Master of the Art, Rick Hughes, a long time Kenpoist form Southern California now living in Colorado, took time out of his recent vacation to visit school in Camarillo, CA.
Rick is a 9th Degree Black Belt having studied with Mr. Parker for more than ten years and having been promoted all the way to 5th Degree Black Directly from Mr. Parker himself. Rick's most recent promotion was from Master of the Art, Frank Trejo. Rick is president of The American Silver Tiger Kenpo Association.
As expected we had a great turnout and great time. Rick shows the skills and knowledge of Kenpo that can only be gained from countless hours on the mat. The time he spent with Mr. Parker is evident in how he understands and applies the principles of Kenpo.
We were also fortunate to have the company of Master Mohamad Tabatabai, Professor Scott Higgens, Professor Larry Kongaika and a host of other participants. Many drove for several hours to make the event. Everyone at Camarillo Kenpo really appreciated the great turn out.
TONY MARTINEZ SR.
Dateline: December 1965 - Black Belt Magazine
Tony Martinez wins the lightweight brown belt fighting division of the International Karate Championships!
To give some of you a time prespective on how long ago this was, the legendary Steve Muhammad (then Steve Sanders) won the lightweight white belt division and Arnold Urquidez (Benny the Jet's big brother) won the heavyweight white belt division..
Tony Martinez has been actively and continually involved in the Ed Parker System of Kenpo for more than 50 years. Congratulations . . . old guy.
Photo caption: Tony Martinez, who placed first in the lightweight brown belt division, is ready to block leg thrust of Henry Lewe's.
DOJO-REVIEWS.COM
If you're looking for a school, if you own a school, or if you would simply like to post a review of a school - then go to:
Right now they have already listed almost 24,000 school with more coming on daily. I've checked out the site and it's easy to navigate and find schools, but many of our great Kenpo schools are still missing.
I'm continually being asked where someone can find a good Kenpo school. I know you're out there, but I don't know where everybody is.
Let's make our presence known in the martial arts community.
OhanaKenpo.com OHANA KENPO KARATE ASSOCIATION January 27, 2011
Quoting Ed Parker
We are all different physiologically and what might work for one might not work for another, or it might work for both in varying degrees of effectiveness. You can give a person a base, but you can't bind them.
Black Belt Magazine - Feb. 1975
TONY MARTINEZ SR.
Back to Front & Front to Back - Switching
When performing a Front to Back Switch some instructors tell their students to move the front foot to the back then switch their back foot to the front. This sounds sensible, because it's easy to follow. When he says "Front to Back" you move your front foot to the back, then when he says "Switch" you switch your rear foot to the front. Unfortunately, this is not consistent with how Mr. Parker used the term.
When Mr. Parker called for a Front to Back Switch he expected you to move your back foot forward, and then move your front foot back. When he called for a Back to Front Switch, he expected you to move your front foot back, and then move your back foot forward.
On the surface you could say it really doesn't make a difference, so long as your students know what you're asking them to do, but it does make a difference if you want them to understand the principles of Kenpo. As they better understand the principles of Kenpo, they'll better understand Mr. Parker's manuals. To understand the principles they need to know how "Mr. Parker" used the terms, not how we use the terms.
When a technique asks you to switch feet, there is always a principle of motion involved. The action may involve kicking, buckling, striking, etc., but there is always a direction of action involving body momentum, which is accentuated by the stance change. It's the second half of the maneuver where the power is generated when changing a stance. The stance change gets its name from this second half of the sequence, not the first half, which is passive and preparatory.
Check out these examples and note how the strike is always associated with the second half of the foot maneuver:
