Ed Parker
Ed Parker | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Born | Edmund Kealoha Parker March 19, 1931 | ||||||||||
Died | December 15, 1990 Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. | (aged 59)||||||||||
Occupation(s) | Martial artist, actor, stunt performer | ||||||||||
Years active | 1949−1990 | ||||||||||
|
Edmund Kealoha Parker (March 19, 1931 – December 15, 1990) was an American martial artist, actor, senior grandmaster, and founder of American Kenpo Karate.[1]
Life
Born in Hawaii, Parker began training in
Success and students
Parker opened the first karate school in the western United States in Provo, Utah, in 1954.[4] By 1956, Parker opened a dojo in Pasadena, California. Ed Parker's first ever black-belt was Rich Montgomery. His first brown-belt student was Charles Beeder. There is controversy over whether Beeder received the first black belt awarded by Parker. Beeder's son has stated for the record that his father's black belt came after Ed Parker had moved to California.[5] The other black belts in chronological order up to 1962 were James Ibrao, Ben Otaké; Mills Crenshaw, whom Parker authorized to open a school in Salt Lake City, Utah, in late 1958 (which later became the birthplace of the International Kenpo Karate Association, or IKKA); Tom Garriga; Rick Flores; Chuck Sullivan; Al and Jim Tracy; Mark Georgantas; John McSweeney; and Dave Hebler.[6] In 1962, John McSweeney opened a school in Ireland, which prompted Parker to give control of the Kenpo Karate Association of America to the Tracy Brothers and form a new organization: the International Kenpo Karate Association.
Parker was well known for his business creativity and helped many martial artists open their own dojos. He was well known in
Hollywood career
Parker had a minor career as a Hollywood actor and stunt man. His most notable film was Kill the Golden Goose.
Parker can be seen with Elvis Presley in the opening sequence of the 1977 TV special "Elvis in Concert". Parker wrote a book about his time with Elvis on the road.
Parker's training
Ed Parker was enrolled in Judo classes by his father at the age of twelve, and Parker received his
During this period, Parker was significantly influenced by the Japanese and Okinawan interpretations prevalent in Hawaii. Parker's book Kenpo Karate, published in 1961, shows the many hard linear movements, albeit with modifications, that set his interpretations apart.
All the influences up to that time were reflected in Parker's rigid, linear method of "Kenpo Karate," as it was called. Between writing and publishing, however, he began to be influenced by the Chinese arts, and included this information in his system. He settled in Southern California after leaving the
Exposed to new Chinese training concepts and history, he wrote a second book, Secrets of Chinese Karate, published in 1963. Parker drew comparisons in this and other books between karate (a better known art in the United States at that time) and the Chinese methods he adopted and taught.
Death
Parker died of a heart attack on Saturday, 15 December 1990 after arriving at
Bibliography
- 1960, Kenpo Karate: Law of the Fist and the Empty Hand. Delsby Publications ISBN 0-910293-47-3
- 1963, Secrets of Chinese Karate. Prentice-Hall ISBN 0-13-797845-6
- 1975, Ed Parker's Guide to the Nunchaku ISBN 0-86568-104-X
- 1975, Ed Parker's Kenpo Karate Accumulative Journal. International Kenpo Karate Association.
- 1978, Inside Elvis. Rampart House ISBN 0-89773-000-3
- 1982, Ed Parker's Infinite Insights into Kenpo, Vol. 1: Mental Stimulation. Delsby Publications ISBN 0-910293-00-7
- 1983, Ed Parker's Infinite Insights into Kenpo, Vol. 2: Physical Analyzation I. Delsby Publications ISBN 0-910293-02-3
- 1985, Ed Parker's Infinite Insights into Kenpo, Vol. 3: Physical Analyzation II. Delsby Publications ISBN 0-910293-04-X
- 1986, Ed Parker's Infinite Insights Into Kenpo, Vol. 4: Mental and Physical Constituents. Delsby Publications ISBN 0-910293-06-6
- 1987, Ed Parker's Infinite Insights Into Kenpo: Vol. 5: Mental and Physical Applications. Delsby Publications ISBN 0-910293-08-2
- 1988, The Woman's Guide to Self Defense
- 1988, The Zen of Kenpo. Delsby Publications ISBN 0-910293-10-4
- 1992, Ed Parker's Encyclopedia of Kenpo. Delsby Publications ISBN 0-910293-12-0
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1964 | The Secret Door | Uncredited | |
1966 | Dimension 5 | Sinister Oriental | |
1968 | The Money Jungle | Cassidy | |
1968 | The Wrecking Crew | Guard | Uncredited |
1978 | Revenge of the Pink Panther | Mr. Chong | Uncredited |
1978 | Buckstone County Prison | Jimbo | |
1978 | Kill the Golden Goose | Mauna Loa | |
1979 | Seven | Himself | |
1983 | Curse of the Pink Panther | Mr. Chong | (final film role) |
TV
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1963 | The Lucy Show episode Lucy And Viv Learn Karate | Himself | Named in show, credited as "Judo Student #1" |
References
- ISBN 978-14-0533-750-2.
- ^ a b Tracy, Will (March 8, 1997). "Kenpo Karate – Setting History Right 1949–1954". kenpokarate.com. Retrieved February 8, 2008.
- ^ "History of Kenpo". KenpoNow.com. Archived from the original on October 22, 2014.
- ^ Corcoran, J.; Farkas, E. (1988). Martial Arts: Traditions, History, People. New York City: Gallery Books.
- ^ Tracy, Will (March 8, 1997). "Ed Parker's First Shodan". kenpokarate.com. Retrieved February 8, 2008.
- ^ "Kenpo Karate Family Tree". tracyskarate.com. 2000. Archived from the original on February 22, 2008. Retrieved February 8, 2008.
- ^ The Godfather of Grappling (authorized biography of Gene LeBell) by "Judo" Gene Lebell, Bob Calhoun, George Foon, and Noelle Kim. 2005.
- ^ "Kill the Golden Goose". August 1, 1979 – via IMDb.
- Black Belt Magazine.
- ^ "Ed Parker". IMDb.
- ^ "The Perfect Casting?". Los Angeles Times. January 6, 1991. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
Further reading
- Parker, L. (1997). Memories of Ed Parker: Sr. Grandmaster of American Kenpo Karate. Delsby Publications. ISBN 0-910293-14-7.
External links
- Ed Parker at IMDb