Foo - Opinions on Kenpo Karate

This dojo just opened like 30 seconds from my house with a gym and cardio equipment, at $45 dollars a month with no contracts, which around here is pretty darn good.

I don't know much about karate, but I know this form is the one Elvis Presley took, which doesn't necessarily speak in it's favor. The thing is, I've been a full-time student for over a year, and since I got my scooter for my commute, I don't ride my bike as much as I once did, and I all of a sudden realized the other day I was a bit more rolly polly and out of cardiovascular shape than I've been in years, so this would really help me.

So, is Kenpo junk or not? :thumb:

Hoping we wear gis, I look really good in a gi. :D

Go for it.



Do what you gotta do.

I'm just getting into martial arts myself. If your looking for a good work out, but something you can use in a real world application, you should try haganah. It's not sport fighting like mma or a particular art, but a self defense system that is extremely effective. There are no belts in it other than black, and there are only 18 black belts in the entire world. I start my classes in two weeks. I think the website for it is www.fight2survive.com, or you can just google it....good luck

I'm just getting into martial arts myself. If your looking for a good work out, but something you can use in a real world application, you should try haganah. It's not sport fighting like mma or a particular art, but a self defense system that is extremely effective. There are no belts in it other than black, and there are only 18 black belts in the entire world. I start my classes in two weeks. I think the website for it is www.fight2survive.com, or you can just google it....good luck

Dude, the nearest Haganah, and Krav maga for that matter, school is in like Florida or New York, I've looked. (I live in Chattanooga.) There might be one in Atlanta now. Perhaps Serendipper would let me live on his couch.

After practicing drums for 3-5 hours a day, I feel like I can kick anybody's ass...except maybe Kimbo Slice, or that 60 year old guy in Okinawa that knows old karate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJfwiXH8gF4
you wanna be like that? but you have to be a 5dan at least...

Bruce Lee's martial art style, Jeet Kun Do, is the most practical once you learn the essence of it. Takes the best ideas of all styles and incorporates it into your own.

Not even chuck norris can withstand Jeet Kun Do.

VERY IMPORTANT! Make sure you find out more about this new Dojo and the instructors before you do anything.
Is this another branch of an existing Dojo?
How long have they been training themselves?
How are they continuing their own instruction?
Where did they learn?
Who was their Master?
What rank are they - first degree? Or tenth?
Are they recognized in Martial Arts Hall of fame?
Have they traveled extensively in competition?
What about liability insurance?
Will they take care of any injuries or permanent disability? (a student was blinded in my Dojo)
Do you have to pay for testing?

There is so much more to find out.

The price sounds great, but...

if there is a store attached to the school-run
if anyone has a camo belt-run
if you see a five year old with nunchaku-run
if the school shows up on more than one police report in a six month period-run

Ask at this forum:

www.bullshido.com

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g280/rowdyrick/Rex_Kwon_Do.jpg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSbzIV6J_AI)

^^^^ You'd be surprised how often that image is true.

After practicing drums for 3-5 hours a day, I feel like I can kick anybody's ass...except maybe Kimbo Slice, or that 60 year old guy in Okinawa that knows old karate.



...or Siu Blue Wind.:)

I've been training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for a while, it's a hell of a work out.
I took Kempo as a kid, I really don't remember too much, just a bunch of yelling and practicing punches and kicks that you would never really use in a real fight situation.

I study Kempo Karate now. Right now i am a purple belt and have been studying for 2 years.

When i started martial arts i was 240 i am now down to 210. sparring is one of the most intense workout you'll ever do.

+1 to both of usetacould
-1 to efrobert

I go for a few reasons... physical fitness, mastery of the mind body and spirit. self defence is there but very low on the radar for me.

I do 2 nights of technique / forms and 1 night of sparring.

Since i started i had to stop drinking. watch what i eat....
getting your ass handed do you cause 4 days ago you decided to have a 6 pack while watching football ends that REAL fast.
Of course i ride to the dojo and have also started weight training sessions at my YMCA to bilud my sparrring ability and that translates to my cycling.

+1 siu blue wind as well
-1 AEO

You were feeling the effects of a six pack after four days?

I have a friend/training partner that took Ed Parker's Kempo Karate, he thoroughly enjoyed it, from the forms to the sparring. I don't recall asking him what rank he got up to or anything

Personally, I do think that you should ask some questions as Siu mentioned:
1) Who is the instructor and what is their background?
2) Who is their instructor and what is their background?
3) What kind of insurance do they have?
4) How are the workouts scheduled?
5) What is the progression like?
6) How large are the classes?
7) How is the rank testing and fee structure if any?
8) Are they part of a larger organization?

The friend I mentioned above I met while taking FMA classes. We train together when we have the opportunity; actually I teach him and several of the other senior students informally and with the full blessings of my grandmasters.

Currently I train in TKD (ITF) more for exercise than anything else. I find it to be a great workout. I've been doing this for a over a year and just tonight earned my Blue Belt. My TKD instructor, John O'Brien is a 3rd Dan in TKD and his wife, Kristi O'Brien, is a 2nd Dan. Both are Black collar instrucgtors. I do it for fun, I do it to focus my energies toward something positive and I always get a great workout. In my FMA (Kabaroan), I'm a certified Master Instructor (6th Degree Black Belt) under my instructors Associate Grandmaster Ed Bansuelo and Grandmaster Ramiro Estalilla, Jr, D.M.A. (Honorary).

The reason I mention my instructors by name is that I am proud to be their students, especially of my FMA instructors. Martial Arts does not teach character, it reveals it. More so in the instructor than the student. Good instructors are worth their weight in gold, bad instructors can hurt you physically, mentally and emotionally. They can help you become a better person or make you bitter. In my opinion this is true regardless of the art being studied.

Ask yourself this question: Why do you want to study martial arts. There is no wrong answer. Just make sure that the school you look into is in alignment with your goals.

If you want to learn self defense there are a lot of great arts out there, JKD is typically taught with Kali (another form of FMA - Filipino Martial Arts) thanks in no small part to Danny Inosanto and the Inosanto Academy. The FMA styles (Arnis, Eskrima, Kali and others) are very effective especially with weapons and empty hand trainning...remember, Ferdinand Magellan never actually circumnavigated the world but his crew did. The traditional styles are all good, too, if a bit rigid (compared to FMA). Cross training opens you to new ideas and understanding.

Good luck on your journey! :)

There is...another way!

www.thearma.org

There is...another way!

www.thearma.org
no

I studied and taught Chito Ryu Karate for some years and had an excellent Sensei who also embraced Lee's philosphies and taught us much that was not traditional Chito-Ryu... but very practical and effective for the individual.

It is important to check out the school, the Sensei, and the actual atmosphere of the dojo to see if it blends with what you are seeking.

As a side note - Kenpo is not traditional Karate and evolved from Jui Jitsu and Kung Fu which is not to say there is anything wrong with that.

I'd check the school out to see if the instructor fits you. That is arguably as important as type of martial art selection.

+1 on sparring. When I used to do it, I'd clock easily over 1000 calories an hour.

My friend did this and he said some of the stuff is harsh when you take the final test or whatever it is.

You were feeling the effects of a six pack after four days?
i just know that when i spar after any more tha 1 glass of wine of a beeer on the weekend.. come fight night i am not as sharp, slower weaker.

thats all but could all be in my head as well

I have a black belt in Kenpo Karate, been studying for the last 16 years. Feel free to ask me any specific questions.

I've been training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for a while, it's a hell of a work out.
I took Kempo as a kid, I really don't remember too much, just a bunch of yelling and practicing punches and kicks that you would never really use in a real fight situation.

+1

Someone above mentioned another "real" martial art that is not sport fighting. The problem i see with many but not all of these martial arts is that they are really not that realistic. The main problem i see goes like this. If you never practice in a real world situation you wont keep your cool.

Go read about when your heart rate skyrockets and you forget everything you know. It is well known with police that often when put in a real life and death situation all of their training goes out the window and the only thing they do ona regular basis is what they have. This leaves cops with basically the ability to shout. It is really tragic that often well trained police simply freeze up and forget all the techniques they have used.

A little background about myself. I start martial arts with Karate. It is a lot of fun and i would recommend it to most people but it has not helped me when i have been attacked. I now train BJJ instead of karate. My foundation is striking but the only time i have been attacked and used martial arts it was the BJJ that i remembered. Unless you have been attacked and understand the panic you probably cant imagine the stupid things you will do.

So Krav Maga and others have a place but they are not more "realistic" than a Karate class where you spend your time doing half power and speed sparring. The only thing that can prepare you for a real situation is full strength and full power practice. That is not safe to do in striking classes all the time. In BJJ it is safe and probably on day 1 of class you will get thrown in to spar full strength with someone.

I'd check the school out to see if the instructor fits you. That is arguably as important as type of martial art selection.

+1

I took Hapkido (Korean) for 2 years, loved it. Then the Navy moved me..:(

Here is my club's official description (http://www.stanford.edu/group/kenpo/history.shtml) of the style we practice.

BTW, we do have throws and grappling, it is not just all kicks and punches. We sometimes liken to holding a cat that doesn't want to be held...there is not much you can do to hold onto the cat. We try to be like the cat, using any tool in our repertoire to protect ourselves.

^^^^ So you shed and pee on people?

^^^^ So you shed and pee on people?Sometimes ya do what ya gotta.

I've been training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for a while, it's a hell of a work out.

I'm starting a modified version of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in the fall. I'm moving to a place where one of my good friends will instruct me for peanuts. He and his wife still compete regularly.