Mr. Parker's answer when asked about his first instructor and system - (1974)

"What about your first instructor, what system did you go into in the beginning?"

"Well I studied, I studied Kenpo. But the man I studied with was an extremely interesting guy because although he had studied from his father and picked up knowledge and swapped it with other people, he came to the realization that much of what was taught in the Orient, though it was very inclusive, wasn't yet rearranged to suit modern day context. So he found that there is a lot of changes needed in order to make it work in our present day environment. And it was because of him that I began to think this way from my early years. 

Now when I first started here in the United States and had a lot of traditionalist come in I was a rebel as far as they were concerned. But you know, it's, it's the guy that comes out in the end that really counts.

And being a street fighter myself I went along with this train of thought." - Mr. Parker