Karate for beginners..

Kata

Ive recently joined a kenpo karate club, for many reasons but mainly because I want to kill some of this pent up energy inside me! Although I am old to be starting fresh (Im 23) it was reassuring to have a few almost beginners in the class, some parents of kids with black belts!

From reading some old threads here Ive gotten loads of great information, just wondering if anyone of the more experienced (there seems to be a lot of you!) members could offer me some advice/information on Kenpo .. Also, how often are the gradings and how long does it take to make your way up towards that coveted black belt?!

Thanx in advance

breadmonkey

Also, how often are the gradings and how long does it take to make your way up towards that coveted black belt?!

:rolleyes:

pma-ire

breadmonkey wrote:

:rolleyes:

If you don't have anything constructive to offer this person then don't post!

This type of BS has driven away many people from this board and others. Your not gonna make yourself a hero by putting down what someone else is learning or how they learn it.

Grow up!!

rainbow kirby

Depends on the club. Kenpo clubs in Ireland tend to grade quite slowly. Gradings can be anything from about 4 months to about 2 years apart. It can take between 4 and 12 years to get to black belt.

Millionaire

When I first started martial arts when I was12 or something like that, up to my early 20s. (i had been in and out of training for a few years at times)

all I wanted was belts.

Now years later, and lots of experience, I don't care about belts at all now. suppose easy for me to say as I got the black belts. all I want to do is train hard with techniques that work.

Starting out I guess from where you are at, I guess they are a great way to stay motivated and monitor your progress,

Best of luck, and keep training hard, and often!

Fiona Cronin

pma-ire wrote:

If you don't have anything constructive to offer this person then don't post!

This type of BS has driven away many people from this board and others. Your not gonna make yourself a hero by putting down what someone else is learning or how they learn it.

Grow up!!

Very well said i agree.

Colm_OReilly

*dusts off kenpo bb*

Best advice I can give you is to leave Kenpo, as far as practicality goes, it's a complete waste of time.

As for Kenpo gradings, 4-8 months apart was the usual, with 4-5 years to black belt. Of course, you may be sandbagging for competition (which happens in all ma's) or move up quicker if you're training more or taking privates.

Take Care,
Colm

Millionaire

Colm_OReilly wrote:

*dusts off kenpo bb*

Best advice I can give you is to leave Kenpo, as far as practicality goes, it's a complete waste of time.

Colm

Out of TMA s was Kenpo considered to be the most street orientated, and more lethal, as compared to other TMAs. I got that idea from a few articles I read. one article that B movie actor Jeff Speakman ( i think thats the name) who was a 3rd dan in goju or something, converted to kenpo, and he was raving now lethal it was, and street orientated etc.

I tried a wee bit of kenpo in the club in rathgar off garville road. nice people there but the training was not my cup of tea.

Colm_OReilly

I doubt there's a Kenpo head alive who hasn't seen The Perfect Weapon!

vasch_ro

Colm_OReilly wrote:

I doubt there's a Kenpo head alive who hasn't seen The Perfect Weapon!

now thats what I call a movie !!!

pma-ire

Colm_OReilly wrote:

I doubt there's a Kenpo head alive who hasn't seen The Perfect Weapon!

I've seen it quoted as part of a Kenpo Schools syllabus :rolleyes:

I thought the TKD guys were cool in it though :cool:

Naos

Which TMA is most 'street lethal'?
Would JiuJitsu not be up there....

Colm, I dont understand the term sandbagging??

And to the OP(Original Poster):
As Bruce Lee said, Belts are for holding up pants.
Dont focus on the belts, If i hand you a blackbelt today it does not make you any stronger or faster, its the expierience that counts.

Clive

"I wonder if I could kick your ass ... full contact, no protection"

and not to forget the infamous "beating up couch" scene... de de de deh deh deh de de deh de I've got the powahhh!

Colm_OReilly

Sandbagging - holding off on getting your next belt so you can compete in a lower belt category.

"No, not just you, but all three of you"

pma-ire

Colm_OReilly wrote:

Sandbagging - holding off on getting your next belt so you can compete in a lower belt category.

"No, not just you, but all three of you"

Ooooh the Machismo

Kata

Thank you for the constructive replies,.. the reason Ive have taken up MA is more for the discipline and training - I have looked around at different clubs/types of karate, and decided on kenpo, it was a close call between it and shotokan ... followed up by persuasion from a friend with a few karate BB's.. hope I have made the right decision now!

To refer to my original post, I didnt mean to come across merely interested in the belts, obviously they are an acheivement to get to each stage but I was just more curious as to how long/intense the training is - for me the more intense the better!

Can anybody give me some idea of the weekend/24 hour MA courses that I have read about in a different thread? W

Kata

Sorry to bump, .. for practising at home where would I get something to help me learn the techniques? Need to get a lot tighter

rainbow kirby

There are videos available... but probably the best thing you could do is to find a willing victim(a clubmate, a friend, whatever) and actually practise the techniques with them.

KingColm

Colm,
I know u well and remember well u training in firhouse under Danny Gilligan and John Birch. I must say that u have some cheek to come onto a posting board like this and put down sumthin which never suited you because u were never much good at it.

You reached black belt without ever realising that kenpo karate is designed for use in a telephone box, (close quarter combat) hence not using rediculously wide stances and kicks should always be aimed below the belt and not to the head like u always did. U took influence from many styles and never truly did proper kenpo.

And as for the name of ur club, well i think it just shows the wider world what we've known for a long time- That ur head is stuck so far up ur own arse that its coming out ur mouth. and as for ur grapling, or bulgarian jujitsu or whatever u call it, it bears a strong resemblence to wrestling on sky1.

This is not designed to offend you, merely to try and bring u back down to earth. sorry to hear bout the club failure in john bosco's btw..

Kevin_rc_ie

some of that was funny. especially the bulgarian bit. but i tihnk it's a bit unfair for you to come here and give out about another user, who has been quite honest about who he is and his opinions, and not introduce yourself.

if you're going to "attack" someone based on what they did in real life, you should put it in real life perspective and tell us who you are. or just keep it to the internet.

KingColm

Thats a fair point and i would have absolutley no problem in revealing my identity, but the fact is these are my opinions and i could probably get in2 trouble with my own club if i did. Again i must say this is not an attack on colm personally and i'm not sneering at the chap, i am merely commenting on colms disrespect for sumthin he knows little about, despite what he may think.. I imagine colm knows who i am anyway, from what i have said..

Kevin_rc_ie

ok cool enough. on a side point. actually i'll pm you something.

Dyr

i dont get it? when phone boxes are obsolete then will there be no reason to practice this kenpo

still must be a lot cheaper than renting a training hall

Cake Fiend

Kata wrote:

for me the more intense the better!

In that case, why not do boxing / muay thai / BJJ?

john kavanagh

you were so close to 'getting it' colm, ah well.....now where's my mask??

TwoKingMick

Man does kempo wrong: it doesn't work

Man does kempo right: it still doesn't work

Crowd looks on: in amazement!

Talliesin

KingColm wrote:

Again i must say this is not an attack on colm personally and i'm not sneering at the chap,

Really. So that is why you were hi-jacking threads he had posts on in other forums to point to this dispute?

I don't know anything about this dispute within the martial arts community, and I really don't give a ****. The moderators of this forum are perfectly capable of deciding whether it's appropriate to have here or not, but pissing around on the site as a whole is not acceptable, and will not be tolerated. Good bye.

TwoKingMick

I was just going to ask who banned him, apparently this Talliesin person. Hello Talliesin.

Roper

Hey don't ban him!
I want to know more about this phone box.

john kavanagh

but what if you were on a mobile phone?

Bowing2Buddha

TwoKingMick wrote:

Man does kempo wrong: it doesn't work

Man does kempo right: it still doesn't work

Crowd looks on: in amazement!

If kenpo doesn't work Mick, I'd have to ask why it is the fastest growing Martial Art in Ireland at the moment, and why several armies around the world train their top men with Kenpo. They teach their men to kill with their bare hands through Kenpo. I'd also have to ask you how you know so much about Kenpo when you have never studied it (correct me if i'm wrong).

I have been a Kenpo balck belt for the last 4 and a half years, and i assure both you and Colm that Kenpo most certainly does work, when taught and used PROPERLY .

Dyr

john kavanagh wrote:

but what if you were on a mobile phone?

Invest in a TACTICAL mobile, cool matt black colour with pepper spray and tazer features. Also sends a distress signal to nearest garda station at the touch of a button (patent pending)

Tim_Murphy

I've never done kenpo (or kempo is it?) and don't know anything about it.
If it's is so effective and deadly and all that how can somebody get a black belt in it when apparently it is "sumthin he knows little about"???

Doesn't make much sense to me.

Colm_OReilly

I've no idea who KingColm is, but it sure was nice to take a trip down memory lane with him.

I got a junior black belt in Kenpo, and then progressed on to Senior Black Belt. I was also very close to John Birch for a while. But we couldn't see eye to eye on training so I left.

Thats a fair point and i would have absolutley no problem in revealing my identity, but the fact is these are my opinions and i could probably get in2 trouble with my own club if i did.

Then send me a PM, or an email, and we can talk. I'm more than happy for someone to show me Kenpo working in a dynamic setting, where we can repeatedly test and retest ideas/theories. But alas, I imagine this will be taken as a challenge.

i am merely commenting on colms disrespect for sumthin he knows little about, despite what he may think

Dude, please enlighten me! Just like JK did those many moons ago.

I have been a Kenpo balck belt for the last 4 and a half years, and i assure both you and Colm that Kenpo most certainly does work, when taught and used PROPERLY

Not sure if this is bait, but I'll answer anyway. As far as me being taught Kenpo goes, Gilligan and Birch are pretty damn well respected in the Kenpo circles.

If it's is so effective and deadly and all that how can somebody get a black belt in it when apparently it is "sumthin he knows little about"???

I wish I could answer that for you Timmy.

Anywho,
As for moderating this forum sorry I've been so scarce the last few weeks. Things went on the backburner while training for ROT3 so I'm playing catch up. I'll definitely read everything posted from now on, but if anyone has a problem with any of the post please report them to me for a speedy a effective resolution.

Your friendly neighbour mod,
Colm

soma

ooh! ooh! can we please have an MMA vs kenpo challenge!

On a serious note, I think banning the guy was harsh. While he was cheeky, It was a thread about kenpo, colm basically said 'I know from experience kenpo sucks' and a kenpo practitioner got pretty offended by that - he didnt use any crazy language etc..

I notice colm never replied, does this mean he went back to bulgaria..? *lol* j/k

Talliesin

soma wrote:

On a serious note, I think banning the guy was harsh. While he was cheeky, It was a thread about kenpo

He was banned for creating other (deleted) posts on other forums Colm posted on pointing to this one, which is Spam and harassment. I wouldn't step in as SMod on a local mod's turf over a dispute related to that forum's topic, it was his behaviour on boards as a whole that got him banned.

Any further discussion on the banning should be in the Feedback forum. Ye all get back to talking about martial arts stuff I know little about

Bowing2Buddha

Colm_OReilly wrote:

Not sure if this is bait, but I'll answer anyway. As far as me being taught Kenpo goes, Gilligan and Birch are pretty damn well respected in the Kenpo circles.

I trained with Danny and John in Spheres myself a number of years ago, and I do most certainly agree with you that both are outstanding in their field.

KingColm wrote:

You reached black belt without ever realising that kenpo karate is designed for use in a telephone box, (close quarter combat) hence not using rediculously wide stances and kicks should always be aimed below the belt and not to the head like u always did. U took influence from many styles and never truly did proper kenpo.

I do not know you personally Colm so i cannot say whether or not it is true that u used "rediculously wide stances", or kicked constantly to the head, but both of these are quite common mistakes made by many students studying Kenpo. KingColm is quite correct in saying that Kenpo is designed for use in a telephone box, and kenpo is mainly a hand oriented style, with all kicks origanally aimed below the knee. The only reason this has changed in clubs across the country is because of the influence of other styles, and insurance reasons. :cool:

columok

If kenpo doesn't work Mick, I'd have to ask why it is the fastest growing Martial Art in Ireland at the moment, and why several armies around the world train their top men with Kenpo. They teach their men to kill with their bare hands through Kenpo. I'd also have to ask you how you know so much about Kenpo when you have never studied it (correct me if i'm wrong).

I have been a Kenpo balck belt for the last 4 and a half years, and i assure both you and Colm that Kenpo most certainly does work, when taught and used PROPERLY .

You are the biggest genius in the world. Thank you. You've made me p1ss myself laughing throughout my lunch.

Question: Are you Larry Tatum?

columok

and kenpo is mainly a hand oriented style, with all kicks origanally aimed below the knee.

You guys should try thai boxing. You'd kick ass!

Bowing2Buddha

columok wrote:

You are the biggest genius in the world. Thank you. You've made me p1ss myself laughing throughout my lunch.

Question: Are you Larry Tatum?

I dont understand what you are trying to get at. And no, I'm not Larry Tatum, and the club i am with is not part of the LT system.

soma

Talliesin wrote:

He was banned for creating other (deleted) posts on other forums Colm posted on pointing to this one, which is Spam and harassment.

ah right, I missed that.

Bowing2Buddha

soma wrote:

ah right, I missed that.

Yes actually, I saw it myself on a parenting thread i think..

Dyr

i WISH i was larry tatum. That hair. That muzzy.
Different class.

columok

Bowing2Buddha,

Were you serious about the whole Kempo being used to kill men with your bare hands jibe?

If so you are the biggest genius in the world. You should win a Nobel Genius Prize.

Bowing2Buddha

columok wrote:

Bowing2Buddha,

Were you serious about the whole Kempo being used to kill men with your bare hands jibe?

If so you are the biggest genius in the world. You should win a Nobel Genius Prize.

Of course I was being serious, there are many diferrent types of martial arts, designed to minimalise damage to ur opponent, and merely protect yourself, without causing any physical harm, Akido (spelling??), being a prime example...

columok

I firmly believe that Kempo will not help you defend yourself in a phonebox, near a phonemast, at a urinal, at a bar, in a ring, in a cage, in a rabbit hutch or anywhere else.

I find it amusing that you think that Kempo will actually teach you to kill human beings with your bare hands.

Tim_Murphy

They teach their men to kill with their bare hands through Kenpo

If it's as deadly as you say then perhaps you could give a few examples of actual fatalities accredited to people using kenpo technique.

columok

Larry Tatum once killed a hair thief using a kempo bone shattering technique. He hit the guy once and he died 5 minutes later as he was walking away.

Kevin_rc_ie

we were 16 at the time but there was a guy i knew who did kenpo at he was fairly tough. his kenpo instructer encouraged them to head butt and scratch the guys face. i can't say how they practised this.

Bowing2Buddha

columok wrote:

I firmly believe that Kempo will not help you defend yourself in a phonebox, near a phonemast, at a urinal, at a bar, in a ring, in a cage, in a rabbit hutch or anywhere else.

I find it amusing that you think that Kempo will actually teach you to kill human beings with your bare hands.

While studying Kenpo you learn techniques as i'm sure you are aware. A blue belt technique called hugging pendulum, if the 1st technique i can think of off-hand which teaches a student to kill. It is against a thrusting knife edge kick, and leads to breaking your opponents neck, quite litterally. There are many more which come to mind which lead to serious paralasys, such as "the Back Breaker" - green belt, and "twirling sacrifice"..

loz

Bowing2Buddha wrote:

While studying Kenpo you learn techniques as i'm sure you are aware. A blue belt technique called hugging pendulum, if the 1st technique i can think of off-hand which teaches a student to kill. It is against a thrusting knife edge kick, and leads to breaking your opponents neck, quite litterally. There are many more which come to mind which lead to serious paralasys, such as "the Back Breaker" - green belt, and "twirling sacrifice"..

ROLF !