(from a recent discussion on Facebook)
As we used to joke often with Mr. Huk Planas, “not everything in Kenpo is Five Swords….but most of it IS!” Master Key is a concept to help you reduce the system to the lowest common denominator, to make it easier to understand, process, and internalize for effective, spontaneous combat application, not a set list written in stone! If one analyzes motion, pretty much the whole system can be reduced to Five Swords, with Leaping Crane, Obscure Wing, Triggered Salute, Gift of Destruction, and Crossing Talon thrown in. - Max Bychkov
That would rest entirely on whether you are a technique focused or principle focused practitioner. The art of Kenpo is not about the myriad of “techniques & forms” but in one’s understanding, and use of the principles & concepts of motion found within them. As Mr. Parker & Mr. Mills shared with me; “Kenpo is not mystical, it is understanding universal principles & laws..”
Kenpo by definition is the analytical study of human motion through biology & physics. When we as practitioners understand this, inside & out, the “master keys” become self evident. Enjoy your journey. - Scott Hilderbrand
I like to describe them as recurring movement patterns, sometimes done on the inside of the arms and sometimes on the outside, sometimes on the so-called upper case and sometimes on the lower case. - Guru Bobi
The definition of, A MASTER KEY MOVE.,
Is a single move that can be used in more than One predicament with Equal effect. - Terence Crean
To answer the initial question...
According to the last version of the IKKA belt journals, the Master Key techniques are:
- Thundering Hammers
- Five Swords
- (Intellectual Departure – a Master Key technique, but not taught as part of the IKKA curriculum)
- Shielding Hammer
- Repeating Mace
- Locked Wing
- Thrusting Salute
- Parting Wings
- Hooking Wings
Some additional thoughts on the subject…
Others have mentioned this, but thought I'd add to the conversation since it's something I've been thinking about quite a bit these days.
The way I've come to understand things is that the Master Keys, or rather all techniques, aren't really about memorizing sequences. They're models.
Most students see these as responses to specific attacks, a prescribed sequence for a given scenario. That's the first stage of learning. It makes the ideas clear and gives you something concrete to practice.
But that's not really what they are.
They're combat models, each one a layered study you can spend years unpacking.
GM Parker outlined 21 concepts and principles of technique execution in Infinite Insights Volume 4. The techniques are built on those foundations.
Angle of entry. Marriage of gravity and torque. Opposing forces. Checking vs. striking. Width, height, and depth control. Anatomical targeting and effect.
That's just the surface.
Beneath that: backup mass, borrowed force, contouring, marriage of angle and weapon, dual counteraction, positional checks, rotational torque, sequential flow, stabilization, anchoring...
And beneath that: timing transitions, range collapse, structural alignment under pressure, reactionary control, the relationship between minor moves and major strikes, how a check becomes a strike and a strike becomes a position...
Each Master Key contains multiple levels of concepts and principles working simultaneously. The attack/defense sequence is just the delivery system.
The real content is what's happening inside the technique, and how all 21 principles come into play.
To me, the training deepens when you stop asking "What comes next?" and start asking:
- What happens if I reverse this motion?
- What if I apply it on a different plane?
- What if the target changes but the concept stays the same?
You take them apart. Re-assemble them.Find their application in opposite directions, alternate heights, inverted angles.
Each Master Key is a three-dimensional problem-solving framework that teach you how Kenpo thinks.
That's why their DNA shows up everywhere in the system. Way after the technique itself disappears from the syllabus.
Here's the catch:
Most of what I just described doesn't reveal itself until after you've memorized the sequence and stopped worrying about what comes next.
The depth is there from day one. But you can't see it while you're still counting steps and worrying about memorizing sequence (which is the entry point).
You learn the sequence so you can forget the sequence. Then the real training begins.
Understanding this shift is the difference between collecting techniques and mastering Kenpo.
Just some thoughts from the cheap seats… - Steven Resell
The "Master Key" techniques are the hub of various models of techniques. Apply the formula to those hubs and you arrive at the spokes radiating out from that hub.
Prefix: Adding movements before the base technique.
Suffix: Adding movements after the base technique.
Insert: Adding simultaneous moves (e.g., checks or strikes).
Rearrange: Changing the order of moves.
Alter: Changing the weapon, target, or both.
Adjust: Changing the range or angle of execution.
Regulate: Modifying speed, force, or intent.
Delete: Removing unnecessary moves from a sequence.
Application in Training:
The formula is central to the "Three Phase" training concept:
Ideal Phase: The technique is performed exactly as taught against a specific, anticipated attack.
What If Phase: The technique is modified to handle unexpected changes in the opponent's reaction or size.
Formulation Phase: Developing new, personalized techniques based on the adaptations made in the "what if" phase
BUT: The techniques themselves, Hub or Spoke.... Master Key or derivative of them.... are the HOW.
The real juice of the fruit lies in the "WHY".
the principles and concepts are the why. - John Haag
