Mr. Cerio's Kenpo celebrates 25 years (1994)

 

Learning versus Training

(from Mr. Rich Hale's Facebook page April 14th, 2021)

In my opinion, many people are overly concerned with learning Kenpo (techniques, sets, and forms, etc.) and under-concerned with physical training. Techniques, sets, and forms are part of the equation, but only part. Equally important is getting in shape and staying in shape.

I often hear some older guys say things like, I may not be in the shape I was once, but all I need is about seven seconds to ruin somebody's day. I know they’re partially joking, because no one over sixty, will ever again be in the shape they were in at twenty. It's also true that some of these old guys can rain havoc down faster than most people can blink. On the other hand, there are a lot more trained fighters roaming the streets today than yesterday. When I first started in Kenpo, if you knew any amount of martial arts, you knew more than just about anyone you were likely to get into a fight with. Back then, a little bit of training went a long way. Today, if you get into a fight, it's far more likely that your opponent will have some training as well. They may not have as much as you, but they're far more likely to have something up their sleeve than not. This is where fitness comes into play. 

For self-defense, I don't think people have to be in shape to pound it out for three five-minute rounds, but they may need to go a single three-minute round. I know this sounds easy, but if you haven't done it for a while, start the clock and put everything you have into a heavy bag for three minutes. The average person’s punching power drops significantly after only thirty seconds. Add in some heavy kicks and most people gas out completely in about a minute.

Aside from being in good enough shape to outlast an opponent, whatever happened to the martial arts being a way to get in shape AND TO STAY IN SHAPE. Forty years ago, angry young men, drinking heavily in bars were my opponents. Today, a slower metabolism, longer recuperative periods, and the overall effects of aging are my opponents. Back then I didn't so much need to get in shape, because I was in my twenties and just being in my twenties meant I was in pretty good shape. What I needed then was to learn karate. Today, after studying karate for fifty years, I know so much karate it's coming out my ears. What I need now is to be in good enough shape to perform it. 

We can look at learning versus training like a scale we're trying to keep in balance. Too much learning with too little training and the scale drops to one side.  Too little learning and too much training and the scale drops to the other side. Now if this was all there was to it, all we would have to do is come up with the proper proportions of learning and training to balance the scale and we'd be set. Only life doesn't work that way. We can't just learn something once and keep it in our memory forever. Neither can we train our bodies to where we want them and stop training.  So now let's look at our scales as having varying size holes in the treys, where we're placing our learning and our training. As we learn, the knowledge is continually leaking out the hole in its tray and as we train, the fitness is continually leaking out the hole in its tray. Our job, if we're going to keep things in balance, is to add more learning "when learning is needed" and to add more training "when training is needed". I believe many martial artists, including myself, are out of balance.

There was a time when my image of a high-ranking Kenpoist was that of a strong and powerful person, who had great knowledge, power, precision, and control. Today my image of a high-ranking Kenpoist leans more towards a heavyset guy who can't even see his toes, let alone touch them.  In 2014, Master Ken, the ever-popular YouTube martial arts comedian, was the comic-relief entertainment at the Master's Hall of Fame event in Long Beach, CA. His comedic speech focused on various martial arts, teasing them about well know aspects of their art. For example, he said "Muay Thai guys are always kicking banana plants and cracking coconuts. So, what do these guys have against fruits and vegetables anyway?"  Okay, it was funnier in person.  So he gets to Kenpo and he says, "So what is it with this mandatory weight gain between every rank in American Kenpo?"  Well, the room burst into laughter . . . all except for a bunch of overweight Kenpo guys saying stuff like, "Who does this guy think he is!"

Ladies and gentlemen of American Kenpo - this is becoming our reputation. Not that Kenpo is the only art to have overweight and unhealthy practitioners, every art has its share . . . but we must admit, our share is disproportionately large and getting larger.

If you read this far, without hanging up on me, good for you, so now I'll say, of course, there are genetic factors and other reasons people gain weight. That and being large doesn't automatically mean you're not a great martial artist. I know big guys that are faster and more flexible than I am. I don't mean to degrade anyone. But, on the other hand, if you're simply lazy and like eating more than life itself . . .

Mr. Jeff Speakman - The Expert intro

Mr. Speakman is most famous for his 1991 film The Perfect Weapon, a film that became a martial arts classic thanks to Mr. Speakman's awesome skill and to the kenpo that was showcased in the film.

Mr. Speakman made a few more martial arts films as well.

In 1995 he starred in The Expert where kenpo again is used as the weapon of choice. 

The Shaolin Kempo Handbook by Mr. Marlon Anthony Wilson

from Amazon

 This handbook can guide and point. It cannot replace a good solid teacher. At times, I read it and think that I might have written too much; other times it seems far too general or too cryptic; yet, overall, I feel as though I have done good and it gives more than enough for a martial artist to grow and develop in body, mind, soul and martial skill. In the end it is for the reader to decide. This Handbook for the student of Shaolin Kempo holds key aspects and guidance to serve anyone seeking practical self-defense and to unlock the power of their Shaolin Kempo. I urge you to read, enjoy, question, test and practice well the material of these writings. Along the way, remember to enjoy and regularly have fun. Training is truth!

To purchase book

https://www.amazon.com/Shaolin-Kempo-Handbook-Training-Center/dp/1796069094/ref=asc_df_1796069094/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=509137599748&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8666312161043456134&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1026980&hvtargid=pla-904094886676&psc=1

American Kenpo Karate by Mr. Irvin B. Gill

from the WKKA web page:

Want to enhance your training?

American Kenpo Karate: Its Key Principles and Rules is that map for the kenpo practitioner. This book explores the five key principles that are the reasons behind the physical movements encompassed by this martial arts system. Just because a movement involves a kick or a punch, it isn't necessarily karate, let alone American Kenpo. With that map, it is difficult to get off the track. 

Over 200 photographs demonstrate the concepts within this book, which was written so that anyone, martial artists and non-martial artists alike, can understand and appreciate it.  

https://www.wkka.org/

from Amazon

Almost 50 years ago, a new television show swept our nation and captured my attention. It was called “Kung Fu”. It starred David Carradine as a Shaolin monk wandering the American Wild West. The philosophy was appealing, the fight scenes were riveting, but what really captured my interest was the relationship between the young Kwai Chang Caine and his mentors Master Po and Master Kan. So, I set in search for my own Master Po. Over the years I visited various styles and schools in my area. None worked for me. Until 1990, when I met an older, white haired gentleman who taught something called American Kenpo. His manner drew me in; his love for what he taught was infectious. But as time passed, I discovered that I wanted the art to contain more that basic moves, katas and self-defense techniques. Was that all there was, just to collect movements as if they were trinkets for a curio cabinet? Where was the philosophy? Where were the fundamental principles? I felt as if I was lost in the woods. I needed a map to chart my course through the unknown. Because when you have a map, a compass and a point of reference, you know where you are, where you are going and how you are going to get there.American Kenpo Karate – the Key Principles is that map for the Kenpo practitioner. This book explores the five key principles that are the reasons behind the physical movements encompassed by this martial arts system. Just because a movement involves a kick or a punch, it isn’t necessarily karate, let alone American Kenpo. With that map, it is difficult to get off the track.There are over 200 photographs that help to demonstrate concepts within this book, which was written so that anyone, martial artists and non-martial artists alike, can understand and appreciate it.

To purchase book

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1692972456?fbclid=IwAR3eH-HDQZ3BKuQgYESwOkJ98zQ3eT8b9BLlkmgkz4_EfMo4C15sW4O9eP4