Mr. Chuck Sullivan in action back in the day

 

Kenpo black belts, how do you get your fighting experience?

(from Mr. Sascha Williams' Facebook page, October 2021) 

Are you training to handle a realistic fight, or maybe not?

It always puzzled me, at the IKCs during the 80s, when, after there was between 50 to almost 80 of us in the black belt Forms competition, less than ten of us would then start lining up for Sparring. That realization is part of what prompted me to write this post.

Having supported all the European IKKA events during that same decade, made me notice a stark contrast between attitudes in the U.S., versus Europe.

I didn't have to look hard, it was glaring me in the face:

Fact is that at the European IKCs I never observed the same level of "shelteredness" that I had come to accept as normal in California, particularly at the IKCs (Mr. Parker's Long Beach International Karate Championship, 1964-1999).

I say that because at the European IKCs, during the 90s (which was the era I was witness to) virtually every participating country had their black belts fight.

The Irish not going all in during sparring competition was completely unthinkable.

(Maybe the partial hangovers of the previous night's jovial festivities of reuniting with old friends played a role in numbing any potential reservations, who knows.)

The British, same thing. I remember watching Eddy Downey, transform from gentle to animal, the moment the match started. 

Same with Willie Kelly. I sometimes inadvertently leave him out, when giving credit to European IKKA. He WAS active as an important pioneer, as were several other school and/or club owners/instructors. 

(Please excuse me if an Irish black belt running a Kenpo studio in the Netherlands at an international IKKA event in Jersey confused me just a little as to how to categorize him.) But fact is, we were all excited about how far he helped to take the "Kenpo" fighting team in the very final matches of the event.

(Long story, for another post. Maybe he would like to tell that story himself.)

The Greeks, who during the 90s, and all the way till 2005 were under my direct tutelage and instruction thanks to John Nikolaou, were a formidable force in the point fighting ring every year.

The Dutch, same thing. And please remember, I'm not just talking about their brown belts, I'm talking about their top black belts, typically the ones directly under Hans, out there fighting, without hesitation, in front of their students. The Spaniards. Same thing. Same contagious spirit.

Ironically, the German group was smaller, although Rainer Schulte played a huge role in early European growth of Kenpo. But although his lineage is solid, some of his influence followed "meandering" paths, working side by side with Roy Macdonald (Jersey) and simply supporting the (very) few other countries who came on board back then, when Mr. Parker was still alive in the 80s.

The European Kenpo black belts overcame their reservations (if they even had any in the first place) to fight in front of each other, and in front of their students, providing the needed great examples of leadership.

And the proof is "in the pudding": Modeling an unbridled, non pretentious attitude in front of their students created a new generation of students who seem eager to follow in those footsteps.

Now, lest I am perceived as bashing my American peers, particularly my seniors, let me point the light at q few of them:

Particularly Ralph Castellanos, Tom Kelly, Bob White, and Frank Trejo. 

Not the only ones. Brian Duffy was out there representing, so was Vinton Kocklich, and I'm probably forgetting some.

As a matter of fact, the influence of these "seniors" was one of the primary reasons I invited them to my schools in the 90s.

I never did have the opportunity to get Ralph Castellanos to my schools, although I interacted with him at the IKCs a few times. The fact that he trusted me to teach his grandnieces, and bring them up to black belt meant a lot to me. (Danielle and Brittany Castellanos, together with their mother, Ursula Castellanos are all black belts of mine).

His accomplishments in the ring are the stuff of legends now, and can be quickly observed in his fight against Joe Lewis, which I believe he won. (that video is easy to find on YouTube.)

There were others who impressed me with their "step out of your comfort zone" attitude, which, in my view, plays a huge part in this.

Skip Hancock, while I don't even know if he ever fought in a ring (I'll let him enlighten me on that, if he wants), impressed me when he and I conducted the very first European IKKA seminar tour after Mr. Parker passed in '91.

After we both taught several seminars at Chris Spinger's (Rainer Schulte black belt) school, Skip, without even asking me, lined up the entire group that attended into two lines. He took one half of the group, and gave me the second half. 

He then announced "O.K, now we spar." 

I'm glad I was in shape, as we then took on one person after the other, each for about close to a minute, and sparred ALL the German students in attendance.

I thought that was an incredible effective example of role modeling and my respect for Skip went up significantly as a result.

And I cannot leave out my first Kenpo instructor, the late Douglas Gavin McLeod (on the family tree, also a direct student of Ed Parker's). You can catch a glimpse of his old school in some of the Ed Parker seminar videos (red carpet) on YouTube by searching Ed Parker seminar Santa Cruz Liles).

While McLeod was not too focused on point fighting, he did require all of his black belt candidates (including me) to engage in full contact fighting. If we didn't rock each other's heads, it wasn't realistic, in his view (yes we wore gloves and headgear). And he was absolutely correct. It was his training philosophy that prepared me for the street before anyone else did. 

The toughest fighter I have ever faced in the ring was Raymund Daniels, not a Kenpo guy, and 18 years my junior.

The first time I had the privilege to face him in the ring was after I placed first in my age division (35 and over) at Bob White's Karate on the Beach back in '98.

With Frank Trejo as center judge, Raymond eliminated me in the first semi final round for Grand Champion, but not without "enjoying" several of my Kenpo groin kicks, and what turned out to be very effective positioned blocks that seemed to be a challenge for him.

I lost by one point. Anyone who knows this man, knows that that is something to be proud of. (The Jamaicans have a saying: "A new broom sweeps deep, but the old one knows the corners. I believe I confirmed the usefulness of that analogy on that day.)

Frank Trejo congratulated me after the match. That meant a lot to me.

While I had more street fights than point fights throughout my life (I had worked in security, many years ago), I feel that preparing for point fighting overall gave me the greatest edge. 

Mr. Parker had taught me about "depth deception" as a means to control a competition fight. In my view, nobody is better with that than are champion point fighters, it is extremely frustrating to attempt to get the upper hand against an opponent who is never where you just thought he was. And who never let's you choose the exact timing of commitment. 

Top notch point fighters are masters at controlling distance and timing. Additionally, repeated point fighting in tournaments calms down our tendency for desperation.

"Desperation hinders Inspiration" (Zen of Kenpo).

When it came to surviving in the street, the vast knowledge of Kenpo counters was invaluable to me, as was being used to take a hit. But ultimately it was point fighting that made a street fight much easier to handle, simply because it was point fighting that taught me (more than any other training) to make my opponent miss. To read my opponent's attempts at countering early enough to check them. To frustrate my opponent's by more accurately and calmly predicting anything they did. 

Additionally, point fighting provides a similar "one chance only" simulation. A full contact fighter, or boxer, isn't too concerned about taking a few shots. But a point fighter is, just as is a street fighter. Each individual exchange in a point fight carries greater consequence, just like a street fight. And the ego tends to be just as worried, regarding the first 1 to 5 seconds of engagement. 

I hope this all is helpful as well as cautionary. Black belts should know how to fight. We have an entire club of 10th degrees who may be guilty of having avoided that aspect of training (not all, of course) , and an experienced fighter can spot that from a mile away.

What are you doing?

(recently posted on Facebook by Mr. Ron Chapél)

For many if not most, everything they understand about Kenpo comes from a Modern Ed Parker Kenpo Karate perspective. That’s not a bad thing but it has some significant limitations because its origin is as much a business model as a martial arts model. The good news is both can and have been enormously successful. But, for obvious reasons, they both have significant limitations outside of the stated goals of either. Ed Parker’s Kenpo Karate from the perspective of those that came before its inception could be easily characterized as the “big compromise.”

Has anyone taken notice that senior practitioners, that trained and studied with Mr. Parker before it was created did not or do not teach it? While modern senior practitioners embrace strictly embrace the “manuals,” Esteemed Seniors like Sullivan, Hebler, Inosanto, Dimmick, etc., and the many late seniors that have left us didn’t teach it while they were still alive and thriving during the heyday of the new Modern System. So, what gives?

The reason is simple and when being candid, they will tell you. The Modern Kenpo System was based on a business plan utilized by the Arthur Murray Dance Studios and a huge and significant compromise departure from what Mr. Parker was training and teaching before. The Seniors mentioned above are from the Chinese Kenpo era as am I when training was much different.

Only Chuck Sullivan transcends all of the eras, and he too while being quite active, still does not teach it. Having insight into the multiple interpretations and changes of Kenpo perspectives changes how we view what most are doing currently with the interpretations in general, and specifically this new Modern System. No one can argue the effectiveness of the teachings of these “pre-EP Kenpo Karate” seniors and yet none of them transitioned to the “new” system for a reason. So, what gives?

Many are ignorant and arrogant enough to suggest older senior practitioners are “changing” Ed Parker’s Kenpo Karate not understanding we’re not changing something we didn’t do and are only continuing to explore and interpret Ed Parker’s teachings from previous eras, often before they were born, something Ed Parker Sr. himself strongly encouraged.

Understanding this singular fact alone should change anyone’s perspective and hopefully cause one to look at “Kenpo” with a broader more open understanding and a more holistic approach to learning and teaching. Had Mr. Parker himself not taken a more inclusive less identity-centric approach, the Modern System would probably not have come into existence.

The Modern Systems' strength is also its weakness. It is more conceptual, and open-ended, and encourages interpretations and tailoring over the old-school rigid methods of early on. Great for business because it makes room for everyone, and no one is turned away. For the diligent self-disciplined this yields positive results. However, for the more casual student looking for the next belt, pajama party participant, the results will be no better than the lackluster effort they put into their training three (3) hours a week. Genius on Mr. Parker's part because it allowed students of all ages, interests, and capabilities to settle in and study where they feel most comfortable. But Mr. Parker also cautioned when you tailor your training to your liking, you must also take responsibility for the results good and bad.

And, while many still don’t understand there is no such thing as an “ideal” in Kenpo until you create it, while they are still arguing the correct way to perform a technique in a book, real students are exploring how to survive the street attacks he suggested you explore, and expanding their understanding of all arts, and are refraining from making general statements about Kenpo other than their own.

Old School Kenpo was ridged in structure and drilling basics were everything. Now, there are so many ways taught to do a technique with so many moves, students don’t know what to do and it shows in real life. Teachers are as much in the dark as students. Many have resorted to a form of “kick-fight” sparring, bringing everything back to a common denominator dictated by sport application rules and cross-training aerobics.

Ed Parker’s Modern Kenpo Karate gives students and teachers alike a lot of freedom to develop. Unfortunately, most are not interested in studying what’s there. They’re so busy memorizing material for their next belt, they don’t have time to learn it.

EPAKS, Inc. guidebooks - Forms 1 through 3

Comprehensive guidebooks designed for everyone - from beginners to experts.

to purchase - https://www.epaks.com/books-catalog.php

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Ang Lee Casts His Son to Play Bruce Lee in Upcoming Biopic

(from cbr.com)

Director Ang Lee is keeping things in the family for his next project as the two-time Oscar-winner has cast his son, Mason Lee, as Bruce Lee in an upcoming biopic on the iconic martial artist.

"Accepted as neither fully American nor fully Chinese, Bruce Lee was a bridge between East and West who introduced Chinese Kung Fu to the world, a scientist of combat and an iconic performing artist who revolutionized both the martial arts and action cinema," Ang Lee told Deadline. "I feel compelled to tell the story of this brilliant, unique human being who yearned for belonging, possessed tremendous power in a 135-pound-frame, and who, through tireless hard work, made impossible dreams into reality."

The director is well-acquainted with the martial arts genre, having helmed 2000's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The Taiwanese feature won Best Foreign Language Film (now known as Best International Film) at the 73rd Academy Awards and remains the highest-grossing international film in the United States. Lee was nominated for his directorial work on the film, going on to win the coveted statue twice (for 2005's Brokeback Mountain and 2012's Life of Pi). He made history with his Oscar for Brokeback Mountain as the first Asian filmmaker and first person of color to win Best Director.

Lee is said to have been working on a biopic of Bruce Lee for some time and has prepped his son Mason to play the lead role. The actor has been training for the last three years to play the martial arts master. His previous acting experience includes appearances in his father's 2016 film Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, 2011's The Hangover Part II, the Taiwanese films Stand By Me (2019) and Who Killed Cock Robin (2017), and the Hong Kong feature Limbo (2021). At 32-years-old, he is also the same age Bruce Lee was when the latter unexpectedly passed in 1973.

Bruce Lee rose to prominence as Kato in The Green Hornet (1966) but became best known for his work in Hong Kong martial arts films like Fist of Fury (1972), Way of the Dragon (1972) and Enter the Dragon (1973). Today he is considered a trailblazer who helped break down the barriers in the North American market for other Asian actors. In addition to his acting work, Lee trained actors like Steve McQueen and James Coburn in Jeet Kune Do, a form of martial arts that Lee created.

The famous martial artist has been the subject of documentaries and biopics in the past in films like 1993's Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, 2016's Birth of the Dragon, and 2020's Be Water. Director Quentin Tarantino famously included a fictional version of Lee (played by Mike Moh) in 2019's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Lee's inclusion in the film became a source of controversy after the actor's daughter, Shannon Lee spoke against Tarantino's depiction of her late father and of the filmmaker's comments defending his interpretation. Sharon Tate, who Margot Robbie played in Tarantino's film, was also a famous student of Lee's. Unlike Tarantino's film, Shannon Lee has given her stamp of approval on Ang Lee's upcoming biopic as she will also serve as a producer on the project.

No release date is set for Ang Lee's Bruce Lee, and little else is known about the plot or the rest of the cast, but the film will see the director re-team with his Life of Pi producers Marisa Paiva, Elizabeth Gabler and Tom Rothman at Sony's 3000 Pictures. Writer Dan Futterman (Capote, Foxcatcher) is penning the most recent draft of the script.

https://www.cbr.com/bruce-lee-biopic-director-ang-lee/