The Power of American Kenpo
By Rich Hale
I hate to sound too old or start too many conversations with, "Back in the day", but now and then there's no better way to start a conversation.
So, back in the day, being a Black Belt really meant something. Not just being a Kenpo black belt, but anyone who had earned a black belt in the martial arts had earned the respect of their peers and society in general. It was assumed, and to a major degree, rightfully so, that a black belt was a total bad ass who could take you out with a single punch. Only today if you tell somebody that you're a black belt they'll likely say something like, "Oh that's nice, so is my ten year old son." In fact, here's a true story that happened to me.
A lady came up to me and in an interested tone, said, “I hear you're a black belt in karate. So tell me, how long did it take you to earn a black belt?" I proudly stated that it took me nine years to earn my rank. She then smiled and said, “Really? My ten year old son is a black belt too. It only took him two years, but he's very gifted." Then she just stood there, looking at me like I was retarded.
Having reached my breaking point, of being compared to yet another ten year old black belt, I politely said, "That's great, so I guess he can really defend himself." She said, "Oh yes, I even let him walk around the mall by himself, because no one’s going to mess with him." I pondered this for a moment and said, "So, I guess when it's time to come in for dinner, or time to go to bed, he only comes in, or goes to bed, if he wants to. Right? After all he's a black belt and you can't make him do anything he doesn't want to do, can you?” After a slight pause she looked me in the eye and said, "He better do what I say or I'll . . ." "You'll what?" I asked her. "You'll spank his little bottom?" With the ball rolling in my direction now, I said, "Are you a black belt too?” She says, "Well no . . ." I cut her off and looking her back in the eye, I say, “So you’re just a girl, right?” Calling her a girl did little for our friendship, but she started this conversation and I thought it was about time someone told her the truth about little kids who get their black belts in two years. “So let me get this straight, you’re not a black belt, you’re just a mom who can spank her little black belts butt if he doesn’t do what you say, but on the other hand he can defend himself against a two hundred and forty pound, sex crazed, maniac who wants to throw him in a van, rape and kill him. Do I have this right so far?
Now, if looks could kill, she’d have taken me out at that very moment, but looks don’t kill so I kept talking. I told her that just maybe she should “realistically” reconsider her little boy’s physical abilities and think twice about putting him in harm’s way – even if he is a black belt in karate. I did manage to resist telling her that (1) I was not retarded and that (2) I could kick her (very gifted) son’s ass. Only I thought that if I actually told her I could kick her son’s ass, it would do little to convince her that I wasn’t retarded, so I let that one go.
The point, by the way, isn’t about how ten year olds shouldn’t be black belts. I completely approve of junior black belts, providing it says so on their certificate. The point is it takes a certain amount of power for any block, strike, kick, etc., to be effective. A big ten year old, weighing in at one hundred pounds fighting a two hundred pound man is like a two hundred pound man fighting a four hundred pound man. The biggest guy I ever fought with was only three hundred pounds and my strikes were bouncing off like bee bees hitting a brown bear.
For those of you who knew Mr. Parker, or have even seen him on video, I’d like you to think back on his most impressive quality. Was it his genius, his form, his speed? Although Mr. Parker possessed an overwhelming abundance in each of these categories, no one has ever started a conversation, with me, in regard to one of these being his most outstanding quality. No, the single most outstanding quality people refer to, when speaking of Mr. Parker, was his power. This certainly doesn’t take away from any of his other qualities, but should make us stop and think. If Mr. Parker was so well known for his power, should we let power slip away from the forefront of his system?
At this point some may say, “But there’s a lot more to karate than just power!” Really? I challenge anyone to find “a lot more” to do with karate that is in no way related to power. Just about every principle in Kenpo relates to either the creation of powerful movements or the delivery of those movements. Be it defensive or offensive, movements with power are going to be more effective than those without power. Even a parry, which is supposed to merely ride and redirect an opposing force, can be delivered so weakly as to be ineffective or it can be delivered so powerfully as to end a confrontation with no further action necessary.
This is even expressed in Mr. Parker’s explanation of Economy of Motion: “Economy of Motion entails choosing the best available weapon for the best available angle, to insure reaching the best available target in the least amount of time. Any movement that takes less time to execute, but still causes the effect intended. Any movement that inhibits, or does not actively enhance the effect intended is categorized as Wasted Motion.” And what is it that generally causes a movement to be ineffective? He already said we’ve chosen the best available weapon for the best available angle, to insure reaching the best available target in the least amount of time, so what could be lacking to make this move ineffective? Power.
I know Mr. Parker told a lot of people a lot of different things, so I’m not going to say what he told me was the gospel truth above any other, but I will say this. When Mr. Parker explained the three stages of motion to me, he emphasized that the first two stages, primitive motion and mechanical motion, were not merely stages we were trying to get beyond, but were both necessary stages in our development. He explained that although it was our ultimate goal to be spontaneous, the first two stages of motion were necessary to develop our power, focus and form. He said I needed to go through these stages slowly enough so that when I started to move spontaneously, I’d do so effectively. He instructed me to slow down my forms, take my time and develop strong basics. Anyone who knew me before I started studying with Mr. Parker may remember how quickly I did my forms and how much more slowly and deliberately I did them after I started studying with him.
Too many of today’s Kenpoists seem to think the sooner they can jump from primitive motion to spontaneous motion the better. When I see this, I try to explain it this way. Most of us already move spontaneously the day we walk into the studio. The problem is we don’t move effectively in the process. Watch a new person fight for the first time. Most of them block and strike fairly quickly and without having to think about it. Only when they block, or strike, they’re generally so ineffective that we don’t give them much credit for moving spontaneously. Think about it, aren’t we always saying things like, “Hey there, take it easy, slow down, relax, take your time.”
As instructors our job is to, first, take our students back to the primitive stage of motion and teach them solid basics. Strong basics are something that can be used spontaneously, but not learned spontaneously. This takes time. How long, I don’t know and can’t say. How long it takes anyone to get good at something depends on many variables, but I tend to judge a student’s basics on how effective they are. When I no longer like punching at them because their blocks hurt like hell and I don’t like them hitting me because it hurts like hell, I consider them to be progressing nicely.
Once a student is moving primitively with considerable effectiveness, it’s time to get them moving mechanically. That is to teach them combinations, forms, sets, techniques, etc., by the numbers. The mechanical stage is there specifically to keep them from losing all their newly gained power and focus into a whirlwind of gaseous motion. Moving too quickly from primitive motion to spontaneous motion tends to leave a student moving strongly only in the first and last moves of a technique, with everything in between having the appearance of mumbling motion. Mumbling Motion, by the way, is something Mr. Parker also had a definition for; “Movements that are not executed with crispness. They can be compared with words that lack diction, or are slurred when spoken.”
Eventually, a student is encouraged to once again move with spontaneity. Hopefully enough time has been spent in both the primitive and mechanical stages that their spontaneous actions will now be adequately effective, but an occasional, if not regular, trip back to the basics should not be considered a bad thing.
I can still hear people saying, “I still say there’s more to the martial arts than power!” And I agree with them. There is a lot more to the martial arts than power alone. I’m just pointing out something that seems to be missing right now, today. When the day comes that I think we need more techniques, forms, sets and freestyle techniques, I’ll be sure to speak up. If I think everyone is trying to perform their material with so much power that their overall performance is suffering, I’ll mention that as well. Only those are different issues and different conversations. Today my concern is how the art of American Kenpo is losing much of its previous respect due to a lack of power being demonstrated by many of its practitioners.
I know many of the above points can be argued. I could argue the other side myself, to one degree or another, if I wanted to, but I also know this; power is an essential element of American Kenpo and over the years it seems to be drifting away. Our students will only learn those things we teach them and show them by example. If all we teach them are fancy techniques and intricate forms, which are void of power, that’s all they’ll have with them when their life depends on it.
