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American Kenpo is a style based on the idea of quick disabling moves of each opponent, allowing the practitioner to deal with multiple opponents at once. The style promotes the idea of removing the current opponent from the fight as quickly as possible, so that the next opponent from the group can be dealt with.
It is largely a street-fighting style, but it still has ties and is influenced by traditional Chinese martial arts.
American Kenpo, founded by Ed Parker, officially adopted its new name in the early part of the 1980s. Before this, it was usually referred to as Kenpo Karate, Chinese Kenpo or Parker Kenpo. After studying both Chinese styles and styles from his native Hawaii, he eventually decided that a more logical methodology to self-defense was needed. After testing supposedly sound self-defense theories, problems appeared; much of what he had been taught would never be useful in a true fighting situation. He set about creating a flexible new style, based as closely as possible to true fighting encounters. He pulled as much useful information from existing styles as possible, and invented items when needed.
Similar to Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do, Kenpo was designed for maximum effectiveness in a self defense scenario. Currently, much of what Ed Parker created as the basic American Kenpo (the forms, techniques, etc) is being reinvented to include pressure point application.
There are a few sub-groups of American Kenpo, mostly founded by Ed Parker students. American Karate in Ardmore, PA, teaches a version of kenpo very close to the original, while adding Wing Chun and Shodokan. Nackord Karate in King of Prussia and other locations teach a slight variation created by Ed Parker's student, Dennis Nackord. It appears to involve a bit of Shaolin Wushu, based on the bowing style they employ prior to executing forms. Action Karate, also based in the South East PA area, teaches kenpo with a mixture of ju-jitsu joint manipulation and pressure point strikes.
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