Bowley Kenpo Karate » Entries tagged with "Kenpo"
Kenpo Lessons Sink In
The other night, while driving home from the movies, my oldest daughter and I saw an electronic billboard on the side of the highway. The sign had been updated to say a child had been kidnapped in our home town of McKinney, Texas earlier in the day. The description of the car and license plate were also listed. My daughter, age 13, asked why would someone kidnap a child. She was clearly rattled by the situation. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal Stories
6 Karate Games We Play
Each class we try to spend the last 10 to 15 minutes playing a game. The games usually are a reinforcement of many of the Kenpo concepts or drills we cover in class, but also act as a reward for the hard work put in on the mat. Often there isn’t a prize, however we sometimes have the winner lead the bow out for the evening. While we play a variety of karate games, here are … Read entire article »
Filed under: Philosophy, School Information
Thank you Mr. Parker
December 15 is a special day in the Kenpo karate community. On that day in 1990 Senior Grandmaster Ed Parker, founder of American Kenpo, passed away. He could be (is) considered one of the fathers are American martial arts. His contribution to the modern karate community is unquestioned. Never having the pleasure to meet Mr. Parker, I soak up the stories from those who did have a chance to know and train with him like a sponge. By … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal Stories
Kenpo is Kenpo Right?
When I first began in Kenpo, I was young and don’t remember much exposure to other martial artists. My karate circle was made up of only those in class and a few from tournaments. The only Kenpo we knew was that of our instructor. Fast forward to present day, and it’s easy to connect with Kenpoists from all over the world via Facebook, Twitter, or other social networking applications. You can visit with martial artists virtually … Read entire article »
Filed under: Philosophy
All Sizes Matter in Training
Let’s not mince words about it, I’m just not a tall person. At 5′ 7″, dunking a basketball is going to require a lot of creative engineering if I want to mark it off the to-do list. But it doesn’t bother me. This is who I am, and all I’ve ever known. Incorporating your height (or weight) is another facet of karate training. My martial arts perspective is that of a 5′ 7″ person. But all of … Read entire article »
Filed under: Philosophy
Big Step vs. Next Step
Each step along the martial arts path is simply placing one foot in front of the other and then repeat. Learn blocks, learn strikes, learn techniques, sparring, advancement are all steps of progress. But as simple as a concept as this might seem, the process often appears intimidating. To a beginner moving from white belt to yellow, it seems like such a huge step up. (This viewpoint is common again from orange to purple, green to … Read entire article »
Filed under: Belt Promotion, Philosophy
Breaking Down Tape
Often in sports like football, baseball, basketball, etc, you’ll see teams record video of games, practices, and competitions. After they’re over, the competitors will rewatch the footage in slow motion to analyze their’s or the comepetitor’s performance. This practice also works very well in martial arts. Below are a few videos of sparring from a recent sparring session in College Station, TX. In looking at the videos, here are the questions we commonly ask. How many punches vs. kicks? How many attacks from the right side vs. the left side? How many attacks from the frontside vs. the rearside? Are the hips rotating in rearside attacks? How many attacks did you dodge, block, or take? How many attacks did your opponent dodge, block, or receive? How often did you advance? Was it linearly or off the line? How often … Read entire article »
Filed under: Philosophy, School Information
