2014 Kenpo Senior Conference

We had to skip 2013 due to scheduling conflicts with other groups. I was told people were mad at me but it is what it is. Steve White and I want to promote peace and cooperation in the kenpo community and throwing another event in a crowded schedule would not help.
The date as of now is May 2-4, 2014 here in Texas. The Omni hotel we used for the first event is not available so I'm looking for another. The same kenpo seniors have agreed on the date, those being myself, Bob White, John Sepulveda and Steve LaBounty. That weekend is also the birthdate of the late Sibok Tom Kelly, so we'll dedicate the event to his memory.
  We plan to expand the schedule to have some sessions during the day on Friday. We'll limit your choice to one of two sessions versus the three in 2012. That being the only complaint we heard, not being able to decide between interesting subjects.
  This is a "lineage" event. That means we select our assistant instructors from the lineages represented by the four seniors. We term them "lieutenants" and wish to showcase those on the way up be becoming the next generation of senior instructors. Of course, some of us have a right-hand man who is senior in their own right, but we still call them lieutenants.
  We're lining up female instructors, too. Barbara White from CA and Denise Plowman of ID are already on board. Steve White, 8th degree is committed. Graham Lelliott and Ron Sanchez are on the list.
  As I write this I am getting ready to head down to the San Antonio area to look at venues that will include the possibility of doing it at a ranch. These facilities have a variety of rooms, dining halls, fitness facility, pools, Jacuzzi, hiking trails, horseback riding, campfires and more. That makes them a good thing if you want to bring the family. More later on this.
  Steve White and I are looking forward to hosting you again in 2014.
  Remember, we call it the Kenpo Senior Conference because it's a chance for seniors to get together, not because it's for old people.

Wonder Valley Camp May 24-26

Wonder Valley 2013

I flew into the Los Angeles area a few days before the camp. I had the opportunity to visit Mr. Parker's gravesite, something I do before I go to the Fresno event. It's hard to believe it's been over 22 years since his passing. Standing on that spot brings back memories of that day when over 2,000 of us were there for his burial. But on to something lighter.

SGM Parker's gravesite

Graham and Jaydean Lelliott host the bi-annual Wonder Valley Kenpo Camp (and execute it nicely with the help of students and friends) on a former dude ranch that is just perfect for it. The venue is about 30 minutes east of Fresno, in the mountains. The Lelliotts go the extra mile and it shows.
I dropped my car at the airport and Graham was there to pick us and get us to the ranch.
    The instructors included Steve White from New Hampshire, Marty Zaninovich from Fresno, Ingmar Johansson from Sweden,  Ian Harris and Paul McMurray from Jersey, Channel Islands and Ed Parker. Subjects included joint locking, knife work, gun techs, and concept work in progressions and applications. I did two early morning tai chi sessions on the patio by the pond. All the instructors worked with the kids, too. There were a lot of families there and everyone had things to do. Dustin Kwock ran the ropes courses, archery range and the early Saturday Boot Camp. There was even paintball competition.
  Attendees came from Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, the U. K., Venezuela, and across the US. I saw people I hadn't seen since the last event and met some new friends (Aloha, Dave and Pam!).
The Saturday night luau was big fun. Harry Troupe from Maui played his guitar. He's a professional and it shows.

A bit of fun on Saturday night.



With Australia's Peter Tas.

We had two promotions there. Graham Lelliott's two students, Ian Harris and Paul McMurray were both moved up to 7th degree black. It was unexpected and they were both emotional about it. Mr. McMurray said he felt the belt around his waist but the weight was on his shoulders. True words. Lots of photos of the promotion on facebook.

Graham and Jaydean gave all the instructors a Western belt as a thank you. I thought that was a great idea and I'll think of them and the camp every time I wear it.
If you think you'd like to attend the 2015 camp, please contact them thru their website, www.glkenpo.com or on Facebook to let them know. Your interest may make the difference in whether they throw it again. It's a huge job and they basically take over the ranch for us. It's well worth the trip for the learning experience and the friendship.

Another one to be proud of (updated)

My long-time student, Steve White, of Manchester, NH is on his way to Spain to do a business seminar for the Martial Arts Industry Association (MAIA) branch in Europe. He was invited by Marc Sigle of Esslingen, Germany, who is heavily involved in it. Steve's program director at his school, Lee MacDonald, is with him.
Steve's Manchester Karate Studio is a very successful and respected school in New Hamsphire. It's been there over 25 years.
In addition, Graham Lelliott is down in Australia on a teaching tour in four cities. Based on the Facebook reports he's doing his usual bang-up job.
I am happy to see the accomplishments of my students and wish them continued success.
UPDATE: Marc Sigle mailed me and said Steve is wowing them there.

Steve White in MA Success UPDATED

Steve is featured in the January issue of the magazine. It's a cover story! www.masuccess.com

New England Seminar Tour

The weekend of Dec 14-16 I'll be in New Hampshire and Massaschusetts for a series of seminars, the last ones of 2012 for me.
I will be at Holden Martial Arts in Holden, MA on the 14th, Friday. Subjects and times not set yet.
Saturday I will be at Jim Peacock's studio in Mont Vernon, NH in the morning to teach Body Mechanics. That afternoon, I go to Steve White's Manchester Karate Studio for two sessions. One for the families, and another on Advanced Concepts. That evening Steve and I will probably be found somewhere in the North End of Boston at dinner with Lance Soares, who hosts at his school on Sunday.
Two sessions Sunday in New Bedford, MA at Lance's. One on falls and rolls for kids, another on joint locks for the adults.
That's a wrap for the year. Thanks to Steve White for coordinating and the school owners for hosting.

MA Success articles

One of the industry professional magazines, MA Success, has published a piece I did on the passing of Mr. Tom Kelly on their November 2012 issue. They will also publish a short article on the Kenpo Senior Conference on the February 2013 issue. Here's their page. https://www.masuccess.com/masuccess.aspx
Steve White is scheduled to be the subject of a cover story in the near future, too.

KSC 2012, Pt. 4

The dinner Saturday night was attended by approximately 80. The dress was casual and I don't remember seeing any t-shirts and shorts being worn. I'd asked people to bring their state flag for their table and many did. Of course, everything is bigger in Texas and one table pretty much had a centerpiece with two Texas flags and what appeared to be part of a karate trophy. I saw a Louisiana flag and two German states along with their country flag.
As we were waiting for the room to fill, the seniors circulated to each table and had their photos taken with each. Each table got shots of the group of four with them and I thank the men for taking the time to do that.
Dinner was a Tex-Mex buffet and I expected the Texans to be pretty critical but all I heard was good.
After dinner Steve White said a few words to describe the Dr. Francis Rene award we were about to present. Francis Rene was a 4th degree who had passed away last year from cancer. He had been a friend of ours and knew everybody in the system. He was energetic and wanted nothing but the best for our system and it's people. We had polled a few seniors and based on their input, decided that Mr. Bob White would receive the award. Bob has been contributing to the system for many years and has a social conscience second to none. His work in the community, especially with the Royal Family Kids Camp, shows he is an example of what a martial artist should be. As Steve White described the award, which was an inscribed Gil Hibben knife, he choked up a bit. He later said it felt as if our friend was in the room. Bob White was gracious in his acceptance.

There were a few words from each of the seniors and then a short question and answer session.

    As with any other event, the hotel bar filled up quickly and some went downtown to 6th Street. It was close to Halloween and I was told the streets were full. That's why you may have seen the photo of Marc Sigle in his gi next to the people dressed like Superman and Superwoman.

Chicago and California participants

More on the Sunday close in the next entry.
 

KSC 2012, Pt. 3

The 9ths and their lieutentants.

Saturday morning saw the group meeting at 0845 for introductions and etiquette meeting. The day's schedule was four 1.5 hour seminars, lunch break, photos/autographs and then dinner.
 Mr. Sepulveda was the first teacher and his subject was Variable Expansion. I took the second spot and did a session on Principles of Instruction.
Steve White and I had decided that it was better to provide lunch than have people out looking for a place to eat, so we arranged it with the hotel. During lunch, the seniors met and discussed the future of kenpo and what we saw as out parts in it. One result of the discussion was that our lineages are becoming more cohesive. As we meet again in the future, a better picture will appear.
After lunch, Mr. Bob White taught entries and closing the gap. The final session was with Mr. LaBounty, "The SiGung" (teacher's teacher) on takedowns. He had some people in tears with his commentary. Closing his session he got into the heads of the participants with his "not me, not today" drill. You had to be there.
We had students of intermediate ranks all the way up to 8th blacks on the floor and working (yes, the 9ths work, too) during the sessions. You didn't see the red leaning against the walls.

2012 Kenpo Senior Conference

At the conclusion of the last session Mr. LaBounty promoted Mr. Gary Swan of San Antonio and Mr. Brian Duffy of Austin to 8th degree black. It was good to be present for this.

Next section will be about the dinner.

Recap of the Kenpo Senior Conference, pt. 1

Steve White and I partnered up to make this event happen back in early 2012. Steve urged me to do this as we believed that after 22 years since Mr. Parker's passing that the four seniors we had teach were of like mind. The conference was named such because we wanted to talk with the seniors and see where, or if, this would go.
That's why we named it the Conference. This is not a resurrection of the Kenpo Senior Council/League of Kenpo Organizations. It is not intended to be an organization at all. It was an event. We did have our conference on Saturday and we are of like mind and will move forward as such. In the future you'll see more of our respective lineages working together.
People started arriving in Austin on Wednesday and Thursday. They came from Germany, Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, California, Kansas, Idaho, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Colorado, Washington state, South Carolina and Texas. Several associations were represented such as my PKS, the AKTS, AKF and NCKKA.
Steve White came down with Tim MacKenzie and Julie Stockwell. She and Tim helped out with registration and other things along with Janis Nyman. Graham Lelliott arrived from CA with Pete Valdez  on Thursday.
The Omni hotel Southpark is near the airport and was a venue that Brian and Lee Duffy use when she hosts the annual songwriter's conference in January. www.austinsongwritersgroup.com/ It turned out to be the perfect spot. The staff was efficient, rooms comfortable, meeting areas suitable and the food was good. The location lent itself to people being able to catch a quick cab ride down to the 6th Street party zone and other downtown attractions. The free shuttle made it easy for people to get there.

We have to thank Steve White's program director at his studio, Lee McDonald for the work he did on the flyers, t-shirt design and participation certificates.
Part 2 to come.

Recent seminars

The first weekend of December I was up in Chicago at Kurt Barnhart's clubs. Nice turnouts there. I even had my first tai chi instructor, Bill Grizzle, in the crowd. The subjects on Friday evening and Saturday morning were the internal aspects and he and Patrick Baio, both long-time practitioners, attended. I'm impressed with Bill's attitude in that he came and worked with us as a student. I managed to pick his brains a bit while he was there as well. Zoran Sevic from the John McSweenet lineage always comes to thump and I'm glad to have him and his open mind, too.

The second Saturday session was on working in the Web of Knowledge as a teaching tactic. I've done this elsewhere and Mr. Barnhart's people were tough to throw off. (This method is the subject of this month's article on my website.)

The following weekend's seminars in Holden, Massachusetts and Manchester, NH were well-attended. I had the opportunity to meet some new people and see my old friends Bill Gaudette and Lance Soares. Brian Walsh from Connecticut made the trip to Holden to take part along with his son, Chris. Brian and I have been communicating by e-mail and this was the first face-to-face. Good to have him there. Mr. White and I also had lunch Friday with a man we much respect, Hanshi Richie Bernard of Shidokan International.  

On Saturday in New Hampshire we had a full house in both sessions. The subject at Holden and Manchester was drills in one session and knife work in the second. The seminars were not duplicates and those who made all four got a special t-shirt.

Mr. White and I surprised the group there at his school by unveiling Ed Parker's gi top. This will be on loan from me and on display there at the Manchester Karate Studio. Since MKS is the largest Parker kenpo school in the US, I thought it was appropriate to make them the stewards of a precious piece of kenpo history.

 

Mont Vernon seminar June 11

6th degree Bill Gaudette of Massachusetts kicked off the 20th anniversary seminars at Jim Peacock's Mont Vernon Karate in New Hampshire Saturday. He did a nice presentation on limb destruction. He was followed by our host, Mr. Peacock.
  I've known Jim since he was a blue or green belt and it's nice to see how he's progressed over the years. His session was on how to blend techniques from Long Three as a situation changes. Very nice.
  Mr. Steve White, instructor to both Peacock and Gaudette followed the lunch break with a seminar he calls "Fun with Five Swords".
   In the picture below you'll see all the instructors along with one of my long-time guys, Robert Wallace out of Spartanburg, South Carolina.

 

  I wrapped up the day with a session on expanding your knowledge with an application of one of Mr. Parker's sayings, that being; "For every move, concept, principle and definition, there is an opposite and a reverse." I've been doing this seminar recently and it's been well-received.

The crowd of close to 40 on a cool, rainy day in New England enjoyed all the classes and some anniversary cake, too.

 Our congratulations to Mont Vernon Karate on their 20 years!

Manchester seminar

Kid's seminar

A few weeks back I was up at Steve White's Manchester Karate Studio in New Hampshire. As always, we had a good turnout and the group was enthusiastic.  

Steve recently had a birthday and his program manager Lee MacDonald just "tied the knot" and is off to Europe for his honeymoon.

I saw some old friends up there including Bill Gaudette from MA and Jeff Hardy from Concord, NH. Hadn't seen Jeff in years and he looks great. His son, Kyle, came along, too. Looks a lot like his dad. My guy from MA, Lance Soares was there, too. Lance is opening a club in New Bedford soon.

The adults did some joint locking techniques in one session and gun defense in another.
The studio has a big anniversary coming soon, I think it's 25 years. Congrats to the team at MKS!

More items uploaded

I just uploaded some podcast interviews with Steve White (link at http://www.leewedlake.com/) and more  original Green belt videos are coming online at http://www.kenpotv.net/.
   I did a four-part interview with with Mr. White in which he talks about abour kenpo in New England, how he grew his school from part-time to one with 400 active students, and more. I encourage anyone with a school or club to listen to him. There's historical info in them about how Parker kenpo took hold in New England and that there's a difference in it and what is called "New England Kenpo". Steve also discusses his philosophy of growing a student from beginner to black.
   On KenpoTV you'll find the majority of the gun and knife techniques coming on view in the next ten days. I just finished shooting the rest of the original Green belt techniques and they'll be coming up soon, too. We'd missed one two man technique and that's been done, as have the rest of the kick defenses and combo punch techniques. More chi kung and instructor materal is coming, too.
 

Slap 'em!

Many martial arts have resuscitation techniques taught as part of their system. Hmm, missing in Parker Kenpo as part of the standard curriculum. (I have to say that many of us fill that gap with required First Aid/ CPR/AED/other training such as traditional Chinese medicine, Danzan-Ryu ju-jitsu and Judo kappo, etc.
Mr. LaBounty in CA, Kurt Barnhart in IL, Steve White in NH come to mind.)
Below links were sent to me by Bujin Kenpo brother Nelson Kari in Illinois as part of an e-mail exchange we had about an accupressure point. I was reminded that they slap the feet to bring someone back from unconsciousness. 
In kappo jutsu: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kappo
They also used to slap the sole of the feet with a stick to reanimate an unconscious person.
http://judoinfo.com/books/kuatsu.pdf
     Naturally, I had to run it by Doc (Marc Rowe). Marc's a retired pediatric surgeon and he immediately commented that it's a technique they use to get a baby breathing. No, they don't hit them with a stick. They thump their foot with a finger snap. My lady, Jan, immediately knew this when I mentioned it, she having been in the medical field, too.
   Now they question is why it works. Turns out there's a point in the foot that sends a message to your cerebral cortex. Go figure.

Success stories

I will be at Marc Sigle's school in Esslingen next week. It's just outside of Stuttgart. Marc has a very successful, well-run school there. Much of that is due to Marc going out and getting the best education he can in the martial arts business and the arts themselves. He then trains his staff and implements what they have learned. I've seen many people go for education and training and then come back and do nothing with it. Not so Marc.
It amazes me that someone would spend time, effort and money to go to a business seminar, for example, then say that the success of the speaker is due to luck or location. I have two students who are now both very successful that had small studios when I met them. Both worked regular jobs and had part-time schools. With a good martial arts education (what we call a strong floor or what you teach) and business skills learned by taking business seminars, visiting successful schools and modeling after them, and networking, both these men grew part-time schools into flourishing studios with hundreds of students. That's not luck, that's work. Steve did this with a second floor location and Marc did it in a basement location. They have good staff, ongoing training and a positive attitude.
All that said, I enjoy my trips to see them both and am looking forward to seeing Marc and his group again. Besides, my weinerschnitzel levels are low. I have to go there. I think they put something in them to make it addictive.

Manchester seminars

The 25th anniversary celebration of the founding of Steve White's studio in Manchester, NH was well-attended and tons of fun. The right photo, from left, shows Goju-ryu 10th degree Richie Bernard, Steve White, Francis Rene of New Orleans, myself and Don MacKay.

Hanshi Bernard was there to teach elments of traditional Japanese Goju with his first teacher, Kyoshi Ronnie Martin of Pennsylvania. Their time slot was chock-full of good information on fighting strategy. Steve White did an excellent seminar on kenpo takedowns that was followed by one of Olympic judo competitor Jimmy Pedro's black belts, the dynamic Ms. Chandler, covering ground work. Jim Peacock did a seminar on his new nunchaku program in a well-thought-out presentation. I wrapped up the day with teaching the Spear Set to the group, the first time ever since I learned it many years ago.
Mr. Rene thought a birthday couldn't happen without a present and Mr. White was given a ring with his school crest on it. The ring was done by our own Brad Congress of Bradley's Fine Jeweler's here in Ft. Myers.
   At a small gathering in Steve's home later that evening I was able to sit and talk with Mr. Martin, who was one of the best known tournament fighters in the US back in the 60s and 70s. We knew many of the same people and traded stories. It was great to have the opportunity to meet and talk with him. I caught up with Don MacKay as well. I met Don way back in the early 80s and he was instrumental in connecting Steve and myself.
   Congrats to MKS!

Congrats to Steve White

I'm off to Manchester, New Hampshire this weekend to participate in the 25th anniversay of Steve White's Manchester Karate Studio. I'm on the seminar staff for the event along with other excellent instructors. I'd met Steve back when his school was new and he was still working his regular job. He made the decision to go full-time back then and his school has been very successful. He is a model for achieving one's goals.
Once again, congratulation to Mr. White, his staff and students on 25 years!

The "My Three Sons" camp

The New England camp was a huge hit! Mr. Bill Gaudette coordinated it and says over 80 people from ten states and four countries were represented by attendees.

Friday evening started off with classes by Marc Sigle from Germany, Jim Peacock from New Hampshire, Graham Lelliott from California and Gary Ellis from England. The Saturday classes were kicked off by Mr. Lelliott, followed by Mr. White. After lunch Mr. Ellis taught and I finished the day. The teaching order was by the seniority of the instructors, determined by when they were last promoted by me. The order remains but the ranks are now one higher, as I moved them all up to eighth. All of them had spent 5-6 years at the last level and had been continuously teaching and promoting the art. Between them, they have almost 90 years of experience as black belts, and more if you count the years prior to their achieving their first degree.

On hand during the ceremony was Richie Bernard, 10th dan in Goju-Ryu. He was responsible for getting the custom-made belts for Lelliott and Ellis.

The feedback on the camp is that everyone had a great time, learned a lot and were blown away to be there for the triple promotion. It was quite a sight to see the crowd reaction when I surprised them and how a sea of people moved forward to congratulate them. It is a bit of kenpo history.

It was Graham Lelliott's first trip to that part of New England and his first meeting with Steve White. It had been some time since he'd seen his old friend Gary Ellis, too, which made the event that much more special.

Mr. White has indicated that the camp may be held again next year and alternate with Graham's Wonder Valley camp. We'll keep you posted.

New Hampshire weekend

I will be joining my three highest ranking black belts, Gary Ellis, Graham Lelliott, and Steve White in Manchester, NH this weekend for a lineage camp. Steve and his crew do a great job of coordinating the event every year. This year will be the first time all of my 7th degrees will be on the mat with me simultaneously, and that's exciting.
I'n told there are people from all over registered, with over 80 last I checked. This is going to be fun!

New Hampshire weekend, Part 1

Jack Nilon and I went up to Manchester last weekend to work with Steve White's group up there. Jack taught a well-received class on Friday night. The subject was non-standard entries to two-man defenses.

As always, our hosts were great. Lee MacDonald took Mr. Nilon to the shooting range with Mr. MacKenzie while Mr. White and I went snowmobiling. It was the first time for me and I had a blast. On Saturday morning before that day's seminars Steve and I went to the Nashua airport to meet Bob Dimeo, a flight instructor Steve had introduced me to a few years ago. Bob has completed building his own airplane, an RV-8, and it's beautiful. The picture here does not do it justice. It looks like a little Mustang. The weather was a bit too cold to go flying and the ramp was covered in ice, but Bob has told me we'll take it up in May when I go back.

The Saturday class was a closed event. It was provided to the teaching team members of three schools by the school owners as an appreciation gift to them. Mr. Bill Gaudette, Mr. Jim Peacock, Mr. Harry Grimm, and Mr. White flew me up to teach at their expense. In my mind, such gestures mean more than money and gifts; experiences usually outlast material things by building character, educating, and broadening people.

Two other black belts of mine showed up, they being Lance Soares of Massachusetts and Tony Velada of Chicago. You can see they enjoyed themselves with Mr. Nilon. That's Lance on the left and Jack on the right.

The seminar was visited by a surprise guest. I'll tell that story next time.