-------------------------------------- The KEMPO SD Series has been updated in 2022 to include the list from the STMA KEMPO Sets, as they were first set out from 2012 onwards, ten years ago After a decade over development, with these sets being trained in Class and on the Grass, we have refined our view of them Originally the Sets were WAZA that did not appear in the Kenpo KATA - we source the techniques that are in the KATA in order, applying the actual applications in partner drills without learning the Kata as an "air" exercise, as they do in Karate Clubs The Set numbers differ as we have the STMA set 2 as the Master Key Series We then have the 2 man series as our Set 8 In Kenpo Sets 8, 9, 10 and 11 are the extensions for O, P, B, and G respectively - these introduce new, advanced concepts and principles of motion, eg the TD extension and Ground finish to Thundering Hammers, the basic set appearing in 3P and Form Long Four, the extension appearing in Set 9 This is similar to how STMA JJ follows the JUDO GOKYO into the full 67 KODOKAN, the KOSEN into the GRACIE Combatives - the STMA JJ is divided into the 4 sections for the Combatives, then the GAMEPLAN Series and the RDD and FSD for those, which do not follow the "list" pattern, they follow the Gameplan In 2022, JJ has progressed to include the "RANDORI" List for JUDO, moving away from the GOKYO method of teaching the first 17 waza - in 2020 and 2021 we looked into Newaza ATEMI striking, and JUDO Katame waza, the pins in more depth ---------------------------------------------- The Bart and Milhouse Goldfish Bowl bit: "Your cat ate my goldfish. Then you tried to tell me I never had a goldfish. So why did I have the bowl, Bart? Why did I have the bowl...?" "Kenpo never had a Knife Form" "Then why do we have the Knife?" shirotoratiger.proboards.com/thread/1603/gil-hibben-knives?page=1&scrollTo=7075 -------------------------------------- Kenpo Karate, in it's original syllabus, was laid out to not only cover a variety of attacks but in a way that was meant to grow the student and continually build upon what he learned before. Just like a baby crawls before walking, Kenpo teaches you what you need to take your first steps and then get you running at full speed. Yellow Belt is the first 10 beginner sets Then, the techniques are laid out in three sets of 8 per belt level, to give 24 techniques for each belt The first set reviews what you have already learned and introduces you to the foundation of the new level. The second set of 8, introduces the core concepts and principles for the level. The third set is designed to reinforce what you just learned as well as prepare you for the next rank. The 8 per set are based on the 8 categories of attacks “prioritized according to the degree of difficulty in handling the attack“. Finally, system ends at 3rd Black. Ranks above 3rd degree are based on time in rank and contribution to the art. While there is still much more to learn after 3rd degree you are not ‘required’ to learn any new material past 3rd degree There is debate about how these syllabus get arranged, and different stories about how the "top set" gets finalised Everyone knows the basics but only the higher Dan grades will know the higher arrangement and rearrangements as they were decided Only a few high grades were there at the time And everyone of that generation wanted some seniority due to them being closer to the Soke/Founder Next generation everyone wants to claim they were under a Shihan who was there, etc We see this is pretty much every Art KARATE - the applications of the advanced Kata KEMPO - the highest techniques on the lists and the applications of the 7 and 8 forms NINPO - the Okuden scroll, the interpretations of the GATA JUDO - which higher waza were included, left out, revised Keep in mind the Soke and his first Shihan were the ones who developed the school and system - they had decades of experience teaching and practising the lower levels as they were being devised into a syllabus, and less on the "advanced" stuff With KENPO the list of 156 was set up over time, and grouped as we know the six sets of 24, with the ten fundamentals on yellow This is my understanding, as it was explained and passed down to me The "extra two" were removed so as to make the numbers work Intellectual Departure, still an MK is not on the lists Aggressive Twins is seen as the kick variation of Alternating Maces As for Spreading Branches, it is the One Man version of what became the Two Man technique REPRIMANDING THE BEARS - as what we now call "brown 2 and 3" sets did not have base and extensions, this never got to appear on the lists as a Base, though that is what it is - otherwise we would have 157 to argue over Interestingly, henka for this technique can end with the Kubi Nage neck throw, the "lost 70th" throw from Judo - the "pure" Kempo all strike version ends with the elbow to the spine, one of the first moves banned from UFC, as well as of course the groin strike and throat strike So we have the official 154 techniques The four sets with extensions create 96 next techniques - so we have exactly 250 The original belt levels set up Orange, Purple, Blue, Green, Brown, Black This had 24 techniques for each to take the student to Black Belt The 10 yellow belt techniques were set up after - originally the was no yellow belt, these were on Orange Interestingly the two removed techniques could have been left on Yellow to create a set of 12, and keep the 156 - nobody knows why this was not done The problem then became what to do for Dan Grades - most Arts have a set syllabus up to 3rd Dan, with 4th Dan and up being for other criteria First option was to have the four extension sets be for up to 5th dan - this was discarded - nobody wanted a syllabus up to 5th dan What was settled on was to separate Brown Belt into 3 stripes, which most other Karate do eg 3rd, 2nd and 1st kyu are all Brown belt, with a stripe So the sixth set, originally the Black set, became Brown 2 Brown 3, Black 1, 2 and 3 were assigned the advanced extension sets, and you now had your syllabus to 3rd Dan, or Third Black as it ended up being called Each belt level was assigned the Sets and Forms and the Kenpo syllabus became more settled Form 6 - 3rd Black Form 5 - 2nd Black etc This is when we see things get messy "at the top" Form 4 being the Combo attack defences, and Form 5 including the takedowns, are all sharp and well defined While Form 4 has 20 techniques in it, Form 5 only has 10 - there are a lot of sets with a TD that do not appear in F5 - it could be because some of these are the Black Belt extensions eg Thundering Hammers appears in F4 as it's "Purple" set, the "Black" extension could have been theoretically in F5 but is not - though as F5 is the Form required for 2nd Dan this may not have been the case This being the case F4 is the longest, most complex Form, and known as the "Definitive" Form Form 6, required for 3rd Dan, made up of techniques taken from the Sets is interesting All four Rod sets are there, but "tacked on" at the end, as if hey were added later - it takes what looks like a 9 set Form into a 13 set All four Rod are from the end of Brown 2, though intercut with four Advanced Kenpo, so together they make up the last eight sets The first main part of the Form is Five Stick STORM defences and Four LANCE Knife defences There are five Lance in Kenpo, four on Brown One, which appear in Long 6 - a fifth Lance appears on Brown Two, but not in the Form - which looks like the Form was finalised before the Brown 2, the sixth List was finished - as the "Main Bit" has five Storm sets, would it not have made sense to have all five Lance sets to make the Form ten moves not just nine - unless the fifth Lance was not ready at that time As for the Storm STICK defences, they are drawn from the Lists The first Storm is on Yellow No Storm on Orange Three on Purple Two on Blue None of these appear in F6 There are four Storm on Green One appears in Form 5 Two appear in F6 The other does not There is no Storm on Brown One, however the technique Unfurling Crane appears in F6 as Unfurling Storm, adapted as a Stick defence - which makes it both a henka and the only original, not on the lists, Storm There are two Storm on Brown Two, both of which appear in F6 So considering Brushing already appears in F5, Unfurling is an adaption, there are three List Storm sets in F6, seven that do not appear anywhere else - that gives us a total of twelve Kenpo Storm sets - enough for a whole Form based on that That would leave the five Lance and Four Storm - a potential Form 9 covering knife and Gun defences An option would be to use all eleven Storm, cutting out Unfurling, add on the nine for lance and Rod and make Form 6 a 20 technique Form like F4 - if we used the available List TD from the BB ext, we could make F5 a twenty technique Form So the "top end" of Kenpo, the last part to be systemised has a "rushed" and "unfinished" feel to it This is only noticeable to those who have studied that far and spent a lot of time there - which is the problem the "Kenpo Professors" have as they cannot answer why it ended up this way, as they don't know, weren't there, weren't told, and can't admit to that When the Forms for Double Stick and Double Knife were being established, due to the crossover training with Kali and Escrima, more reviews were taken Some of the waza were developed from existing waza on the lists - eg Flashing Maces became both Flashing Storms and Flashing Lance, Five Swords and Thundering hammers both became Stick techniques, etc, some were original techniques devised just for the weapons These were set up as Forms, the techniques not being taught as any separate list, so students learned the application as they built the Forms Everyone did double stick first and they first learnt Five Swords, and some basic Sinawalli like Six Count This is when the fragmentation started as not everyone learnt the whole Form and all the techniques and applications When it came to Knife people later started to argue that there never was a Kenpo Knife Form, and that there were no real Knife techniques The fact that the KENPO knife exists, see the thread on that, and we have pictures of Mr Parker, Gil Hibben and Elvis Presley holding the Knife addresses that point So we have the "people who were there" presenting different sides of their version of the story What happened was the Stick Form became Long Form Seven, now required for 4th Degree, and the Knife form became Form Eight, required for 5th degree So anyone who has a genuine Fifth Degree in Kenpo from back then would know the stick and knife forms, and be able to break them down and teach them At STMA we do not teach and practice the Forms, nor are we grading you separately in the source Arts, either KENPO, JUJUTSU, NINPO etc What we do practice is the full list of 250, plus the lists for stick and knife, which complement and are trained alongside, your KALI There are different people doing things different ways, this is our way Be wary of alleged high grades in Kenpo who don't know the high grade "stuff" 6th and 7th Degrees with titles like "Professor" whose stick work means they can do Sinawalli and Five Swords With The Sticks but don't know the rest of the sets, especially the original ones, and then don't know Knife Form, and then try to tell you it never existed |
