Great photo either way.
An autographed official program signed by Mr. Parker given to Mr. Hale.
Definitely a treasure.
What a great photo!
1962, Mr. Parker and Mr. Brian Adams demonstrating what looks to be a club technique. Great work by the photographer at capturing the action just at the right moment. Notice the knee check!
Judging by the background in the photo this looks like it came from the same demonstration in this previous post from several years ago, (see link)
https://kenponotes.blogspot.com/2017/08/mr-parker-demonstrating.html
Looks like a who's who from the early days of kenpo, Dan Inosanto, Tom Bleecker, and Steve Golden for example.
Also, seeing as they were using a microphone at the demonstration I'm thinking the first photo of Mr. Parker in the following linked post came from this demonstration as well.
https://kenponotes.blogspot.com/2018/09/photos-of-mr-parker-shared-on-ed-parker.html
And finally, here are a couple of links to posts about Mr. Brian Adams if you missed them and want to know a little more about him.
https://kenponotes.blogspot.com/2025/07/the-medical-implications-of-karate.html
https://kenponotes.blogspot.com/2025/08/mr-brian-adams-interview-on-kenpo-in.html
Mr. Parker with a couple of the Flores brothers in a park watching a demonstration perhaps.
That might be Mr. Speakman as well, but maybe not. It doesn't totally look like Mr. Speakman so I'm not sure.
Looks like Mr. Trejo was a little surprised by the shot to the groin.
Rule #1 in kenpo: Never be surprised by a shot to the groin.
This is the only photo I have seen of Mr. Parker and Mr. Castro doing a demonstration, or training. There are photos of the two of them together, I have posted quite a few, just haven't seen any other photos of them doing kenpo together.
Terrifying is an understatement.
With great pride, I present the Stone Monument honoring Senior Master Bob White along with Grand Master Ed Parker, @kungfuphilip, and about 70 other North American Martial Artists.
"Respected Shaolin Monks, Masters, and honored guests,
It is with a heart full of gratitude and humility that I stand before you in this sacred place where discipline, wisdom, and spirit merge into a single, unbreakable force. To receive such an honor on behalf of my father, Bob White, is a moment I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
My father, like many, sought meaning in life through understanding the connection between mind, body, and spirit. He had a deep respect for the teachings of the Shaolin monks, for their unwavering dedication to mastering not only martial arts but the art of living with integrity, humility, and honor.
To have his name etched into the stones of this Temple — a place of such profound history and spiritual significance — is a recognition that transcends words. It represents not just the legacy of a single individual, but the shared values that Mr. White sought to embody in his own life: discipline, resilience, compassion, and respect for all living beings.
He was, in many ways, an eternal student — always learning, always growing.
On behalf of my family, I would like to express our deepest thanks.
Thank you, respected monks, for bestowing this incredible honor. My father would have been humbled by it.
May we all continue to strive toward harmony and balance, following the path of wisdom, compassion, and strength that you, the Shaolin monks, so beautifully represent.
Thank you."
Alia White Cass
Newspaper article from July 26th, 1967.
Most important is the top photo, which could be a never before seen photo of Mr. Parker. (unless you subscribed to Palos Verde Peninsula News and Rolling Hills Herald back in the day of course.)
Over three years ago I posted this photo of Mr. Parker in an Aikido dojo,
https://kenponotes.blogspot.com/2021/09/mr-parker-in-aikido-dojo.html
I had no information on the photo, it was just Mr. Parker in an Aikido dojo shaking someone's hand. Well, we can all sleep a little easier now. Thanks to a recent interview with Mr. Chuck Sullivan the mystery has been solved.
Mr. Sullivan talked about how he got started in the martial arts and how he met Mr. Parker for the first time. Turns out that Mr. Sullivan had been out of the Marines for a few years and he was out of shape, and was looking to get back into shape. As a kid living in Chicago he had always wanted to study Judo but there were no Judo schools accessible to him. Then one day his brother-in-law told him that a Judo school had just opened only a couple of blocks from their house (Los Angeles area) so he went to check it out.
On the dojo's exterior it had the words "Aikido, Judo, Karate." Apparently the building was being shared and used a couple of nights a week by each martial arts instructor.
That same week he was able to go observe one of the Kenpo classes which was being taught by James Ibrao and he was hooked. At the next class he went to observe he met Mr. Parker himself.
"It had been an Aikido school and it had been run by an Air Force sergeant who would train the guys and then when he would get transferred he'd leave his most advanced student in charge. And at this time he didn't have an advanced student advanced enough and he sold it to Ed Parker. He said you know, I got nobody... if you want it you can have it at a decent price. Whatever it was, I don't know what their deal was, but uh, he said why don't you do a demonstration for my guys and if they like you enough... they'll come over... he got every one of them. I mean he did a demonstration, he got every one of 'em, I mean they transferred right on over."
Then Mr. Sullivan talked about how later Mr. Parker closed up that school to open up his Pasadena school, and the rest is history.
"Always be a student. If you're the smartest guy in the room, you're in the wrong room."
"Well, I grew up in Honolulu and of course the area that I grew up in was I guess like East Los Angeles and such areas as New York where you have to pretty much defend yourselves at all times. And in order to uphold my father's standards and what he had set forth because of his religious views I was forced on many occasions to go and rob the local safe, things that were not appropriate, and so in order for me to convince them in that I meant no I couldn't verbally say it I had to physically say it and that's what got me involved in this, and I've been doing it, well, for about 28 or 29 years now." - Mr. Parker
How well did you know Ed Parker?
Before he started training with Professor Chow, Ed trained with me for about 2 weeks. While he was with me he took the first 8mm movies of the Palama settlement training. I knew him for many years. At times when I was in California he would have me as his guest of honor at the Long Beach Internationals. After Ed left Hawaii he became estranged from Professor Chow. It was Ed who brought kenpo to mainland America, made it popular, and made so many contributions to the art, so in the late 60s I promoted him to 8th degree black belt.
