Kenpo & Jeet kune do

[unshackled-chi]

Hello , I do realize that this could be a long read, but it is something that has been twirling around in my mind for sometime. It is mainly direct qoutes from three authors and martial artist ,Chuck Sullivan, Bruce Lee, Ed Parker.


The night i met Bruce lee , by Chuck Sullivan.
.................................................. .........................

What I do remember about that night was that
the advanced class was having its usual great
workout with Ed Parker at the helm. There was
he typical gallery of spectators watching and
being duly impressed.
When the class ended we headed for the
dressing room to change out of our sweaty gis.
When we returned to the mat area we were still
barefooted and loitered there shooting the
breeze. Mr. Parker was in his office taking care
of business.
Within minutes Ed re-entered the mat area with
a smaller, younger man following. He
introduced him all around as Bruce Lee and had
just about enough time to tell us that the kid is
one heck of a martial artist before he was called
back to take another phone call.
This Bruce guy wasn’t at all shy and in a very
short time the conversation drifted away from
whatever we had been taking about and he had
taken the floor. Soon he was telling us how he
had just returned from Hong Kong where he had
been seeking the truth concerning the martial
arts. He said that from his observations of
Karate and Kung Fu in the United states it was
all “BS”. That was his word, not mine. He said
in Hong Kong however only 95% was “BS”.
His claim was that he had been able to go places
and see things that we as Occidentals would
never have been allowed. In fact, we wouldn’t
have made it halfway down some of the alleys
they were located in.
According to his mathematics, of the 5% of the
Hong Kong schools that were not “BS”, about
half were sincerely trying but missing the mark
and the other half was truly there. So according
to Bruce Lee in the year 1962 when he was
twenty-one years of age, only about two and a
half percent of the world’s martial arts facilities
were on the mark. (Which didn’t make any
difference to us because we couldn’t go there
anyway.) Obviously the Japanese and Koreans
didn’t even count. At least they never came up
in his assessments.
Now you’ve got to remember, he was talking to
a group of black and brown belts, most of whom
were older than he. And bigger than he. And
devoted to their Art, style system and instructor.
I could feel the tension in the air bit either Bruce
didn’t feel it or he chose to ignore it. Then he
did some physical things. I felt the tension
dropping and the respect rising. He had me feel
his forearm. It was like a piece of metal. I
suppose you could have driven your fingernail
into the skin, but I really believe that was about
it. I’d never felt anything like it, before or since.
“Not magic,” he said, “just training.”
As the conversation went on the mood became
lighter and more affable until he dropped the
bomb. In a very casual manner he said, “Oh, by
the way, I saw you doing something earlier
(during the class) and I was wondering why you
were doing that?” Then he demonstrated what
he was talking about. It was part of a technique
Ed was teaching. We all exchanged glances and
there was obvious confusion among us. Any
one watching the class knew why we were
doing that move. In looking back, Bruce played
it for all it was worth. Putting on an innocent
air. Finally someone took the bait and asked
what he meant, why were we doing it? He said,
“ Oh, I just wondered because it’s wrong.
That’s when the tension came back, big time. I
had known most of these guys for quite some
time and knew them well. I had never seen so
many faces turn crimson so fast before. But
Bruce wasn’t one to let the moment slip away.
He seized upon our stunned condition to show
us precisely what we had done and then in
painful detail he went back over it and showed
us how it violated a principal. It was wrong.
There was no denying it. It wasn’t big. It
wouldn’t ruin your style. It didn’t destroy the
system, but it was wrong.
I wish I could remember what it was he picked
up on that night but as I said it wasn’t that earth
shattering of a thing. It did however make me
think. If that was wrong and it really did violate
a principle, then what else had we been taught
that wasn’t quite right? It was then and there I
decided to go back over everything I was doing
and reevaluate. And I made a vow that I would
examine with the proverbial fine tooth comb

4

everything that was taught to me in the future.
Even at that, things get by you. Take last
newsletter’s article “Then and Now” for
example. You can never be too careful. That’s
one of the reasons Vic and I took so long to put
the System together. What ever didn’t work was
thrown out immediately and whatever was weak
followed.
I’ll never forget an argument I had with Ed
Parker many years later about the technique
called Thundering Hammers. We argued all the
way home from his West L.A. dojo to his home
in Pasadena, some forty miles. I told him, a
forearm across the midsection wouldn’t bend a
body over, it would instead have much more of a
tendency to stand it up. The body hinges at the
hips, not across the stomach. It takes a shot to
the groin to bend a body over and it would be
the easiest thing in the world to simply change
the target and allow the body to take its natural
course of action, thereby allowing the technique
to be finished the way it was conceived. One
thing about our “arguments”. They might get
heated, but there was never any degree of
hostility, we both enjoyed making a point. In
this particular case I won a hollow victory.
When we pulled up in front of his house, Ed
Parker finally said he saw what I was saying and
that he was going to change the technique. He
never did. I never brought it up again. I taught
it my way and he taught it his way.
Unfortunately, I never got the chance to spend
time with Bruce to compare notes. I wish I had
taken the time. I did stay in close contact with
Danny Inosanto for years after he became
Bruce’s number one disciple.
On a dozen or more occasions Danny would tell
me what Bruce had started doing with his
classes and I would tell him that I had also
instituted the very same kind of training or drill
(without any knowledge of what Bruce was
doing). Or, I would tell Danny that we had just
started doing something that they should think
about because it’s working so well and Danny
would say he couldn’t believe it, they had just
begun doing the same thing themselves.
remember a direct quote from Dan. He said,
“You know Chuck, you and Bruce really ought
to get together. I’ve never known two people
more on the same wave length”. I wish I had, it
would have been fun. Although we never got a
chance to work together, whenever we saw each
other at a tournament or some function, Bruce
and I never failed to stop and talk for a while.
Danny also told me what Bruce said when he
told him about the things we were doing at our
school and how closely they paralleled his
innovations. Bruce said, “He is in the water…
but he is not yet swimming.” I got a kick out
of that. Several years later my wife and I had
the pleasure of spending time with Linda Lee,
Bruce’s widow. At the time she was married to
an old friend of mine, an early Kenpo Black
Belt. One night when the four of us were out to
dinner I told her what Bruce had said about me
being in the water but not yet swimming. She
smiled at that, undoubtedly recognizing her late
husband’s verbal style and said, “That’s about as
good a compliment as Bruce ever gave.”
Rest in Peace Bruce.


Organized Despair, by Bruce Lee.
..............................................
In the long history of the martial arts, the instinct to follow and imitate seems to be inherent in most martial artist, instructors and students alike. This is partly due to human tendency and partly because of steep traditions behind mutiple patterns of styles. Consequently, to find a refreshing, original, master teacher is a rarity. The need for a" pointer of the way echoes".

Each man belongs to a style which claims to posses the truth to the exclusion of all other styles. These styles become institutes with their explanations of the "way" dissecting and isolating the harmony of firmness and gentleness, establishing rythmic forms as the paticular state of their techniques.

Instaed of facing combat in it's suchness, then, most systems of martial art accumulate a "fancy mess" that distorts and cramps their practioners and distracts them from the actual reality of combat, which is simple and direct. Instead of going immediately to the heart of things, flowery forms (organized despair) and artificial techniques are ritualistcally practised to stimulate actual combat. Thus, instead of "being" in combat these practioners are doing something "about" combat.

Worse still, super mental power and spiritual this and spiritual that are desperately incorprated until these practioners drift further and further into mystery and abstraction. All such things are futile attempts to arrest and fix the ever-changing movements in combat and to dissect and analyze them like a corpse.

When you get down to it, real combat is not fixed and is very much "alive". The fancy mess ( a form of paralysis ) solidifies and conditions what was once fluid, and when you look at it realistically, it is nothing but a blind devotion to the systematic uselessness of practicing routines or stunts that lead nowhere.

[ there is alot more from the tao of jeet kune do on the subject, i leave it up to the reader to decide to further investigate , if s/he chooses]


Ed Parker.
.................................................. ...

"Its not who's right, but who's left."
Ed Parker ...


"When I am gone, I hope that people won't try to traditionalize my Art. I want you to always remember that Kenpo will always be the Art of Perpetual Change. If you remember this, then the Art will never become obsolete because it will change with the times. While the ignorant refuse to study and the intelligent never stop, we should always be mindful of the fact that our reward in life is proportionate with the contributions we make. A true Martial Artist is not one who fears change, but one who causes it to happen. To live is to change, and to obtain perfection is to have changed often. Progress is a necessity that is a part of nature. While it is true that casting the old aside is not necessary in order to obtain something new, we should study old theories not as a means of discrediting them, but to see if they can be modified to improve our present conditions. A word of advice, The humble man makes room for progress; the proud man believes he is already there."

Edmund Kealoha Parker Sr.
Volume 2, Infinite Insights

.................................................. ................................................

Kenpo techniques are groups of basic moves arranged in a pre-planned sequence to
illustrate a possible defense for a given scenario.

They are taught with the "Three phase concept" which views the techniques in 3 stages
(phases): Ideal, What-if, and Formulation.
In a "real world" situation, the Kenpo practitioner isn't expected to complete a whole
specific technique. One never knows exactly how an opponent may react to any block,
check or strike. For any given technique one can apply the equation formula to fit the
reactions of their opponent, or perhaps the practitioner has a comfort level with certain
movement and prefers to use the basics with which they are the most capable.
Some people believe that the techniques are the heart of Kenpo. They are. Unfortunately,
too many people lose sight of why. Always remember, the techniques are vehicles for
learning the principles of Kenpo. That is their lesson.



Ideal Phase
In the Ideal Phase the student learns the technique "by the book". This means the attack is
specified, the defense is applied and the attackers reaction is known.
What-If Phase
In the What-If Phase the student(s) experiment with different possible scenarios for the
attack and attackers reactions.
Formulation Phase
With the Formulation Phase the student tears apart the technique, explores its principles
and develops alternate, spontaneous, reactions all with the aid the equation formula.
Equation Formula

The Equation Formula for fighting was designed as a formula to allow fighters to
build/design logical and practical fighting techniques. It states that for any base move (ie
punch/kick) or group of moves (technique - ie Delayed Sword) one may modify their
intention by:
1. Alter the target area, weapon, or both.
2. Prefix a strike or block with an off angle body positioning (ie step out of the way of
the weapon!).
3. Perhaps Suffix your strike with one or several more.
4. Rearrange the order of a technique. Instead of block-chop-punch change it to block-
punch-chop (don’t forget to block though :-)).
5. Insert a move, perhaps simultaneously, such as a check of another weapon.
6. Delete a move to prevent unwanted injury to yourself, your opponent or to prevent
unnecessary time spent engaging and less time leaving!
7. You may wish to adjust the range or angle of the weapon.
8. Regulate your weapons speed or force and you may get a very different reaction.

Auther for the above is unknown to me...

If you have read this far lol, im hope you will let me know what you have drawn from your reading...thanx

[Latinvipers]

that was asome, i wish bruce was still around who knows what he could have came up with.

[Brother John]

Something that my instructor used to say was that Mr. Parker and Mr. Lee were after the exact same end result in a martial arts student's development:
the ability to spontaneously express yourself and adapt to the needs of the moment through your martial ability. Mr. Lee went about this through the exploration of tools and tactics without a set format, Mr. Parker through a reliance on a strong foundation (basics/fundamentals) and then seeking an intuitive understanding of principles in motion and a thorough exploration of concepts/scenarios.

interesting conjecture.

Your Brother
John

[John M. La Tourrette]

Thank you.

I did enjoy the Chuck S. article about Bruce, and about HIS own "lengthening of his line of knowledge". It reminds me also of some of the "discussions" I used to have.

DOC JOHN

[MARSHALLS KENPO]

Organized Despair, by Bruce Lee.
..............................................
In the long history of the martial arts, the instinct to follow and imitate seems to be inherent in most martial artist, instructors and students alike. This is partly due to human tendency and partly because of steep traditions behind mutiple patterns of styles. Consequently, to find a refreshing, original, master teacher is a rarity. The need for a" pointer of the way echoes".

Each man belongs to a style which claims to posses the truth to the exclusion of all other styles. These styles become institutes with their explanations of the "way" dissecting and isolating the harmony of firmness and gentleness, establishing rythmic forms as the paticular state of their techniques.

Instaed of facing combat in it's suchness, then, most systems of martial art accumulate a "fancy mess" that distorts and cramps their practioners and distracts them from the actual reality of combat, which is simple and direct. Instead of going immediately to the heart of things, flowery forms (organized despair) and artificial techniques are ritualistcally practised to stimulate actual combat. Thus, instead of "being" in combat these practioners are doing something "about" combat.

Worse still, super mental power and spiritual this and spiritual that are desperately incorprated until these practioners drift further and further into mystery and abstraction. All such things are futile attempts to arrest and fix the ever-changing movements in combat and to dissect and analyze them like a corpse.

When you get down to it, real combat is not fixed and is very much "alive". The fancy mess ( a form of paralysis ) solidifies and conditions what was once fluid, and when you look at it realistically, it is nothing but a blind devotion to the systematic uselessness of practicing routines or stunts that lead nowhere.

[ there is alot more from the tao of jeet kune do on the subject, i leave it up to the reader to decide to further investigate , if s/he chooses]


Ed Parker.
.................................................. ...

"Its not who's right, but who's left."
Ed Parker ...


"When I am gone, I hope that people won't try to traditionalize my Art. I want you to always remember that Kenpo will always be the Art of Perpetual Change. If you remember this, then the Art will never become obsolete because it will change with the times. While the ignorant refuse to study and the intelligent never stop, we should always be mindful of the fact that our reward in life is proportionate with the contributions we make. A true Martial Artist is not one who fears change, but one who causes it to happen. To live is to change, and to obtain perfection is to have changed often. Progress is a necessity that is a part of nature. While it is true that casting the old aside is not necessary in order to obtain something new, we should study old theories not as a means of discrediting them, but to see if they can be modified to improve our present conditions. A word of advice, The humble man makes room for progress; the proud man believes he is already there."

Edmund Kealoha Parker Sr.
Volume 2, Infinite Insights

.................................................. ................................................
If you have read this far lol, im hope you will let me know what you have drawn from your reading...thanx

So what happened with the rest of us?

[MARSHALLS KENPO]

What has happened with the rest of us?


I love the martial arts, Kenpo specifically, and I respect those who constantly strive for understanding and knowledge. Over the years so many concepts and theories have been presented with zest, and passion, that one has a hard time understanding what is and is not practical for them, and by doing so forgetting the simplicity of natural reaction.

Every martial art system and individual who studies the arts has a view and something great to share. This is true from the youngest of beginners to the most senior practitioners of the arts. Unfortunately if they don’t have a title or rank, we usually discard their input and replace it with our own understanding, thus losing the opportunity that exploration of their perspective could have presented. I for one am guilty of this.

How is it that we have misplaced the purpose of unarmed self-defense, and replaced it with a coalition of followers whom believe that they are the way to the ultimate representation of self expression, leaving us only questioning their validation process, to support our own.

The study of a style or system of combative arts, serves us by providing a base in which to reference the possibilities that may present themselves ,through observation within confrontations.

For me the simple truth is this:
Simplistic total engagement that provides the means to ending the confrontation with minimal risk to those or myself I care about.

My deepest respect

[thesensei]

Something that my instructor used to say was that Mr. Parker and Mr. Lee were after the exact same end result in a martial arts student's development:
the ability to spontaneously express yourself and adapt to the needs of the moment through your martial ability. Mr. Lee went about this through the exploration of tools and tactics without a set format, Mr. Parker through a reliance on a strong foundation (basics/fundamentals) and then seeking an intuitive understanding of principles in motion and a thorough exploration of concepts/scenarios.

I think that this thought expresses much of the truth between the two. From what I have seen about both these men, their training system seems to say quite a bit about them. Bruce Lee seems to have had a little more selfish motivation (no disrespect intended), in that he was in it for how he could personally mature as a martial artist, rather than trying to gain as much of a "following" as he could—he was seeking his following through the silver screen rather than through his teaching skill.

On the other hand, Ed Parker approached his training model as a business. He was actively seeking an "empire" of martial artists, and so his training system was organized and defined to make it easy to perpetuate.

In the end, both made great contributions to the art, and both philosophies have given us much to think about as we pursue our own training and goals!

Salute,