Learning from Legends
I attended the 2nd annual West Coast Kenpo Confederation over the weekend in Longbeach, CA. Wow. I don’t know how else to say it. Among other things, it was an opportunity to meet others that study the art from around the world and train with masters from different disciplines. There were some notable Grandmaster’s there as well, including two founding Grandmasters: Chuck Sullivan – founder of the IKCA, and Steve Mohammad – founder of the BKF.The atmosphere was very open and everyone was very gracious. I personally met with and was instructed by some of the finest Kenpo practitioners in the world today, including Chuck Sullivan, Vic LeRoux, Steve Mohammad, Robert Temple, Doug Meeks, Dian Tanaka, Paul Metz, Jerry Brooksher, Shawn Monday, and so many others that it would take an entire page to list them all. They were all very approachable and willing to pass on their incredible knowledge to whoever was interested in learning. Being instructed by these people was very educational and very humbling at the same time.
I was fortunate enough to have been instructed by a very friendly gentleman that very much enjoyed telling stories from days past. He introduced himself as Chuck Boyd and explained that he trained alongside Vic LeRoux under Chuck Sullivan and Ed Parker. For those that don’t know, Ed Parker is largely credited with bringing Kenpo to the United States and is the founder of American Kenpo. Mr. Boyd told of several personal accountings, such as when Chuck Norris first came to see Chuck Sullivan to learn about Kenpo. It was interesting that Mr. Boyd remembered the tenacity that Chuck Norris had regarding what he was learning… he stated that Chuck simply wouldn’t stop until he had the technique or maneuver down pat. He also recalled a day in 1967 when a gentleman known as Bruce Lee walked in the front door looking for Mr. Sullivan. He had some interesting and somewhat surprising tales of a particular time when Steve Sanders (now Steve Mohammad) was sparring and working out with Bruce Lee. What a time it must have been to be studying then. But truthfully, this conference allowed access to some of the same people and it was an honor to be able to talk with them.
I am looking forward to next year’s event already. I have spoken with my wife and I think that next time, we are going to plan a vacation around the event and spend some more time out there. I can hardly wait!
posted by Bonzai @ 7:05 PM
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