March 19, 1931- December 15, 1990
Honolulu, Hawaii
Senior Grand Master Ed Parker is known worldwide as the
"Father of American Kenpo Karate". Mr. Edmund
Kealoha Parker was born on March 18, 1931 in Honolulu,
Hawaii where he lived until 1950, when he left to
attend college in Utah. He studied and earned his Black
Belt in Kenpo Karate under the late Professor William
K.S. Chow, one of the world's leading Kenpo Black Belt
holders and innovators of the Art.
Soon after he began his study of Kenpo, Mr. Parker
knew that Kenpo would become a way of life for him.
He opened his first private Kenpo Club in 1954 at
Brigham Young University, and his first public school in
September of 1956 in Pasadena, California. Early in his
training, Mr. Parker realized the need to further modify
the Art of Kenpo to suit modern day fighting situations.
Professor Chow had taught Mr. Parker a number of "Master
Key Movements" which provided Mr. Parker his start
on becoming a creative innovator. "The Parker System
of American Kenpo"
is based on principals, theoretical innovations, and
logic not yet employed by other systems. Mr. Parker
founded the International Kenpo Karate Association in
1956 (albeit, the Kenpo Karate Association of America).
He traveled frequently to share his vast knowledge of
Kenpo, and he was also very active in writing books
(most notable are his five volume series in Infinite
Insights into Kenpo).
On December 15, 1990 in Honolulu, Hawaii, Mr. Parker
passed away at the age of 59.
That was a very sad day
for Kenpoist all over the world. His death was
unexpected and
untimely. At the time of his death, he was in the midst
of completing his first series of Kenpo instructional
videos and his Encyclopedia of Kenpo. Thousands
attended his funeral to
pay their respects to one of the world's greatest
martial Arts or
specifically Kenpo innovators of all time.
Although Mr. Parker has
gone, his spirit carries on, and the many hundreds of
Kenpoist who were
fortunate enough to have known and studied with Mr.
Parker, continue his legacy.
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Copyright
© 1998-2016
International Kenpo Karate Organization.
All rights reserved.
IKKO, PO BOX 14711,
Scottsdale, AZ 85267-4711, USA.
Phone: (602)469-1209
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