Strikes hidden within Blocking Set 1

Black Belt Magazine interview with Mr. Bryan Hawkins

(blackbeltmag.com by Ian Lauer Nov. 8, 2023)

Today, we are talking with American  Kenpo Master Bryan Hawkins. He is the head instructor and owner of what was one of Grandmaster Ed  Parker’s most well-known American Kenpo locations, the West LA school. 

Thanks for joining us. Can you tell us a little about yourself? 

Well, I’ve been training in the martial arts for nearly 50 years, own  three karate schools here in the Los Angeles area, and have affiliates  across the country and abroad. I began my Kenpo training in LA in 1980  at the Ed Parker karate school. In 1987, Mr. Parker himself asked if I  would take over the operations of the West Los Angeles school and become  the chief instructor. 

How did your martial arts journey begin? 

I started martial arts in the mid-70’s in Modesto CA. I had been doing a  lot of wresting and dabbled in boxing. So, when I was 14 riding my bike  to boxing class, I would always pass a Shotokan karate school. And one  day, instead of continuing to boxing, I went into the karate school to  check it out. I never looked back.

After  training in Shotokan for a couple of years, that particular dojo  closed, so I started training in a dojo across town. It was a blend of  Kung Fu and Kenpo, but it was really heavier on the Kung Fu aspect.  

After a while, when I was 19, I decided to move to Los Angeles, and my  instructor at my school highly recommended that when I get to LA that I  find an Ed Parker American Kenpo school because that was the best  martial arts school around. 

So, how did you find your first American Kenpo school and was it what you expected when you saw it in person?

After being in LA for a bit and securing a job and place to live I  happened to drive by the Ed Parker West LA Karate school and walked in.  When I first walked in the door, I immediately noticed they were doing  something very different. 

Something I needed to learn. I saw two guys  sparring, guys fighting with weapons, guys working on forms even a  couple of guys doing a little grappling both stand-up manipulations and  on-the-ground wrestling/grappling. Something more was happening here  than in any school I was in before. What I immediately realized was that  Kenpo appeared to be much more comprehensive in its approach to  self-defense than my previous arts. 

One thing that  really stood out was that they were practicing against more than one  attacker. And not only that, but they were perfecting techniques against  attackers with various weapons like guns, knives, and clubs. They were  even doing spontaneous attack drills. 

I decided to  enroll on the spot, but what kept being reinforced was the uniqueness.  When guys would come from all sorts of other disciplines, they also  noted the differences in training techniques, tools, and philosophy. It  wasn’t just the physical training that was different, though more  hands-on or physical than other schools, it was the attention to the  mental aspects of the art that set it apart.

There was a great deal of  emphasis placed on preparing mentally for possible altercations. The  dojo didn’t emphasize sport karate because Ed Parker felt that created  the wrong mindset for street self-defense. The training mindset was  always to prepare for the worst, i.e., a surprise attack by multiple armed attackers or assailants. 

You’ve mentioned Kenpo being unique a couple times. Can you expand upon that? 

Most systems in Martial Arts deal with only certain stages of range,  certain weapons, and often only certain targets. So therefore, they are  not comprehensive by definition. Ed Parker saw that deficiency and  created a system that dealt with all the possible weapons we can form  with our body attacking all possible targets on an assailant’s body  through a method of efficient and effective delivery. 

By that, I mean to  say, if the attacker is slightly out of range, we are taught to use man  made weapons to reach them, i.e., a club, nunchaku, etc. If they are  within range, then we use our natural weapons such as the fists, knees,  elbows. If we get close enough to where our opponent is grabbing onto  us, we need to know how to throw and trip our assailant to the ground.  

Once on the ground, we need to have the skills to kill or submit the  attacker at that stage as well. And we need to be able to do all these  things while being aware of our environment, which is the number one  rule in American Kenpo, Environmental Awareness. 

Can you elaborate on the concept of Environmental Awareness?

Sure. The military uses a concept of Situational Awareness, which  basically is being acutely aware of everything going on around you. Ed  Parker’s definition of environment is everything that is in you, on you and around you.

For  example, if you’re ill or injured you know you can’t defend yourself to  the same degree as if you are healthy. That’s what’s in you. You have  to know that. 

For things that are on you, sports equipment, clothing items, are your clothes restrictive or can they be used as a weapon?

For around you, its other people, the flooring, furniture etc.

Ed  Parker would frequently use a belt or tie as an example. They can be an  advantage when used against an assailant, or they could be your  downfall. Keep in mind that these items may be on you or someone else.  You must be aware. 

You mentioned Master Parker asking you to take over  operations of the West LA School which you now own. What’s it like to  take over a school with such a rich history?

When  Ed Parker asked if I would take over that school, I knew it was a  decision that would change the direction of my life. But there was  absolutely no hesitation, and I accepted immediately. A few years prior,  around 22 years of age, I started a limousine and bodyguard service. I  regularly employed friends of mine from the karate school like Big Jim  Diggs, Jeff Speakman and Steve Moore. All the while, I continued to  train Kenpo as much as I could. But I realized if I wanted to achieve a  level of expertise in Kenpo, I needed to sell the limo service to put  more time into my training. I sold the company to the Bel-Air hotel with  the agreement that I would work for them when they had celebrities that  requested bodyguards. 

So, at the time Ed Parker asked  me to take over the West LA dojo, I was living quite an exciting life  bodyguarding many famous people and making more money than any other  26-year-old I knew. But, despite working with and rubbing shoulders with  some of the most famous entertainers, Ed Parker to me was still the  biggest celebrity I could think of. So, I jumped at the opportunity to  become his right-hand man. 

You mentioned  bodyguarding celebrities. That seems to happen a lot with Marital  Artists. Who was one of your most notable clients?

I would say Don Johnson from Miami Vice. At the time, he was one of my  primary clients. What is really interesting is how I got the contract  and how it circled back to Ed Parker and Kenpo. I got a call for a  meeting, and they butchered his name, telling me I was in consideration  to protect a client named “Doctor Johnson.” The whole time before the  meeting, I had no idea who the hell Doctor Johnson was and why he needed  a bodyguard. 

I was directed to the most expensive  luxury guest house at the Bel-Air hotel, and when I walked in, I came  face to face with Don Johnson, the actor, not to be confused with a  random doctor at Cedars-Sinai.

His manager conducted the  first ten minutes of the interview as he had for 20 other guys that  interviewed before me. Then Don Johnson excitedly took over the  questioning. He already knew of my Kenpo training, so he asked me if I  knew Ed Parker personally. I, of course, said, “Yes.” 

Now,  here’s where it gets good. His face lit up. He says, “Ed Parker was  Elvis Presley’s instructor as well, right?” I again said, “Yes.” And  then he said, “Ed Parker is Elvis Presley’s instructor and he’s your  instructor too?” I said yes again. Don stood up, smiled, shook my hand,  and walked into the other room. His manager then looked to me with a big  grin on his face and said, “You’re hired.” Had I not been in Kenpo or known Ed Parker I never would have had Don Johnson as a very lucrative client.

Isn’t that ironic? He helped get you into a great paying gig building  your business and then gave you the very opportunity that took you out  of it.

Well, actually, about that time I was  planning on continuing my bodyguard work but also starting my own dojo. I  happened to mention this plan to Frank Trejo and Diane Tanaka casually  and said of course I’ll have to get Master Parker’s blessing before  leaving. Unbeknownst to me, they mentioned it to Ed Parker, knowing that  he was looking for someone to take over the West LA dojo. A couple days  later, he called me up to his house, and everything fell into place  from there.

If people want to learn more about you or your schools where can they find you?

They can go to our site https://bryanhawkinskenpo.com/

Great. Before we let you go, is there a story from your time working  alongside Ed Parker that gives us a glimpse of the man that may not be  common knowledge?

Over the years, I met and came  to know many of Master Parker’s early students from the 50’s and 60’s.  Many of them are famous in their own professions, such as movie director  Blake Edwards, physical fitness pioneer Terry Robinson, Hollywood  columnist and screenwriter Joe Hyams. And all of them spoke of Master  Parker and even referred to him as a father or older brother figure. He  had a wisdom about him that seemed to be timeless. Some would describe  him as an old soul.

Master Parker was known for his  physical side. His dynamic movement. A brutal adversary. The speed and  precision, but what was really the most important part of his  contributions to the arts was his mind, not his physicality. He  developed a system of self-defense that made sense. Years ago, one of my  early instructors Howard Silva, asked Ed Parker if he could sum up  Kenpo in one word, what would it be? Without missing a beat, Mr. Parker  replied, “logic.” To me, that’s really the beauty of American Kenpo. It  is a sophisticated, comprehensive, and effective form of self-defense  based on the logic of thought and action.

Meet James Yimm Lee: "The Man Who Helped Make Bruce Lee a Success"

(blackbeltmag.com)

Most famous individuals have an inner circle of friends and trusted advisers who are standing by in the shadows and are willing to provide counsel, direction and opinions, and to share their influence. One of the reasons martial artist and actor Bruce Lee became as well-known and successful as he did is because he developed an inner circle of friends who provided him with counsel and direction, and helped him accomplish his goals.

One of the most influential members of this group was James Yimm Lee, who had a great impact on Bruce Lee's personal and professional life. James Yimm Lee was already an established and respected instructor of kung fu and iron palm in the Oakland, California, area when he met Bruce Lee, who is not related to him. Bruce Lee was a young college student at the time, and James Yimm Lee was very impressed with Bruce Lee's kung fu skills and teaching methods.

Although he was 20 years older than Bruce Lee, the open-minded James Lee decided to train with him and absorb what this talented young practitioner had to offer. Their liaison resulted in a lifelong friendship.

In addition to his expert kung fu skills, James Lee was also an accomplished weightlifter and helped get Bruce Lee started in a weight-training program, which subsequently resulted in his sculptured physique. James Lee worked as a welder in the local shipyards, and he used this skill in designing and constructing many unique training devices he and Bruce Lee used in their workouts.

James Lee had a close relationship with a number of noted martial artists in the area, including jujitsu master Wally Jay, Shaolin kempo instructor Ralph Castro and American kenpo founder Ed Parker. James Lee introduced Bruce Lee to these individuals, and it was through Ed Parker's Hollywood connections that Bruce Lee received a screen test, which eventually got him the role of "Kato" in The Green Hornet televlsion elevision series.

When Bruce Lee married Linda Emery in 1964, the couple moved in with James Lee and his family and lived at the Oakland residence for the next two to three years. Bruce Lee and James Lee soon opened a kung fu school, but eventually classes were relocated to James Lee's garage. lt was during this period that the birth of Bruce Lee's jeet kune do method of combat took place.

Gary Dill was one of James Lee's top students, and he currently teaches jeet kune do in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Dill founded the Jeet Kune Do Association for the purpose of presenting and promoting the pre-1973 brand of jeet kune do, as it was developed by Bruce Lee and taught by James Lee.

As an avid martial artist, Dill had become familiar with Bruce Lee through reading martial arts publications and watching The Green Hornet series. As he learned more about Bruce Lee's combat method, Dill's interest in jeet kune do grew. "I knew that I had found the answer for me in the martial arts and that I had to eventually learn this new system of combat," Dill says.

Dill realized, however, that his chances of learning jeet kune do were remote. He was doing a tour of military duty in Vietnam, and Bruce Lee was a television star in California.

As fate would have it, Dill was transferred to Oakland after his stint in Vietnam, and he heard about the Oakland jeet kune do school the Lees were operating. Dill was able to obtain James Lee's mailing address, and he wrote the instructor a letter requesting a meeting for the purpose of training with him. A meeting time was arranged, and Dill called on James Lee one Sunday afternoon. James Lee "interrogated" him for more than two hours, trying to get an idea of Dill's character and commitment to training.

After the "inquisition" was over, James Lee invited Dill downstairs to his garage "studio.” This was the room where jeet kune do was born and developed. “I was in awe,” Dill recalls.

On the wall adjacent to the garage door was an adjustable hanging bag, and custom, handmade training devices were positioned about the area — a hydraulic kicking machine, a one-armed training dummy, and much more. On the back wall was a traditional wing chun mook jong (wooden dummy). All the equipment appeared to be well-worn from extensive use. James Lee demonstrated how some of the equipment worked, and Dill took that as a sign that James Lee was considering accepting him as a student.

Later, back in the living room, James Lee told Dill he would accept him as a student. Then he shook his forefinger at Dill and said, "If you screw up one time, you're out!" Dill was on permanent probation.

“I didn't care if he put me on double life probation,” Dill recalls. "I was accepted, and I was going to learn jeet kune do.”

On his first day of training in James Lee's garage, Dill joined four other students who were all karate instructors from a nearby city. They had been training with James Lee for a month or so.

James Lee showed the five students several techniques, then sat back and watched the students' moves like an eagle. Nothing escaped his expert eyes; he was a thorough and detailed instructor. Dill had practiced martial arts for years, but he had never experienced any combat training as effective as jeet kune do.

James Lee taught Dill more efficient ways to execute kicks, how to develop speed and power in his hand strikes, how to trap an opponent's hands, and a number of striking combinations.

"Training a month with James Lee was like training a year in a traditional school, the instruction was so intense, so accelerated," Dill says. "Everything was geared for actual combat — no forms, no sport, no rituals.”

But after one month of teaching Dill, James Lee announced he was terminating all instruction because he was ill. The four karate instructors said goodbye to James Lee, who pulled Dill aside and said he wanted to talk to him before he left.

James Lee waved to the four karate stylists as they were driving off, then said to Dill, "Those sons of bitches! lf Bruce was here, he would kill 'em," explaining that he found out that the four were teaching jeet kune do in their karate school without permission and were telling their students that they were jeet kune do instructors.

James Lee proceeded to tell Dill that he had been checking out all the students’ attitudes and sincerity over the past month and that Dill was the only one of the five he wanted to keep as a student. Dill continued to train with James Lee until he was discharged from the military some time later.

James Lee was a patient and cordial person, but he did not tolerate disloyalty or lack of dedication from his students. For example, before class one night, one of James Lee's students was telling the others about how he had trained recently with some Chinese "master" at a city park. James Lee overheard the conversation but said nothing.

The student brought the subject of the "park master" up again during class, and James Lee asked him, “Have you ever seen this guy at the park do any techniques fast?” The student said, “No." And James Lee calmly added, “Yeah, and you won’t either.”

Class continued on, and a few minutes later, the same student started bragging again about the so-called "master" in the park. A perturbed James Lee stopped the class and said, “I know that guy, and he is no master."

When class was over, the bigmouth was at it again, bragging about the “master.” James Lee walked right up to his face and said, "You think that guy at the park is so good, you can train with him from now on because you will never train here again with me."

Nobody wore any kind of formal uniforms to James Lee's jeet kune do classes. In fact, James Lee usually wore a white dress shirt, pleated slacks and wingtip shoes while teaching.

Some students wore T-shirts, sweatpants and casual shoes. Others wore jeans, flannel shins and boots. There was no dress code. James Lee told the students that it is not what they wore but how well they performed their jeet kune do techniques that mattered.

James Yimm Lee died in December 1972 from lung cancer caused by welding fumes. While he was alive, he played an integral role in Bruce Lee's life, as well as in the early development and teaching of Bruce's jeet kune do. He became one of Bruce Lee's closest friends, his mentor and his training partner.

And he was one of only three students Bruce Lee certified as instructors in his system. It is a legacy he would be proud of.

https://www.blackbeltmag.com/meet-james-yimm-lee-the-man-who-helped-make-bruce-lee-a-success