TRACYS GUIDE TO AMERICAN KENPO

"The time has come the tortoise said;
to speak of many things,
of ships and sails and sealing wax;
of cabbages and kings;
and why the sea is boiling hot;
And whether pigs have wings;

"Alice through the looking glass"     

After reading about the politics of American Kenpo you will see it makes just as much sense as the above quote:      

Several issues came up at the gathering of Eagles that the majority agreed upon.

1. No organization has the power to promote - An organization can issue a diploma under the signature of an instructor authorized to promote.

Example: You have groups of Kenpo stylist running around with 2nd, 3rd, or 4th degree black belts. They get together and form a new Kenpo organization. Draw up a  "constitution" giving them the power to promote under the "Authority of the Constitution". Now they claim they can promote anyone up to 10th! Of course the first one they promote are themselves!

2. If he a'int your student you can't promote him! This should be obvious. If you were a university and the person did not attend you college - you have no idea what he know - you cannot give him diploma.
    This is to keep students from jumping from one instructor to the next - shopping for rank!

3. Individual provisions will be make for the "orphan: a student left with no instructor: the instructor is dead, moved or  no longer teaching! Or, sometimes its just politics or the instructor only willing to promote he is "Paid" (usually a huge fee)!

4. No "dan: ranking for youth! At the gather of eagles we asked Sig Kuftheroff to sigh a diploma - the first thing he said - no Dan ranking for anyone one under 18.
    Everyone agreed upon this - the only debate was should the minimum age be 16 or 18. It was agreed each organization would set their own age limits!

Sooner of later politics have to come up - and this is the proper place to set the record straight! These are the straight facts. This is the type of information the "other" kenpo leaders don't want you to know! Their justification: it makes kenpo look bad: Translation "it makes them look bad"

Buyer beware! With the death of Ed Parker dozens of "American" kenpo stylist rushed forward to take his place. They all came rushing forward to offer to become the new "Messiah". The message was always the same: they were there to unite Kenpo and to preserve American Kenpo as Ed had taught it. "Uniting Kenpo" of course meant under them. Since Ed had not seen fit to - choose any one of them to be his successor - or give any of them high rank when he was alive - they gave it to them-selves.

It was so bad there were people - at the funeral - trying to get higher rank from Mrs. Parker. They were all claiming Ed had promised it to them.

REALITY: With the death of Ed Parker - came the death of the IKKA! Mrs. Parker had never trained in Kenpo nor did she hold any rank! The son held no rank nor did any of the daughters.

Or, as one savior reluctantly had to take on the mantel - because his students forced him to do so. Since when to the student run the show? Some tried to rush tapes onto the market to fill the void left by Ed's death! Slowly one after the other they have just disappeared. The only ones who came rushing forward to join these new "Kenpo" organizations were those wanting easy - cheap - unearned rank! Then they would rush to the next new "kenpo" organization - show their new rank from the other organization wanting higher rank to support the new organization.

I promoted one person to a well earned Yodan (4th Degree Black Belt) on 12-30-90! He formed his on "Kenpo" organization 4-5 years ago and suddenly he is (Grandmaster of his system) Fill in your own rank, he did!

One of the larger "kenpo" groups will offer almost anyone 5th just to come with them!

TO BE CONTINUED

©1999 AL TRACY