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"How Kenpo is used"
In this blog... I'm actually writing out of frustration at the criticism
American Kenpo (and its derivatives) attracts from people who don't
understand it! I get alot of comments from people saying "how would you
defend yourself against a UFC fighter, or that' won’t work against a
grappler!" The general criticism is that the self defense techniques
that we practice "wouldn't work". People don't mention a particular part
they don't think would work; they generally just condemn the entire
technique. When probed further, and this is the crux of it, they mention
that the person is "just standing there while the guy hits him…that
wouldn't happen in real life".
Now, listen carefully—that is completely true, it's blatantly obvious,
you're not clever for realizing it and not only do I agree with you but
any American Kenpoist who understands their art would also agree with
you.
Nobody ever claimed that the person was going to stand there while they
were hit as they do in practice; because that isn't the way the system
is designed to work.
As Senior Grand Master Ed Parker used to say, learning Kenpo is like
learning a language. He used to call it "The A-B-Cs of motion". When you
learn a foreign language, you begin by learning individual words. Then,
when you have learned some words, you begin to learn word groupings
(which words can go together and be grammatically correct), which you
build up into sentences (collections of word groupings) and finally a
conversation (a collection of sentences, responding to the words and
sentences used by the other parties in the conversation).
How people teach martial arts varies, but American Kenpo is taught in
much the same way. Your words are your basic strikes, such as a jab,
inward block, front kick, hand sword, stance change etc. When you enter
a school, you will begin by being taught these moves in isolation, much
as when you being to learn a language, you are taught the meaning of
single words. Just as learning single words helps to build up your
pronunciation skills, so learning a piece of motion in isolation helps
to improve your confidence, balance, targeting, breathing and other
fundamentals.
Once you have learned some basic moves, you move onto small
combinations, analogous to our word groups. These are small groups of
moves that fit well together, such as a jab-cross or double factor
block. From there we then move onto practicing a whole sentence. When
learning language this is typically something simple such as "Can I have
a loaf of bread please?". The sentence is grammatically correct, shows
correct word groupings (for example you're not asking for a loaf of
cheese), but is ultimately not something you'd ever walk into a deli and
actually say. However, practicing sentences like these helps to concrete
the language into your mind, helps you with timing and pronunciation,
helps you with grammar constructs and generally aids your intermediate
learning.
The American Kenpo technique is analogous to these sentences. That is to
say, it is practiced as it is, against a 'dummy', to help you learn
combinations of moves, timing, distancing, anatomy and physiology, body
mechanics, the limits of your own strength etc., as well as to concrete
the moves into your mind. What is remembering the syntax of a foreign
language so that is can be called instantly to mind and used is the same
as what is called 'muscle memory' in martial arts; that is practicing a
move so many times that it's execution becomes natural and almost
without thought.
To summarize, just as our language student would rarely walk up to a
counter and say "I would like to buy a loaf of bread please!", neither
would our Kenpo student approach a self defense situation by attempting
to execute an entire technique on a person who was just stood there. No,
rather, our language student would use the skills that he had learned to
have a conversation with the shop keeper; maybe he has to ask the price,
maybe the shopkeeper suggests an alternative, maybe a greeting is
exchanged—the nature of the conversation is unpredictable, just as a
self defense situation is unpredictable.
A trained Kenpoist realizes this and approaches the self defense
situation in the same way as the conversation, not by trying to use
something pre-prescribed but by reacting to the other person, using
appropriate responses to motion just as the language student uses
appropriate responses to language. Just because the language student
began his studies by practicing phrases, he is no less able to have a
conversation in a foreign language than our Kenpoist is able to fight,
though he practiced his techniques against a compliant dummy.
The important point is that the training is simply a means to an end, it
is the abilities of the fighter once he leaves the dojo that counts, not
what went on inside.
The second point to this argument is statements along the lines of
"Well, Kenpo wouldn't work against Brazilian Jiu Jitsu because I'd do
this, this and this and once I had him in my mount position I'd apply
this particular choke and then you'd be dead the end."…or something
along those lines.
These arguments seem to be entirely the fault of the UFC (Ultimate
Fighting Championship). As the UFC has evolved so have the fighters. In
the early UFCs people fought with distinctly different styles, but over
time it has emerged that grappling, wrestling and jiu-jitsu style arts
often more successful in the octagon that karate, kung fu, TKD and
similar hand and foot based arts (although it has to be said that
striking seems to be making a comeback in more recent UFCs).
This, in turn, has given rise to the belief that Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and
its peers must be the best fighting system in the World. Because, the
UFC is the best test of any martial arts effectiveness, and if Brazilian
Jiu Jitsu rules the octagon, then Brazilian Jiu Jitsu must rule the
World, right? Well no, not really.
Whether you believe this or not is a matter of personal opinion, but
like anything it's about using the right tool for the job. Yes,
submission fighting works well in the UFC. Yes, in the UFC a lot (not
all, the Gracie-Sakuraba fight being a good example) of stand up
fighters have been defeated by ground fighters and yes, the Gracies are
phenomenal martial artists.
However, American Kenpo is not, and has never been, a ring art. The UFC,
no matter how 'no holds barred' it purports to be has an audience, it
has timed rounds, it has rules, it has a referee, it has career
fighters, it has prize money, it has ring babes…at the end of the day it
is a sport like any other, and UFC fighters are sportsmen.
Its fighters are full time fighters in full time training. They can
afford the time to spend hours on end every day rolling on a mat in the
ultimate pursuit of fame and prize money. It should also be pointed out
that if you attempt to go to the ground deliberately in a street fight
you're likely to find someone comes and kicks you in the face or stomps
on your face. You do not have the luxury in a real fight of being on the
ground, let alone taking a fight there out of choice and assuming the
only person that you have to worry about is the one on top of you.
This is not what American Kenpo training is about.
In American Kenpo We are training to defeat the generally unskilled
brawlers or drunks who decide to assault us in the bar , mug us in a car
parking lot, road rage or wherever. This is not feudal Japan, it's
America, and we’re not training to pit one martial art against another
as they did thousands of years ago. The people we are training to fight
are going to be fighting on instinct alone or using scrapping
techniques.
My goal as an instructor is to teach my students about anatomy and
physiology, balance, physics, speed, timing, combat logic, power,
situational awareness and common sense so that they can keep themselves
and their families safe on the streets.
I would never enter a student into a competition without first
explaining to them that we do not teach a competition art, and if
anybody turned up at my door looking to be a UFC fighter then I would
tell them that I could not offer that to them.
On a final note, I have been doing American Kenpo for many years now. I
have trained with a lot of peers, I have trained a lot of my own
students and I have met a lot of other instructors and students from
other clubs.
I have heard a lot of well trained people report on encounters that they
have had, and in every case they have managed to fight well and not
sustain any life threatening injuries (and this has sometimes been when
they have outnumbered).
So, as I always like to say "Kenpo works". I, for one, have no reason to
doubt the system.
Sincerely,
Mr. Maurice A. Gomez Sr.
American Kenpo Karate Black Belt
USA- Head Instructor
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