American Kenpo
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| Focus | Hybrid |
|---|---|
| Country of origin |
 United States of America
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| Creator | Ed Parker |
| Famous practitioners | Stephen Thompson, Zane Frazier, Keith Hackney, Chuck Liddell, Frank Mir, K.J. Noons, Elvis Presley, Patrick Smith, Jeff Speakman, Don Jeffcoat, Gil Hibben, Sami Ibrahim, Mike Pick, Larry Tatum, Paul Mills, Richard Huk Planas, Frank Trejo |
| Parenthood | Kara-ho Kenpo, Shaolin Chu'an Fa, Judo |
| Olympic sport | No |
American Kenpo /ˈkɛmpoʊ/, pronounced KeMpo, is a martial art characterized by the use of quick and powerful strikes delivered from all of the body's natural weapons, powered by rapid stance transitions. The beginner is introduced to numerous basics that comprise the system taught through the vehicle of scripted ideal scenarios that give instructors a platform from which to introduce the concepts and principles that Ed Parker emphasized in his teachings of American Kenpo.
The purpose of training in this manner is to increase coordination and continuity with linear and circular motion, each basic movement when executed correctly loads the next move, keeping the adversaries dimensional zones in check, limiting their ability to retaliate. If the adversary does not react as the technique sequence anticipates, the skilled Kenpo practitioner is able to seamlessly transition into an appropriate action drawn spontaneously from the subconscious state.
Founded and codified by Ed Parker, American Kenpo is primarily a self-defense combat system. Senior Grand Master Parker made significant modifications to the original art of Kenpo that he learned in Hawaii, throughout his life, introducing or changing principles, theories, and concepts of motion, as well as terminology. By the time of his passing in December 1990 He had created the forms: Short Form 1, Long Form 1, Short Form 2, Long Form 2, Short Form 3, Long Form 3, Long Form 4, Long Form 5, Long Form 6, Long Form 7 (Twin Clubs), Long Form 8 (Twin Knives), 154 named (ideal phase) technique sequences with 96 extensions, taught in three phases (Ideal, What-if and Formulation Phases) and He emphasized tailoring Kenpo to the individual and encouraged his students to explore those martial areas not yet fully explored.
He left behind a large number of instructors who honor his teachings by teach many different versions of American Kenpo, as Senior Grand Master Parker decided not to name a single successor to his art, leaving each of his senior students to carry on his teachings in their own way.
The word kenpō is a Japanese translation of the Chinese word "quán fǎ". Its widespread, cross-cultural adaptation has led to many divergent definitions of its exact meaning. The character for Quan means Fist and Fa means Method, Principle or Law. Kenpo is usually understood to mean Fist Law or Fist Method
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