Did Ed Parker have synesthesia?

I was having dinner with Steve Hatfield and his students a few years back after a seminar at his studio in Mt. Vernon, OH. One of his black belts is Dr. Jeff Bowers. Jeff is the County Coroner. I enjoy my conversations with Jeff. I asked him if he thought Ed Parker could "taste" motion. That piqued his interest.

I asked because I know how much Ed Parker liked to eat, and he made analogy to a fight as being like a meal. Those of you who were in his seminars will remember his saying the prefix was like the appetizer, entry moves were soup and salad, then the major moves were the main course and an eye hook would be dessert. But what stuck in my mind was watching him at the end of Larry Tatum's first video, running a "form" at Pasadena. It was either something he put together for himself or an extemporaneous thing, which is what I think it was. You can see that while he's running it he's licking his lips, obviously enjoying what he's doing.

Now, in my silly little mind, I'm thinking something else might be going on there. Which is why I asked Dr. Bowers the question.

He thought about that for a minute and said he thought it was possible. Jeff was good enough to order a book for me entitled The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales. The author is Dr. Oliver Sacks. It's a collection of case histories of bizarre neurological disorders. Very interesting, but the situations are rather extreme. It does illustrate the possibilities of how brains can be cross-wired, which lends some support to my theory that Mr. Parker may have actually "tasted" what he was doing.

It's just a theory, a somewhat idle speculation. I have put a link here for your education about synesthesia. It's an article in one of the premiere scientific magazines, Scientific American. By the way, those of you who are educators may want to read Scientific American Mind, too. Synesthesia is a condition in which the brain is cross-wired and people may see colors with musical notes and the like. So, did Ed Parker have it? You decide.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=0003014B-9D06-1E8F-8EA5809EC5880000&pageNumber=1&catID=2

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Lee Wedlake has been teaching Kenpo Karate for over 35 years and has written a variety of Kenpo Books about different kenpo katas and kenpo concepts. Mr. Wedlake has worked directly with Ed Parker and is generous with his knowledge and his time. He is available for Kenpo Seminars and camps.