
none of these seemed to come to the surface. He had refused to teach me when I first went
to him because I was Ed Parker's student. A couple of days later I was introduced to Fusae
Oshita. When Chow found out I was training with Oshita, he invited me to also train with
him. When I left later that year, he told that if I would come back and see him, he would
give Ed what he wanted.
Two years later, Professor Chow was impressed that I had done as he had said and come
back. He was even more impressed that Ed Parker had paid for my plane fare and expenses.
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