A story told by Mr. Sibora Chan

I remember when I was about 13 years old testing for my 2nd Class Brown Belt. It was a group of us from Flores Bros. where I originally studied Kenpo under Sifu Jesus and Sifu Refugio Flores and a group of Mr. Rick Avery’s students. 

The belt test was held at a park on top of a mountain in Goleta, California in the middle of June! Hot!!  A 100 degree plus! We’re in black heavyweight gi. The test was tough and long! It always was! 

You had to do everything from White Belt all the way up to the rank you’re testing for. All your Basics, Forms, Sets, Techniques (both sides, in the air and on a body), Spontaneous or Reaction Drills and Fighting! The last portion is questions and answers. Which the boards get to ask you questions on Kenpo. And you would answer. 

Anyway, somewhere in there during the test Mr. Parker asked me to do Form 4. Which was my favorite form at the time and I’ve used it for competition successfully for many years. So I felt confident that I would do just fine in front of Mr. Parker even though I was so nervous and my knees were shaking the entire time!! LOL. So I did my salutations and blast out Form 4 as best as I could! Done and saluted out! And felt pretty good about my performance. So I thought! 

Mr. Parker leaned forward from his chair and said, ‘Sibora, that’s was a good form. Very good form. But that was ’Long Form 3’! I asked you to do Form 4! NOW DO THE RIGHT FORM!’!!! I JUST DIED!!!

- but I did go back and did Form 4. And Mr. Parker gave me two thumbs up.

Why no high kicks in kenpo?

Mr. Parker taught that if you want to kick someone in the head, kick them in the groin first. Then it will be easier to kick the head.

(from a recent discussion on Facebook)

Mr. Parker told me, "It makes as much sense to kick a guy in the head standing up, as it does to bend down and punch him in the foot." It was prompted by an impromptu demo by Mitose at Pasadena in the early sixties when he tried to convince Mr. Parker to "join him" in an enterprise to create a "church" to make money. Mr. Parker declined the offer, and a "saying" was born. - Dr. Ron Chapél

(Legend has it Huk Planas and Dave Hebler were there too and witnessed the punch to the foot.)

A story told by Mr. Tom Bleecker

Back in the mid-1960s I was a member of Ed Parker’s demo team and often demonstrated the Black Belt Set (now known by most as the Two Man Set) with a brown belt named Jimmy (“Little Jimmy”) Doughtery. Jimmy and I had that form down to a science. One afternoon Ed Parker gave a demonstration at a health club where everyone was gathered around the pool area. Near the end of the demonstration, Jimmy and I were called upon to perform the Black Belt Set. Jimmy walked to a specific spot and waited for me to take position. When we ended the form with my executing the lock-out side kick, Jimmy’s block was right on the money, and as he spun me around 180 degrees, much to my horror I found my left foot positioned at the edge of the pool. It was too late, and in I went with a huge splash. It got a great laugh and most everyone probably felt it was prearranged. It wasn’t. Later Jimmy confessed that he had arrived at the club early and mapped out the form and had positioned himself at the outset in the very spot he knew would land me in the pool.

The Kiss of the Dragon

Most kenpo students will receive something extra with their next belt promotion. In addition to a new belt or extra stripe they usually receive a kick or a punch to the gut from their teacher. Sometimes other instructors or black belts at the test will join in on the fun as well.

Sometimes referred to as "The Kiss of the Dragon", the severity of the kick or punch increases as the rank increases. A kick or a punch for a student receiving their black belt will have more force behind it compared to one given to a new green belt or brown belt.

As evident in the photo above, Mr. Parker seems to be at full strength as he kicks new black belt Berry Elwood in 1975. 

Even more interesting is Mr. Parker is throwing a side thrust instead of the normal front kick that we are used to seeing today. 

Apparently back in the day it was first a back kick, then it changed to a side kick and now most often we see front kicks.

You will even see punches and other strikes used during promotions. Legend has it during a promotion Steve Sanders was chopped in the side of his neck by Mr. Parker.

A story told by Mr. White about how Mr. Parker saved someone's life

(from Mr. White's Facebook page)

I remember Mr. Parker driving up to my school in Garden Grove, CA. He told us he had just saved someone's life. We asked what happened and he replied that someone had cut him off on the road and they exchanged words. Mr. Parker said he did not get out of the car thus saving the other driver's life.

A story about Mr. Parker on the cover of Inside Kung Fu magazine

(recently told on Facebook by Mr. Rich Hale)

In the mid-eighties, I had a weekly Wednesday 10 am lesson with Ed Parker at his home in Pasadena. 

One morning I get to the house, and the first thing he says is, "Look at this!" and he shows me an issue of Inside Kung-Fu with him on the cover.

I go, "Wow! You're on the cover of Inside Kung-Fu!" 

He then shouts, "No, look at it!" 

I looked again, and all I could think was, damn, you're on the cover of Inside Kung-Fu; what could possibly be the problem?

Again he says, "Look, look closely." 

Okay, now I have no idea what I'm supposed to see and Mr. Parker is kind of yelling at me to see something important, but I just don't see it . . . I think I'm going to die!

Then he finally says, "They reversed the picture! My patch is on the wrong side!" 

Now, as much as I wanted to jump on board with Mr. Parker and be really pissed that they reversed the image, all my little brain could get around was - damn! You're on the cover of Inside Kung-Fu!

Years later when I was putting together a poster of the magazine covers Mr. Parker had been on, I realized the issue he was so upset with was from 1974. Yet, ten years later, he was still so pissed he brought it up to me as if the magazine had just hit the stands.

I guess that's what we had in common. We were both perfectionists . . . he was just a lot better at it than me.

A story about "secret knowledge"

(recently told on Facebook by Mr. Chapel)

Having a conversation with Mr. Parker over dinner can yield insights not found on the mat. A young student came up, (a Kahuna size no-no when he's eating), and wanted to ask a question. He said, "Mr. Parker where did you get all the secret knowledge you teach." Mr. Parker replied quietly, "Son, there are no secrets." The young man thanked Mr. Parker and walked away, and then He leaned toward me and said, "There are no secrets, but there is a whole lot of stuff they don't know." He smiled and continued, "To call something a secret is to imply that information is being withheld from you that otherwise would be readily available. It's always easier to excuse what you don't know as somebody else's fault for not giving it to you when education is a product of your own efforts."

A story told by Mr. Parker

(recently told on Facebook by Mr. Rich Hale)

A common misconception in the art of Kenpo is Mr. Parker insisted on everyone understanding kenpo on a technical level. Nothing could be further from the truth. Let me tell you a story Mr. Parker told me.

A guy comes into Mr. Parker's studio in Pasadena and wants to learn about karate. Mr. Parker spent a considerable amount of time telling him all about his theories, concepts, and principles. Then the guy asks, "Is it important I know all this and be able to recite it as you can?"

Mr. Parker then says, "Let's find out." He takes the guy out of the office and onto the mat, where several students were training. He calls over one student, then another. He then asks one student to attack the other. As Mr. Parker describes it, the defender all but kills the other guy. Afterward, Mr Parker asked the defender to explain, in explicit detail, all the theories, concepts, and principles involved in his defense.

The student pauses for a moment then looks up with a bewildered expression and said, "shit" before he walked away. Mr. Parker then told me he turned to the potential student and said, "Apparently... it's not necessary."

Was Mr. Parker a genius?

(from a recent conversation on Facebook)

I appreciate his lifelong work, his genius in regard to the documentation of his system and him taking the time to share that knowledge. Mr. Parker was an exceptional individual who had a photographic memory, a detailed and trained power of observation, a continual open mind and open heart. Rare qualities in many. 

He was one of the greatest inspirations to me to keep an open mind, to learn from many sources, not just in kenpo but other arts as well. Simply stated, I consider him one of the greatest martial arts minds of the 20th century. 

But the last thing he would ever want was for people to deify him. His own religious upbringing would not let him stand for it. But his accomplishments, like those great geniuses and masters of many various arts stand the test of time. 

In 1988, I was with Mr. Parker at a seminar in New Bedford, Massachusetts and I said to him at one point, "Mr. Parker, you are a genius." 

He responded with, "I don't know about that Joseph." 

I said, "Why not Sir?' 

Mr. Parker replied, "Joseph, most geniuses are crazy!" - Mr. Joe Rebelo 

Mr. Parker on guns

(by Zoran Sevic 5-4-02)

SGM Parker has been known to carry a hand gun on occasion. Tom Saviano (my instr.), Mr. McSweeney, and SGM Parker where out to dinner at a restaurant. Tom Saviano asked Mr. Parker, "Mr. Parker, you are the fastest and deadliest person I have ever seen.

Why would you ever need to carry a gun?" Mr. Parker replied, "Tom, (as he lifts his hands if front of him) these don't work from 10 feet away."

The Bruce Lee Firearm Collection...

Now most folks don't know this, and quite a few...especially some modern martial artist, will react with the same horror to the notion that Bruce Lee owned guns that religious fundamentalists do when confronted by evidence of evolution. But the fact remains, Lee owned guns.

Now it is well known that many of his contemporary martial artists and associates such as Ed Parker were avid gun collectors and shooters.

Ed Parker was known for his collection of AR-15s even in the late 60s and is often cited as being the one who got Elvis Presley involved in collecting what would come to be known as "black rifles."

Other Lee associates such as Steven McQueen are known to have been NFA collectors. And despite Lee's martial prowess he is never known to have been dismissive of guns in his films.

To the contrary in "Enter The Dragon" he quips the line 'Now why doesn't someone pull out a .45 and "bang" settle it?" as an alternative to a government agencies complicated infiltration by martial artist assassin scenario.

Of course plot constructs had to be such that for whatever reason firearms were not an option in order to prevent the movie from being 15 minutes long.

In another film "Return of the Dragon" when threatened by the Mob, Lee inquires about buying a gun for protection. A line that can still make modern martial arts devotees who think "real fighters don't need guns" cringe.

Now it is not known exactly what firearms Lee owned. Despite his modern "non classical" approach to most things, he tended to gravitate towards the traditional when it came to his weapon collection.

It is unlikely Parker convinced him to buy a AR-15 but a few sources suggest he did own a 1911 handgun and a .38 revolver (probably an early S&W). And from my personal collection of rare Bruce Lee photos here is the only "known" photo of firearms owned by Lee.

He bought these two antique rifles in Rome while filming "Way of the Dragon" (released as Return of the Dragon in the US). SteyrAUG"

Elvis gave the Walther PPK to Hawaii-Five-O star Jack Lord in 1973. Tom Jones was once left shocked when he found Elvis Presley’s gun in his dressing room lavatory. Jones struck up a close friendship with Elvis and they would often spend time together when they were in the same city on tour.

But on one occasion, after Jones appeared at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, he was stunned to find a silver-plated Colt .45 automatic pistol on his toilet cistern after Presley had used the bathroom.

Jones tried to discreetly hand it back, only to see Elvis shrug off the incident. He says, “I wrapped it up in this towel, took it out and said, very quietly, ‘Er, Elvis, you left your gun in the toilet.’ And Elvis just goes: ‘Aw s**t man, ma .45’, and stuck it in his belt. I was trying to be very discreet about the whole thing, but he couldn’t have cared less.”

Elvis loved carrying guns of all types. He was known to shoot at TV sets if either Robert Goulet or Mel Torme appeared on the screen. Above: image of one of Evis’ TV which he had his uncle Earl Pritchard remove, who later sold it. At the time of Elvis’ death in 1977 he owned 37 guns, rifles and one machine gun."

The phone call

(from John La Tourrette's Facebook page 8-27-18)

“The Phone Call From Ed Parker That Changed My Life Forever!”

It was 1977. I’d been with Ed about a year, and I asked Jim Mitchell, “What does one have to do to get Ed’s attention?”

Jim looked at me and said, “Write a thesis”. That was it. Nothing more. Nothing less. Jim turned and walked away. He was done talking.

I knew what a thesis for a college MBA degree took. A lot of research. A lot of study. It had to be between 40 to 80 pages. And it had to be professional and of high-quality.

But I did not know what a thesis for Ed Parker meant. Nor was I aware of what was required from him. I knew of only one fellow that had written a Kenpo thesis that resonated with me. It was the “Medical implications of karate blows”, by Brian C. Adams in 1969.

I did talk with some of my Kenpo friends like Dale Petite and Tom Kelly. It seemed like most folks that did a thesis, wrote a few pages, and they were done. In fact one man wrote 3 pages about how Kenpo was like water, and that was it. I was disgusted with him and with his feeble attempt.

I figured that a thesis should mean something, and should have valid and practical information in it. And should be more like a doctoral dissertation, rather than a homework assignment for a 3rd grade class-report on volcanoes.

I started thinking about a topic, about some idea or concept that could add to the well-being of Kenpo practitioners and could add to the martial arts.

I love books. I’ve always loved to read and study. So I went down to the Book Shop and went through their bookshelves looking for an idea that would trigger my creativity.

My fingers kept going back to a small book by handgun expert Jeff Cooper. It was titled “Principles of Self-Defense” and it had 23 pages in it (the current issue has 43 pages).

It was $5 bucks, which in 1977 was a lot of money for 23 pages. I finally bought it. Took it home. Studied it. Wrote in the margins. I knew the book was important, but I could not consciously “connect the dots” between that small pamphlet and a thesis for Kenpo advancement.

After reading the book and thinking about a topic that would fit me well, and fit the martial arts well, I fell asleep with that topic on my mind.

I woke up in the middle of the night! I had a title. “Mental Training of a Warrior”. I got up out of bed, grabbed a pen and notebook and started outlining the chapters of the book, based upon my 26 years in the martial arts and my 6 years in Kenpo Karate.

Three months later the book was done. It was horrible.

I was so disappointed with it that I threw it away. I tossed it in the garbage can.

I’d written what others had spoon-fed me and “not” what I really felt and believed. It did not have in it what I’d personally learned from my experiences over the years in the US, Korea, and Japan.

I started over again from scratch. I would write out each chapter by hand. Cut and paste with scotch-tape. Rearrange the chapters until they fit and were properly in sequence.

My pregnant wife Lynn would type out the chapters on an electric typewriter on the kitchen table. 

Lynn was so pregnant that she could barely reach the keyboard, but she kept typing away.

Three months later the new version was done. I felt I’d done my best. I hoped that Ed would appreciate it. The orginal thesis was 352 pages long!

I had a copy made of “Mental Training of a Warrior”, and sent it off to Ed in Pasadena. A month went by. Then another month went by. I just about gave up hope.

One afternoon the office telephone rang. I picked it up and said, “Idaho Karate Kung-Fu Association, how can I help you”?

A deep voice says, “How are you John? This is Ed PAWKER. (That’s how Ed pronounced his name, “Parker” with his Hawaiian accent”)

“Hello Mr. Parker.”

Ed: “I just got back from Latin America. I’ve been giving seminars down there, and I’ve been gone a couple of months… just got back in town from Chile.

I’ve been reading over your manuscript…(Ed paused a few seconds)…

“…It’s NOT a thesis…” (Another long pause, and I started worrying that it wasn’t good-enough)…
Then Ed laughed. When Ed laughed he always laughed from deep down in his chest…and I could just see that big grinning smile on his face as he said…

“No John, it’s NOT a thesis…It’s a BOOK! Get it PUBLISHED! It’s That Good!”

And that’s how my thesis turned into a book. Ed liked it so much that he MADE ME GET IT PUBLISHED!.

My sincere appreciation goes to Ed Parker, Jim Mitchell and Tom Kelly for getting me motivated back then in 1977.

And that “is the start of the story”.

Nunchaku advertisement

(from the Ed Parker Photos Facebook page 3-28-18)

Full page advertisement from Black Belt Magazine for Mr Parker's book Guide to the Nunchaku. 

On a trip to visit Mr Joe Palanzo's Ed Parker Studio GM Francisco Conde stopped by to show EP his latest creation the "Conchaku". GM Conde had created his version of the ancient weapon by using plastic instead of wood, he also had Conchaku's that were solid and swirled colors. 

EP took to the Conchaku and even included their use in the seminar he gave while at the studio. 

GM Conde also had a special version where small penlights were inserted into the bottom of the Conchaku, the lights were turned off and one of GM Conde's student started whirling the Conchaku ala Bruce Lee in the Way of Dragon.

The crowd went wild until one the penlights came loose from the bottom and went sailing thru the air, fortunately no one was struck by the airborne penlight. GM Conde turned the lights on, grabbed the Conchaku and announced the penlight version was still under development!