shaolin kempo karate

[xcakid]

A lot of the Kempo forms in the colored belt levels are pretty plain and basic. However, once you get into 3rd black and above, you start getting into the animal forms like Snake, Dragon, Tiger. Still, the stances are not going to be as low and as perfect as you Traditional Chinese Martial Artist.

As an example:

When I took my black belt test for Shaolin Kempo, we did not have to hold stances or were critiqued for them.

When I took my test in Ying Jow Pai, Sil Lum and my current school for long fist, part of the test is holding your stances for specified period of time. At black belt level they expect you to have to hold it and keep your thigh parallel to the ground.


Shaolin Kempo, basically foregoes the classical stances. It really is not a true Shaolin Arts per se. It is somewhat of a misnomer, however it is as close to CMA you would get from an American derived system.

American Kenpo (Ed Parkers system) is even worse in there forms.

For classical forms, stances and proper way of rooting yourself, nothing beats classical kung fu.

[Shaolin Wookie]

It really is not a true Shaolin Arts per se. It is somewhat of a misnomer, however it is as close to CMA you would get from an American derived system.
.

Well, I might agree with that.....

[David Jamieson]

shaolin kempo karate is to martial arts as Chrysler Toyota Bicycle is to F1 racing.



It's obvious to most who actually practice martial arts what this stuff is.
It's like i said, a california roll. Not really sushi at all, just a thing to make people feel like they might have actually had sushi when in fact they've had nothing of the sort.

[Shaolin Wookie]

Hence, like XCA kid said, it's "as close to CMA you would get from an American derived system."

[sk girl]

A lot of the Kempo forms in the colored belt levels are pretty plain and basic. However, once you get into 3rd black and above, you start getting into the animal forms like Snake, Dragon, Tiger. Still, the stances are not going to be as low and as perfect as you Traditional Chinese Martial Artist.

As an example:

When I took my black belt test for Shaolin Kempo, we did not have to hold stances or were critiqued for them.

When I took my test in Ying Jow Pai, Sil Lum and my current school for long fist, part of the test is holding your stances for specified period of time. At black belt level they expect you to have to hold it and keep your thigh parallel to the ground.


Shaolin Kempo, basically foregoes the classical stances. It really is not a true Shaolin Arts per se. It is somewhat of a misnomer, however it is as close to CMA you would get from an American derived system.

American Kenpo (Ed Parkers system) is even worse in there forms.

For classical forms, stances and proper way of rooting yourself, nothing beats classical kung fu.

Hey theres a villaris in austin tx.

[SenseiShellie]

yeah...it's run by a 5th degree (who's been in the system as long as me...where's my 5th dan?)

[TheSwedishChef]

I used to do a shaolin family style. The first time I saw kempo my eyes bugged out. Our movements were more rounded and we had different weapons but it was frighteningly similar.

[RonH]

It is a shaolin art, in terms of just the parts of the 'system' that are shaolin. But, that's it. I had studied it for a couple hours, but then I thought 'wait a sec, he and I specifically said it was a more rigid and other directional way of doing Taijiquan'. Thankfully, it was a free lesson. It's a hybrid system and the same 4 areas it covers can easily be mooched from other systems and adapted to your own. If you're already well versed in a system, you can still adapt the movements of other systems to be in line with the philosophy of your system. I've taken bits and pieces of lots of systems to cover areas that aren't normally taught in taiji. If you know about hip rotation, deflection/blocking, etc. and know the guiding principles of you system, go to a bookstore and read a bunch of martial art books and look for things you can practice that cover areas that you haven't studied. Some systems focus on the legs, some on the hands. If you can understand the 'spirit' of the system or the 'spirit' of the movement, you can make the necessary changes to make it work for you.

It isn't about learning a whole new system from books. It's about deepening your understanding of the main system you work with by putting the philosophy of that system into different situations. Take Taiji. It's a close quarters system that focuses less on legs and more on arms. There isn't that much for ground fighting, but you can still take the taiji principles and use them when you're on your back on the ground or when you're on the ground on top. You can use these principles when doing aerial movements, though I've never heard of CMAs focusing a lot on aerial movements. I might be wrong.

The same can be done with any other system's philosphy. If you're wondering if you want to take it, see if you can rent the videos somewhere and make a copy. It'd be cheaper. It's very difficult to teach when you can't move 360 degrees around the student. We haven't gotten to the point where we can project holograms of others and move around them to critique students. Someone might even be selling them on ebay.

Since it is only partially shaolin, I'd say no. For me, it's either shaolin or it's not or it's either Japanese or it's not. There is no in-between. Any hybrid style that uses parts and pieces from different lands is not [whatever name]. It's a hybrid. No ifs, ans or buts about it. Many modern ways of practicing forms often add other things from other systems to them. For whatever their reasoning, that would still make it a hybrid. I think some people have taken shotokan karate and added things from systems from other lands (I've never studied shotokan, but this is something I've heard has happened within the last couple of decades), which would make it a hybrid, too, even if they put the name karate in it.

When you combine 2 different metals together, say steel and iron, you don't say it's steel and you don't say it's iron. You call it an alloy.

[Mega-Foot]

But why is it, then, that when you combine a chinese person with an african american, you call it a "Chinegro"?

Personally, I call it an Africasian-American (I'm Japanese, myself)....but it seems to disprove your point, doesn't it?

[RonH]

Not really. Such designations are in reference to one's ancestry/medical history/medical potential (both good and bad). When it comes to martial arts, let's say you want to combine both internal and external principles together. There is one form of karate that I heard of that does that. I forget the name. The principles of the style are dyametrically opposed to one another. So, you wouldn't say the style is all soft or all hard. You'd say it's a combination. Now, one might say 'well, in taijiquan, there are both hard and soft principles that are used and the degree you use them to switches; being able to judiciously know how much of each for the given situation shows the extent of your knowledge.'

While that is true, taijiquan is still considered a soft/internal style. It isn't about sometimes you use a soft component and sometimes you use a hard one. That wouldn't make it fall into either category alone. If you wanted to go entirely soft with taijiquan, you'd have to use no muscular control at all. It'd involve telekinesis. But, since taijiquan schools aren't rolling out flying martial artist after flying martial artist, you still need some muscular contraction/extension. But, the level you use muscular movements doesn't make taijiquan an external art.

The main identifier of an external art is that power is not generated from cultivating energy and body movements help to deliver that energy to the target, as is defined by an internal art. The focus is just the muscles and body mechanics. Even though energy is cultivated, while you are just focusing on body mechanics and muscular development, it still isn't the defining characteristic. I don't use reception of incoming energy as the main focus because both hard and soft styles are open to using it in a fight.

Let's say someone learned shotokan karate and decided they wanted to add some capoiera that they thought would be beneficial to the cirriculum. If the instructor taught both, they wouldn't be teaching just shotokan karate. They'd be teaching a combination of shotokan and capoiera.

But, let's get back to your point of ancestral designations. Words, such as Chinegro (I've honestly never heard of this one before) and Africasian, say that the person this title belongs to isn't just African/black or chinese/Asian and that's my point.

Genetically, anatomically modern humans sprang up around 200,000 years ago, I believe is the date (it's been a while since my college evolutionary bio class) and this would be humans all over the globe at that time. Evolution in different parts of the world created traits for those environments, both physical and cultural determiners. If the person has both chinese/Asian and African/black ancestry, their DNA shows a predominance towards the genetic sequences of people from those specific areas. Their visible features would depend on what's dominate in their genetic code, as well as any actions that would influence how those codes are expressed while they're growing up, which could even be in another place alltogether, like growing up in Iceland or Norway. But, they aren't just African or just Asian, which would be indicative of using just those titles alone.

[xcakid]

Let's not forget that various fork of Shaolin Kempo lineage.

Al Dacascos lineage split off and made his style won hop kuen do. This is more Shaolin in its theories, training and forms. Whereas Ed Parker is more Karate. Adriano Emperado, Nick Cerios and Ralph Castro all took the hybrid type system.

This is really a no brainer seeing as the founders come from both Chinese and Japanese lines. James Mitose having the Japanese background and Kwai Sun Chow having the Chinese boxing background.

[TenTigers]

I just love the fact that they have forms named,"Ancient Chinese KATA#1,2,3,etc".
They refer to kenpo techniques as "Kenpos" and jiu-jutsu waza as 'Jiu-Jutsus"
(I'll do a kenpo, then go right into a jiu-jutsu, and then I'm gonna hit ya with a "krotty!")
it gets better...
Flamingo (crane stance)
trigger finger (phoenix-eye strike)
stepping stool kick (jump front or scissor kick)
or is that, "step in stool kick?"
they called a tornado kick, a "Kung-Fu Kick" in the schools near me! arrggh!
yeah...that sure sounds like a Shaolin art to me.
Any time you have a commercial school where the students are encouraged to wear a gazillion patches all over their gi, and a Karate Kid headband, you are simply catering to those who want to SAY they do Martial Arts, wear all the neat outfits, twirl candystriped nunchaku, and shout,"Ki-Ya!" Like guys who wear do-ragz with skulls on them, Harley Davidson brand leathers, but don't ride.
Ooooosss! (ack)

[unkokusai]

But why is it, then, that when you combine a chinese person with an african american, you call it a "Chinegro"?

Personally, I call it an Africasian-American (I'm Japanese, myself)....but it seems to disprove your point, doesn't it?

Yeah, people don't generally say that, and I don't buy any **** thing you have to say about yourself...

[TenTigers]

I am Cauc=asian..um, from the island of Caucasia, which is a long island off the coast of China...town. Yeah, that's it.

[xcakid]

I am Cauc=asian..um, from the island of Caucasia, which is a long island off the coast of China...town. Yeah, that's it.

You didn't by chance live on Bigwok Way in China....town did you? Cause I too lived on that island. I was in the military and was stationed there. However, I did move to Smallwok Way when the rent got jacked up and also Hooker Drive. Ahhh those were the days. Drinking beers, eating chikety china the chinese chicken, you have a drumstick and brain stop tickin. Watchin' X-Files with no lights on
We're dans la maison. I hope the Smoking Man's in this one. Like Harrison Ford I'm getting frantic Like Sting I'm tantric Like Snickers, guaranteed to satisfy