The Building of Foundations in Kenpo Karate

What is the meaning of a foundation? That question sounds deceptively simple, yet it baffles many people. As a martial artist and a teacher, I think about this often. I find it takes greater meaning and importance each time I go back to review it. Foundations are simple, yet incredibly important for creating whatever it is that you are trying to accomplish. As a teacher, I try to stress the importance of going back to the beginning each time I do a lesson, but many students want nothing to do with it. They want what is flashy, complex, and inefficient activities and ideas to dominate their attention. They fail to see the beauty in the simplicity of creating a foundation that will support all future knowledge.

Look at a house and ask yourself how long it will stand if the foundation is flawed. What do you think? The answer is not very complicated. There is a great deal that can be learned from building a great foundation. Let us switch gears from architecture to Kenpo Karate. Yellow Belt is the foundation of Kenpo. It has the beginning of all movements there. It has the first basics, the first self-defense techniques, the first forms, and it introduces how to apply Kenpo principles to all these beginning motions. The rest of the Kenpo system builds from there. Yellow belt is the keystone for the rest of the system. If a practitioner understands this, then it makes sense to constantly revisit the principles, concepts, and movements from the beginning.

Often times, when I am in a lesson with my instructor, he references certain techniques and moves as master key techniques or moves. It is around these moves that other movements congregate because they are effective, efficient, and follow the rules and principles of Kenpo in a most efficient manner. What I talk about in terms of Kenpo can also be applied in terms of self defense techniques, sparring techniques, training practices, and any other disciplines both within the world of martial arts and outside of martial arts. The principles of foundations and learning apply across the board. Martial arts and Kenpo training are microcosms in life, and what applies there can apply in how you live your life.

Think back to when each person is a small child. The usual pattern for a baby is to learn to sit, then crawl, then walk, and then run. The progression happens gradually as an infant and child learns to master each stage. Each stage of movement is a foundation that builds to the next stage of movement. The same holds true with the knowledge learned at each belt. Each belt acts as a foundation that builds to the next one. Just like any foundation, whether it is physical or mental, if one leaves it alone for too long then it grows weak. A foundation must be tended to through practice and review. Just like a foundation for a building must be tended to in order to ensure it can support the greatness of the structure above it, so it is true in Kenpo. Kenpo is a great system, but only in so much as each practitioner tends to their foundations.

If we take this idea that building a foundation is as simple as practicing and attending to the basics, then, in theory, there should not be much of a problem in becoming proficient at whatever you apply this to, or anything that you create. However, it goes deeper than that. There is one other issue that must be attended to before revisiting basics. This issue in question is the idea of motivation and practice. I could separate these out, but in the interest of brevity I will address them together. Motivation and practice are major obstacles in trying to achieve fluency and proficiency in anything. That is why I bring this up. If a person does not apply himself/herself, then there can be nothing achieved. Each person must find their motivation to rise up and drive towards that goal of excellence. Excellence goes further back than the fundamental basics, it goes to your motivation and drive to practice that which you know. The other half of that is how you choose to practice. Fortunately, in today's world, there is a plethora of information out there that can help guide you. It is best to have a good teacher to help you, but there are those who train more alone than with others, who are forced to find that information and knowledge to help guide them on their own. But there are many good teachers and sources of information to help guide your practice, you just simply need to take your time, do your research, and be smart about the choices that you make. Your time and energy are precious, do not waste them on bad practices. Any good martial arts teacher will try to guide you more than tell you their way is the only way. There is no one answer or way to practice or to learn. That part of the journey is up to each individual. Remember that. The way you choose to think, learn, and make choices is up to each person, and nobody else.

Your base knowledge, your motivation, and your practice are all fundamental parts of your foundation and that is where you skill, proficiency, and style of martial arts will grow from. Do not take them lightly and do not take them for granted. Remember where it all comes from and you will be well served in how you learn and progress.

What is Kenpo Karate?

Huk Planas Seminar in Paradise, CA in 2015
Photographer: Jesse Brown

30th Annual Huk Planas Seminar in Chico, CA 2016

Photographer: Giovanni Brown

Part 1: Introduction

I suppose "What is Kenpo Karate?" is the fundamental question that needs to be asked when talking about Kenpo Karate. However, the thing that makes it so difficult to pin down is the fact that there are so many people out there with a variety of ideas and notions about what Kenpo means. Kenpo, in its best form, in my opinion, is best when it is very unique in its expression with each individual. Because of this, I believe, you get so many opinions on it out there. I often hear about "good Kenpo" and "bad Kenpo." I want to change that around to "more efficient Kenpo" and "less efficient Kenpo." Everyone is going to have their own way of representing it. I believe, ultimately, that is ok. I believe that because I like to think of myself as a positive person. If a person is doing Kenpo, then it is a good thing. They are learning about the knowledge and principles of martial arts, and Kenpo Karate in particular, to help make the world a better place and help make them a better person. My goal here is to add to the conversation and fill in some of the gaps and add to the information that may exist out there about what Kenpo Karate is about and what we are trying to achieve, particularly under the Parker/Planas lineage, and also under my home school, Epperson Brothers Kenpo Karate. This is my perspective and lens for viewing the martial arts world. Having studied history and written a master's thesis on ancient civilization and art within the Greek period circa 480 BCE, I learned a lot about what it means to try to write things in such a way to help people draw their own conclusions, and one of the first things you do as a writer and recorder of events is you at least state the perspective from which you are writing so people know what they are getting when they get your input and point of view. So, while defining what Kenpo Karate means for me in this article, I will give a lot of other information that will help define me, my experience, and perspective on martial arts. I hope it is useful, entertaining, and informative. I also hope it can start some good conversations between martial artists, Kenpoists, and enthusiasts of martial arts and/or martial arts related areas.

The world of martial arts is vast. There are so many styles, ideas, opinions, perspectives, and conversations out there that it would be difficult to cover all of them and even more difficult to please each person. People are extremely opinionated about martial arts and who is better or more effective, etc. Styles are compared by so many people. MMA matches are speculated upon by viewers fromthe  avid end of the spectrum all the way to the casual end of the spectrum. It is something that people truly love to debate about. I am not sure why people get so opinionated about it. I think my initial thought is that it comes back to an inherent nature of people to be competitive and martial arts embodies competition in one way or another in much the same way NFL football does. Having said that, I really try to not get into arguments with people about what is good and what is not. I just try to promote the good parts of martial arts and the fraternity of the discipline itself. I find that most martial artists who are decent people will respect you if you have humility and decency when you approach them about the topic.

I have been studying Kenpo Karate for a long time. My journey has not been the most efficient one. I started when I was 18 years old and pretty much just a kid at that point with a very different point of view of what martial arts was for me then. I have changed a lot over the years. I was going to college full time when I started, as well as ran track and field for CSU, Chico. I did that for a number of years. For 6 years, actually, I maintained that schedule. I made brown belt in 1997. In 1997 I started graduate school. At that point, my journey slowed down a bit. I was off and on with my training. I would say I have not ever left it completely, speaking on a personal level. I had times then where I may have been too poor to pay for classes or working too much at the beginning of my career. I think most people go through this cycle of trying to find where martial arts, Kenpo, fit into their lives and have to adjust their priorities in the process. I moved from Chico in 2004. It was at that point I really started to miss Kenpo and my school. I was only a 3 hour drive away from Chico, so started taking lesson more consistently since I had started my career in the San Francisco Bay Area. I had a whole new appreciation of my school that I had trained at for so long once I moved away. In my view, there was no other school like it. The Bay Area is full of martial arts schools and practitioners, but none of them could replace home. So, I just kept making the drive each month to go train. I had to redefine how to train for Kenpo for me. In this time I have now found what it means to train with more consistency from such a great distance. This has helped shape my experience.

There are Kenpo schools in the Bay Area, but none of them are associated with the Parker/Planas lineage, at least none to my knowledge and as of this date, they were not listed on Master Planas's website where he lists the rest of the schools around the world. The closest one belongs to my friend, Brandon Hubbard, in Folsom, CA. So, until I can start my own school under the Parker/Planas lineage, I have elected to train on my own and drive a couple times each month to train with my instructor. Why do I share all of this? I share this because this is fundamental in understanding the perspective with which I am writing about Kenpo Karate and understanding the journey I am on with my martial arts training. I remember once I was feeling frustrated with my progress. My instructor, Chuck Epperson, told me that my martial arts journey is unique. It is the martial arts journey that I am on and has meaning for me. I should not get frustrated with my progress because my path is different than everyone else's path. That held great meaning for me and has helped me develop further. I would not recommend to anyone to try to take as long as I have to reach 2nd degree brown belt. I have a new appreciation for my training and what I am doing now. I have tried to fit martial arts into my life the best way I know how. I am proud of the fact that I did not leave it. I kept with it, even if it was at a meandering pace over the years. Every martial artist's training is a personal journey that helps to define their art. It is with this in mind that I write about what Kenpo Karate means to me and try to explain how I define it.

My friend, Brandon Hubbard, owner of the Kenpo Karate school in Folsom, CA

Photographer: Jesse Brown

Part 2: A Definition

I have been to a lot seminars with Master Planas, as well as countless lessons on a monthly basis with my own instructor, and one thing I have learned is that Kenpo Karate is a set of rules and principles that act as guidelines for practitioners to express themselves in Kenpo as an art of self-defense. For me, that is what I would say if someone asked me what Kenpo is. From there, it just expands into endless possibilities and ideas. There are so many options once you get to study Kenpo in any kind of detail. The combinations and ideas just flow endlessly. However, you have to shift your thinking in such a way as to become used to thinking in terms of the exponential possibilities.

Al Myrtle and Chuck Epperson at the 12th Annual Paradise Seminar in CA

Photographer: Jesse Brown

Kenpo is also an art of terms, concepts, principles, and ideas that need to be understood and begged to be analyzed. Through this, Kenpo can be expanded upon and maximized. Ed Parker created a belt system that standardized much of the information. The standard bearer for the system in terms of belts is Yellow Belt. Yellow Belt has so many of the foundational moves and concepts that create the basis for the rest of the system. However, even as foundational as Yellow Belt is, it is still only  a list of ideas for a person to consider in their expression of the martial arts and Kenpo Karate. Once you get to brown belt and black belt, yellow belt material takes on a whole new meaning because a practitioner's understanding of the system should be more developed and create a new lens with which to view all the knowledge that had been taught previously.

Definitions abound and permeate Kenpo in so many ways. I always hear about "Rule #1." What is it? Disrupt your opponent's base immediately to take away their ability to fight. We have terms that explain things, like "backup mass," which is your body-weight moving in line with your weapon. There are definitions and explanations for everything. This is so we can become knowledgeable martial artists and know why we do what we do, not just know the motion. With that knowledge, we can begin to expand and think creatively in our responses when we are confronted with a situation. This is what I believe Kenpo should be about - thinking creatively and moving in a unique way that can adequately defend ourselves based on the rules and principles of motion within Kenpo.

So, given all this, it seems that each person should adapt the art of Kenpo Karate to who he or she is. This means how we train, how we look at the world, how we make our choices in martial arts (and sometimes outside of martial arts as well), and any innumerable other factors that affect our lives will help define Kenpo. Teachers from around the world have this set of rules and principles that we call Kenpo, but each instructor interprets them differently, whereby helping to define each student differently. As such, the teacher you choose for Kenpo will help create your definition as well. This is true in any discipline. It could be the same for your college that you pick to go for engineering, philosophy, or English. Every school is defined by the people that make it up.

As I go around and meet people from all kinds of Kenpo schools and backgrounds, I keep an open mind about the people and listen to what they say. I may agree or disagree with what they believe about Kenpo, but I find that a lot of times I have more in common with them than what the differences may be. I like to think that the camaraderie I develop with people through Kenpo helps define not necessarily the art, but my experience with the art. Somewhere along the way, if I have made a good friend, then I will undoubtedly learn or gain something from them through our mutual bond of Kenpo. I would say the same holds true with other martial arts. While our arts are different, the bond of training through movement and discipline within the martial arts brings us more together. My instructor taught me that while there are many arts, each person defines their art through their knowledge and training and study. Hopefully we are all aware enough of what we are doing to recognize information that is not useful, or even invalid, for our own experience. Conversely, that means we are able to recognize what is useful. I enjoy knowledge and I like to be the one to decide if it works for me or not. I am a huge fan of camaraderie, and if I can make some friends as I study, then that is even better.

David Garcia, one of the owners of the Kenpo Karate school in Grass Valley, CA (an article I am working on about him and his wife will be out soon)

Photographer: Jesse Brown

Kenpo is a set of rules and principles that help guide us in our martial arts journey. That is a constant. It helps us push forward in the art with some degree of consistency, even when we come from different schools and different parts of the world. The people who practice it and interpret it and share it do vary in their approaches and thought processes. It is what makes us unique and dynamic. The people that make up Kenpo create both variety and dynamic combinations of movement, and if you allow yourself to be an informed Kenpoist with a standard of excellence, you will have an art that is deeply satisfying for you and for those that you share it with.

Author: Jesse Brown
December 28, 2016