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As a martial arts student in the art of American Kenpo, I am grateful to have learned from some of the best martial artists in the World. Without my present and past instructors, I wouldn’t be where I am today in the World or in the martial arts and wanted to take a moment to thank them.
As a martial arts instructor, I continue the long line of tradition passing on what has been handed down to me to my students. Hopefully some day you pick up the torch and help teach it to the next generation.
Passing on ones knowledge is profoundly rewarding. It can teach you a lot about the art, what you know and what you need to better understand. For me, it has also taught me to always remain humble, to share freely, and to never hold back on my students. I always strive for better methods of communicating and teaching the art and not just doing things a certain way just because that was how I learned it. If there is a better, more efficient way, I will opt for it every time.
Teaching the martial arts also connects us with history and the martial artists of the past. Without this process taking place, we wouldn’t have an art to teach. Mr. Parker would’ve never learned from Mr. Chow. Mr. Mills wouldn’t never have learned from Mr. Parker. And I would never have learned from Mr. Mills. You, in turn, would never have learned it from me.
Strive to become a teacher at the studio. Help share what you have learned and pass on the art so that the art lives forever. Its far too precious to let go.
Many do not realize that in addition to being a martial artist and an author that Mr. Ed Parker, the founder of American Kenpo, was also an actor. He appeared in many films and shows over the years.
Here are some of the films and television shows Mr. Parker was in (taken from imdb.com). I have also included shows where he appeared as a stuntman.
Actor:
- Curse of the Pink Panther (1983) …. Mr. Chong (Truly a classic!)
- Seven (1979) …. Ed Parker
- Kill the Golden Goose (1979)… aka Kill the Golden Ninja (I own this one and love the action it!)
- Seabo (1978) ….aka Buckstone County Prison (USA)
- Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978) (uncredited) …. Mr. Chong (another classic!)
- The Money Jungle (1968)
- “I Spy” …. Rico (1 episode, 1967) The Trouble with Temple (1967) TV Episode …. Rico
- The Secret Door (1964) (uncredited)
- “The Lucy Show” (1 episode, 1963) Lucy and Viv Learn Judo (1963) TV Episode
Stunts:
- The Wrecking Crew (1969) (stunts) (uncredited)
- The Green Berets (1968) (stunts) (uncredited)
- Gunn (1967) (stunts) (uncredited)
- Dimension 5 (1966) (stunts) (uncredited)… aka Dimension Four (UK)
- “I Spy” (1965) TV Series (stunts) (unknown episodes)
- “Run for Your Life” (1965) TV Series (stunts) (unknown episodes)
- Experiment in Terror (1962) (stunts) (uncredited)… aka The Grip of Fear (UK)
- “The Case of the Dangerous Robin” (1960) TV Series (stunts) (unknown episodes)
- “Mike Hammer” (1956) TV Series (stunts) (unknown episodes) … aka Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer (USA: complete title)
He also choreographed “The Perfect Weapon” using 100% American Kenpo but was not personally in the film.
Which ones have you seen? Leave your answers in the form of a comment below.
Just when you thought the “wax on, wax off” references have finally started to fade, Will Smith decides to remake a modern day version of “The Karate Kid.”
The original movie is a classic. Great story, great portrayal of martial arts philosophies, spot on life lessons, and more. I still laugh over the whole Cobra Kai Dojo as I know of plenty of studios out there who are spitting images of that mentality to this day. In fact, I still make references to this film in class as they did an outstanding job of simplifying basic concepts in the martial arts that are easy to relate to.
The remade film will star Smiths’ son Jaden (from “Pursuit of Happyness” fame) as well as, you guessed it, Jackie Chan who will play Mr. Miyagi. I expect a great film coming from Will Smith but wonder if they will be able to make Jackie Chan out to be more of a serious character or lean towards his usual comic relief role? I don’t know that I can personally take him too seriously so time will tell which way they go and hopefully he surprises me.
No word yet on a launch date.
What did you most like about the film? Leave your thoughts below in the form of a comment.
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