I Stomped On Eight Deadly Ninjas In A Bar Fight Using Spetsnaz Karate Techniques!
Now the catalogue of this kind of crap is huge. Over the past couple of decades I have seen–take a breath–super secret ninja death commando spetznat cyberneurotic Green Beret government doesn’t want you to know eight barroom killer tricks. And the list is a lot longer, but you know the kind of tripe what I’m talking about.
I’m talking about cheaters who bilk you out of hard earned bucks by promising you the moon, then give you watered down, generic outhouse stuffings and call it the real martial arts. I saw one the other day, Captain Chris, or Major X, or whatever he called himself. He’s still selling the same bullwash and calling it gold, and getting rich off unsuspecting, honest martial arts practitioners.
Now you and I know one simple truth…there is no excuse for hard work. If you want to be able to defend yourself then you have to work out, and work out long and hard. Fortunately there is one other simple truth…working out is fun!
When you work out you build up a sweat, you get rid of poisons in the body, your mind starts to think better, and you get this world beating confidence. A confidence that makes you feel like you’re a giant. A confidence that tells you–yes, you can conquer the world!
Now, the story behind these ‘I beat eight skinhead bikers in a bar in the Ozarks’ is pretty dumb. The author has gotten a hold of a few DVDs, or watched the net, and he realizes that the right hand can block both the a right fist and a left fist, and most attackers use their fists, and if you watch the shoulder you can see when he’s going to move. So he puts together eight tricks where you attack eight different ways, and gives it a phony scientific title.
Look, I’m not pulling your leg, it really is that simple, and it really is that shabby. I mean, why not just go ahead and study the art, find out about another culture, practice an exotic discipline, and really learn something? When you really know the true martial arts you will laugh very hard at those killer commando death techniques, those so called youtube experts with their snippets of bushwah, those super secret CIA agents who learned from Shaolin Monks in a hidden monastery.
Those people who try to sell you ‘become a killer quick’ courses are just reaching into your pocket and stealing your money. It’s best if you toss out those comic book notions and find a real martial arts teacher and learn the truth. Look, there is nothing wrong with studying on your own, you just need to seek out the real art and not fall for that super secret spetznatz karate techniques.
If you want the real martial art, I’m putting together 25 books for only $10. This is six entire arts, studied over a forty year period, and which will make you into a true martial artist. This is my answer to the scammers who want to cheat people, so click on over to 25 martial art Books. 1
American Kenpo Karate Is A Wonderful Art…but There Is Something Wrong With It
It grew much too quickly. In the east senseis didn’t instruct until they had a minimum of a decade of experience, had studied under a variety of masters and had learned a variety of martial arts styles. We were creating senseis every 3 years, which is how long it took to bring a student to black belt back then.
Of course, there is also the problem of which kenpo is the true kenpo? Ed Parker, you see, developed five different kenpos. If you learned an earlier version, is it now considered…less than kenpo?
And, this bring us to the fact that there are versions of the versions. There are teachers who have developed combat kenpo and tournament kenpo and MMA kenpo, and so on. It seems there are as many versions of kenpo as there are people studying it.
I first became aware of this problem, too many variations, while putting together Monkey Boxing, which, in one sense, is my version of kenpo, or at least as close as I can come to a kenpo. I had studied the version of a version of it way back when, then I picked up Larry Tatum Kenpo, and I had some of the kenpo connection material, then I came across rather massive instruction manuals on Olympic kenpo, and I believe I had two other versions of the art.
As I went through the endless techniques I saw how the changes were sometimes small, and sometimes large, but always unique to the person making the changes. Now, to be sure, every art should be an expression of the individual, and kenpo does seem suited to this. Still, it would be nice to have a specific set of concepts, and maybe a list of techniques that would standardize the kenpo field before individual martial arts masters expanded it with their own variations.
In the end, I boiled the techniques of five complete arts, with a couple or three partial arts, down to forty techniques. I am sure there will be some who shake their heads at this. After all, how can one summate over 500 techniques, and all the evolutions thereof, with but 40 techniques?
Well, I offer no excuse, I merely advise the reader to set himself or herself the task of collecting sufficient versions that you might have a complete viewpoint of the art. Then, start organizing the overwhelming glut of knowledge. It will be a hard task, a number nine headache, but you might end up a true master of American Kenpo Karate.
A Case, the greatest martial art writer of all time (almost 2,000,000 words in print), is at Monster Martial art. You can look at his 40 technique variation of American Kenpo Karate there. Make sure you pick up his free book on Matrixing. 1
The Secret Of How To Make Your Fist Law Into Power Kenpo!
The concept of Power Kenpo is something I coined many decades ago, and have never really talked about. It actually grew from an incident in 1968 in which I asked my instructor to take a look at a form I had been working on. My instructor stepped on to the mat and I took a position and began to move.
I had learned the form from a series of books on Japanese Karate, and the name was Heian Five. It is a traditional kata, with solid stance and big, significant movements. As such, it seems to stand against the concepts of the fast whirling arms of Parker art.
When I ended the kata my instructor observed, “Yes, definitely a Japanese form.” He didn’t say much more, and I had the feeling that there was an opinion he wasn’t voicing. Many decades later, I understand why, he was trying to teach me one thing, and I was working in a completely different direction.
To be honest, Chinese Karate does not fit well with classical Shotokan Karate. Kenpo, as I have intimated, relies on fast hands and circling motions. Shotokan holds a disdain for subterfuge, and preaches the power of a strong stance, facing your enemy squarely, and attacking in a linear manner.
Each system has its strengths, and its weaknesses, but they don’t fit together. It is difficult even to shift from one art to another in the middle of combat. The funny thing about all this is that original Parker system was built upon the Heian forms of classical Karate.
Most people blink when I say such a thing, but it is true. If you can find a copy of one of Ed Parker’s first books you will find that it is nothing more than a sequence of the applications of the Heian forms. Indeed, if you link the applications in his book, you are actually doing the Heians.
In conclusion, now you understand what I mean when I remarked about Power Kenpo and being true to the footsteps of Ed Parker. The fact is that true and dedicated martial artists should study as many systems as they can. The truth of the matter is that if you want power in your art, or accelerated weapons, or better kicks, then study a separate system that has what you want, and let the power of that other art bleed back to your art, and that is how you will have Power Kenpo.
Al Case made his Power Kenpo out of such martial arts as Karate, Aikido and Wing Chun. You can find it on the Monkey Boxing pages of Monster Martial Arts.
