Hi Everyone!
Out of my 14 years of Kenpo training, I spent 10 years with the IKCA. I had done TKD and Jujitsu previously, but after seeing the movie, “Perfect Weapon”, I just had to make the switch. (How many times have you heard that?) After searching locally for a Kenpo studio and finding that there were none in my area, I chose to try the IKCA.
Following is a more detailed breakdown of my Kenpo training:
- 1995 – I began my training with the IKCA.
- 1998 – I was promoted to 1st dan by Mr. Chuck Sullivan and I began teaching classes at the local youth center as a “qualifying” instructor.
- 2002 – I was promoted to 2nd dan by Mr. Chuck Sullivan and successfully completed the requirements for Certified Instructor by the IKCA. I began cross-training in American Kenpo with Dr. Rod Smith (Prof. at the University of Arkansas who was at the time a 2nd dan under Mr. Bob White) in an effort to find out what the major differences are between the IKCA and EPAK system.
- 2004 – I left the IKCA, but continued to train in and teach Kenpo independently.
- 2005 – I stopped teaching classes and only offered private lessons. I continued to train with Dr. Rod Smith regularly. I’ve also trained with Mr. Paul Britton (who was at the time a 7th dan with IKCA, but left and formed his own association), Mr. Tabatabai, Sifu Jody Sasaki, and others. It was very interesting to see the differences between Kenpo systems even within EPAK.
- 2006 – I lost an incredible training partner when Dr. Rod Smith moved back to CA to train and teach under Mr. Bob White. Dr. Smith is now a 3rd dan under Mr. White. In April 2006, I signed an agreement to run Jeff Speakman’s Kenpo Karate in Springdale, AR. It was great to spend time training, not only with Mr. Speakman, but also with Mr. Truitt Wieland (school owner in San Antonio, TX and regional rep. for our area). I didn’t open the school in 2006, but rather spent time training and watching the transition grow from Kenpo 4.0 and Jeff Speakman’s Kenpo 5.0.
- 2007 – I began teaching adult classes again and have been doing so ever since.
Although I am not with the IKCA any more, I still have their master form in my muscle memory. It is hard to forget after 10 years of training the form. I will still even perform it for you if you ever want to drop by the class sometime. I have a “Big Book of Kenpo” where I have written extensive notes about the differences and similarities that I have learned between the styles of Kenpo I have trained in.
During my seven years of teaching the IKCA system, I trained over 300 students (85% were children) and promoted 2 to black belt, 1 to brown, 2 to green, and the rest were blue and under. I was a stickler for quality vs. quantity. Somewhere in my library, while with IKCA, I have a promotional DVD I put together of clips from video footage I took during seminars, tournaments, classes, demos, and even an endorsement from Mr. Sullivan. One of these days, I may dig it out and put it on YouTube for you to see.
Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this forum. I think the world of Mr. Sullivan and still have a huge place in my heart for the IKCA system. I hope that my experiences will be beneficial and am happy to share. All you have to do is ask.
My best,
Jeff
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