A 2 part journey surrounding the history of KENPO.
Chapter Two.
From history to Hollywood: The Influence of Ed Parker.
What began centuries before continued with the Komatsu Clan following the teachings and principles held down by the Clan Yoshida and, in the early 1900’s a matriarch of the Komatsu family. Settled in the Hawaiin region, and here it was where she, as a Grand Master, Kiyoko Komatsu would pass on the study of the Yoshida style Kenpoof Martial Arts training to students and devotees.
In 1912, she wed Otokichi Mitose when she was 22, and merely 8 years later, she sent her 3-year-old son, James, to Japan under the guise of him being raised by her father, Sakuhi Yoshida. Perhaps it is speculated that with the world’s warring events beginning to bubble that he would also be spared any chance of being imprisoned in what led up to the Pearl Harbor attacks that were still in the making.
Two clans part ways.
Whatever any underlying reason, it was rumored that Otokichi Mitose had no interest or involvement in passing on the family tradition of Martial Arts training to his son, James. Upon his death in the late 1930s, James returned to the Hawaiian Islands and, post-Pearl Harbor began formally teaching his Kenpo style mixed with Chinese-influenced Ju-Jitsu. Both techniques came from the melding of the ancient Open Fist Law of the Samurai code and Gentle Art technique of the Chinese linear flow.
The last major change to the Art occurred in the 1950s when a student of Mitose’s a Chinese prodigy and contemporary William Sonny Chow, stepped away and opened his academy devoted to what he termed as being Go-ShinJutsu. Still, in the breakaway years, he is also accredited for introducing a friend, Ed Parker, to James and Sonny Emparado. What was to follow Ed Parker in complete control of Americanizing the family style of Kenpo Martial Arts as we see it today.
The final change to the final stage.
Already proficient in Judo by the age of 18, in the early 50s, Hawaiian-born Ed Parker broke free of all the inner fighting and mystery that painted a negative pall on the ownership rights to styles and names of karate and opened his own dojo in Utah strictly devoted to Kenpo. Within 2 years, the popularity rose to new heights which prompted him to open his second academy in 1956 in Pasadena.
Quickly on these heels and along with the newest trends in celebrity Hollywood stunt and action films. And the 12 million or so in-home television sets appealed, depicting caricatures of Asian fighters and racial stereotypes, and action stuntmen clamored to learn martial arts to stay in the main frame and partake in the riches of the need for trained staged fighters.
Ed Parker had found his niche. In 1958, he exploded to the forefront again with the creation of the International Kenpo Karate Association, and here is where one of his young proteges was introduced to the world. Bruce Lee.
While realizing the need to expand his craft, he also added to his roster Chuck Norris, Robert Culp, Natalie Wood, and an upstart from the deep south, Elvis Presley. Ed would also demonstrate his acting chops and became a television and movie stunt actor, fight choreographer, guest star stand-in, and was featured in multiple media databases including Peter Sellers “Pink Panther” films, The Lucy Show, I Spy, The Rockford Files, and multiple Asian spaghetti-style classic B Grade films.
The greatest jewel in his crown of the combination of Kenpo, Entertainment, and legacy was his personal employment by Elvis Presley to become one of his highest-ranked and entrusted personal bodyguards and spiritual mentors. One need only watch the King in action and you can see the blend of music and movement along with stage costuming. Ed can be seen with the King during the airing of the 1977 Elvis special event.
With over 150 different stances broken down into three different sections, Ed Parker believed that every student could have his or her own custom-created method of training. Senior Grand Master Ed Kealoha Parker succumbed to a heart attack upon arrival back home at the Honolulu Airport in 1990. He was 59 years young.
He will leave an entire cultural legacy beyond any within the hallowed walls of dojos and academies worldwide. To study the art of Kenpo is to be given the honor of becoming a part of the Yoshido clan, the Komatsu, and the Mitose dynasty. To learn from the purest artist of all, never forget the most revered Sensei, Ed Parker.
