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Albert Cornejo:
Mr. Cornejo began his training at the original Santa Monica school in the early
1960s, and for the last 32 years has been teaching his own unique brand of Kenpo
at his own school. In addition to teaching his own students, Mr. Cornejo
teaches a rigorous class every Friday evening at Bryan Hawkins Kenpo Karate.
Mr. Cornejo holds the rank of 7th degree black belt and also has the distinction
of being Mr. Parker’s personal barber for all those years. As well as being a
veteran Kenpoist, Mr. Cornejo is an accomplished sculptor, specializing in
working with iron to create remarkably detailed and life-like works of art.
James Diggs: Having begun his martial
arts training in 1974 at the age of 13, Mr. Diggs has run the gamut in terms of
systems he has studied. He has experience in Kung Fu and has studied with Chuck
Norris in Tang Soo Do, Gene Labelle in Judo and Rickson Gracie in Jujitsu. His
primary art is, of course, Ed Parker’s Kenpo, with his own training facility in
Victorville, California. He also holds a seat on the U.K.S. Advisory Board.
Paul Dye: Mr.
Dye has more than 30 years’ experience teaching the art of Kenpo. He was
fortunate to spend time with Mr. Parker at both the Pasadena and Santa Monica
schools. At the Pasadena school, he participated in the legendary “Friday Night
Technique Line” for over 10 years and earned his reputation for extreme
intensity. Mr. Dye has achieved over 60 open black belt championships during
his competition career. It was his goal to promote the Self-Defense tournament
division in its infancy. After he retired from competition, Mr. Parker placed
him as the center for the self-defense division at the Internationals
Championships. Mr. Dye came out of retirement at the 2001 UKS tournament hosted
by Bryan Hawkins and earned first place once again in black belt self-defense.
He followed that up in January 2002 with another first-place win in the
self-defense division at Frank Trejo’s Internationals in Pasadena. In addition
to teaching at his home in Covina, California, Mr. Dye has traveled extensively
throughout the U.S. and Europe giving seminars and providing personal training
for other instructors in Kenpo. His knowledge and communication skills have
also enabled him to teach Kenpo to children and adults who are challenged by
loss of sight, loss of hearing, or cerebral palsy. It is his desire to share
his extensive knowledge of Kenpo to other generations so that it is not
forgotten and to demonstrate the evolution of the system with the focus,
athleticism and intensity that is his trademark.
Steve Gregan:
Steve Gregan has been studying Kenpo since 1990, and has had the privilege of
meeting and learning from many of the art’s finest practitioners. His instructor
for the last 15 years has been friend and mentor Bryan Hawkins, and Steve has
become one of the senior instructors at Mr. Hawkins’ school in West LA. In his
“day job”, Mr. Gregan owns and operates Wholly Cow Audio, a post-production
recording studio in Manhattan Beach. As a musician, he still occasionally gigs
around town when the itch is strong, but spends much of his time with his wife
and 3 year old son, Nicholas.
Larry Hartsell:
Larry Hartsell is considered to be among the premier Jeet Kune Do fighters in
the world. Larry began his martial arts training by studying Judo in North
Carolina from 1957 - 1960. He then moved to California, and for the next four
decades, studied exclusively with his mentor and personal friend, Guro Dan
Inosanto. During the 1960's, Guro Dan Inosanto introduced Hartsell to the famed
Edmund Parker, Sr., and began his studies in Kenpo Karate. Shortly after
receiving his black belt in Kenpo, he went into the army and served in Vietnam
from 1966 to 1967. After his discharge, he was introduced by Guru Dan Inosanto
to Si Gung Bruce Lee. Hartsell is an original student and member of the Los
Angeles Chinatown Group founded by Si Gung Bruce Lee, for which Guro Dan
Inosanto was the head instructor, and was also accepted as a private student of
Bruce Lee's. Larry Hartsell's background and knowledge is not merely
speculative. Over the past 40 years, he served in the following capacities: as
military policeman in the jungles of Vietnam; on movie sets as a bodyguard to
celebrities; "bouncing" in redneck bars in his native North Carolina, and in the
august halls of justice. As a long time practitioner of the martial arts,
Hartsell was one of the first in the United States to embrace and train in Shoot
Wrestling when it was introduced at the Inosanto Academy. Hartsell has always
been open-minded and eager to learn. Over the years, Larry modified his fighting
structure and geared his training more toward the arts of grappling and
submission. Combining his knowledge in the arts of grappling and submission with
his skill in the trapping and striking arts, Larry has taken his art to a new
dimension. Larry Hartsell is the Founder/Chief Instructor of the
Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do Grappling Association
and conducts seminars worldwide. He accepts a handful of private students, and
is a Full Senior Instructor at the Inosanto Academy of Martial Arts.
Bryan Hawkins:
Mr. Hawkins, a 6th Degree Black Belt, has 29 years’ experience in the Arts. He
is the owner and head instructor of Bryan Hawkins Kenpo Karate in West Los
Angeles and a new second studio in Granada Hills and also is the President of
United Kenpo Systems, Mr. Hawkins has had the privilege of being one of the many
protégés taught by our Senior Grandmaster and later became a private student.
Among his numerous martial arts activities, Mr. Hawkins also held the position
of Manager and Chief Instructor of Ed Parker’s Kenpo Studio in West Los Angeles
and had the honor of serving as the Kenpo technical advisor with Mr. Parker on
“The Perfect Weapon” and numerous other television projects and theatrical
releases. Along with fellow Kenpoists Gurujodha Singh Khalsa and Michael
Mandaville, Mr. Hawkins is co-founder of Martial Arts for Peace (MAP), a
non-profit organization whose goal is to help at-risk teenagers.
Scott Higgins: Mr. Higgins began his
martial arts training in 1966. He studied judo, Choi Li Fut, and Tae Kwon Do,
among other arts, before beginning his training in Ed Parker’s Kenpo Karate at
the West Los Angeles school in 1982, receiving his black belt four years later.
From 1990 to 1993 he was senior instructor at Kona Martial Arts in Hawaii. He
currently trains and teaches at Bryan Hawkins Kenpo Karate and also has trained
in Filipino Kali since 1989.
Wes Idol: Wes
Idol started his Kenpo training in 1986 under Albert Cornejo. During his time
with Mr. Cornejo, Mr. Idol was given the space to also train with Frank Trejo,
Larry Tatum, Mohammed Tabatabai, and at Benny Urquidez's “Jet Center”. In 1992,
with the acceptance of Mr. Cornejo, Mr. Idol began to study under Bryan Hawkins.
During his time with Bryan Hawkins, Wes Idol has been further exposed to other
Ed Parker Kenpoists: Bob Liles, Tommy Burks, Howard Silva and Tony Martin; as
well as working with Robert Lennon, the first American Tae Kwon Do practitioner
to be invited to the Kugiwan instructors camp in Seoul, Korea. Since 1999 (with
the blessings of Bryan Hawkins), Mr. Idol, a 4th Degree Black Belt, has been
studying Kenpo knife strategies with Mike Pick (the man Ed Parker considered
“Kenpo’s premiere knife fighter”). The edged weapon has become a favored
evolution for his Kenpo practice.
Gurujodha Singh Khalsa: Mr. Khalsa is
a Master in the Art of Kundalini Yoga, which stresses proper breathing for
purification, power, and precision in your art and in your life. Mr. Khalsa has
also developed the art of Gatkenjitsu, a martial art and system of consciousness
development utilizing the simple walking cane as a vehicle for fitness and
self-defense. Mr. Khalsa is a 4th Degree Black Belt who trains and teaches Tai
Chi, Yoga, Gatkenjitsu and, of course, Kenpo at the Bryan Hawkins Kenpo Karate
school in Los Angeles, California.
Patrick Pace, Jr.: Mr. Pace is a UKS
Black Belt from West Midlands, England. Although he has been taught by many
Kenpo instructors throughout his training, he now is under the direction of
Bryan Hawkins and has relocated to his Kenpo home of Los Angeles, California.
Early in his career, Mr. Pace held a number of kickboxing titles. He currently
oversees 15 “Kenpo Clubs” in England. Mr. Pace specializes in pressure points
and edged weapons.
Pat Salantri:
Pat Salantri has over 24 years’ experience in American Kenpo. He was a personal
student under Grandmaster Ed Parker and currently holds a 5th degree Black
Belt. Mr. Salantri grew up on Long Island, NY, and received a Bachelor of Arts
degree in Psychology and History from Wilkes University in Wilkes Barre, PA. Mr.
Salantri enlisted in the US Marines Corps in 1969, serving two tours in Vietnam.
During his second tour while attached to a Marine Advisory Unit he was severely
wounded, losing his left foot. During several years of rehabilitation he
continued his studies and received his Masters Degree in Education from Wilkes
University in 1974. He counseled Vietnam Veterans at the Veterans Administration
from 1976 to 1979. Mr. Salantri decided to fulfill his life long dream of
learning Karate and enrolled in Kenpo Karate at the Ed Parkers West Los Angeles
School in 1980. He studied under the tutelage of Master Larry Tatum, 10th
degree, receiving his Black Belt in 1986. To further his knowledge and
advancement in the art, his hard work and dedication were rewarded when he was
accepted as a personal student of Grand Master Ed Parker in 1987. His training
under Mr. Parker culminated in a personal triumph when he placed 1st in Black
Belt Defense Division and 2nd in Black Belt Masters Forms Division at the 1989
Long Beach International Karate Championships. He continued his weekly lessons
under Mr. Parker until his untimely passing. Mr. Salantri has since studied
under Frank Trejo, Lex Sensenbrenner and Ernie George. Mr. Salantri is currently
continuing his Kenpo training under Associate Master John Sepulveda, 8th Degree
Black Belt under the organization, American Kenpo Training System (AKTS). He is
also simultaneously studying Serak under the tutelage of Maha Guru Victor de
Thouars and edged weapons under Guru John McCurry at the Academy of Combat Blade
Arts in the Balika JuJitsu System. Mr. Salantri has been featured in
Inside Kung Fu (May 1992),
Masters of Kung Fu (October 1993), and
most recently again in Inside Kung Fu
(October 2003).
Howard Silva: Mr. Silva, a 5th Degree
Black Belt, began his training in the mid-1970’s at the Ed Parker Studio in West
Los Angeles. Mr. Silva became a student of Mr. Parker as well as a close
personal friend. Mr. Silva specializes in the concepts and principles of Kenpo
and their applications. He also appears in Books III, IV, and V of Mr. Parker’s
Infinite Insights Into Kenpo series in which Mr. Parker defines Mr. Silva as
“inspirational”. Mr. Silva lives in Northern California, where he runs his own
Kenpo school in Placerville, and serves as an Advisor to the U.K.S.
Robert Temple:
Professor Robert W. Temple has been involved in the Martial Arts since the age
of 11. He earned his first black belt at the age of 16. Since then, he has
achieved the status of Doctorate in Martial Science and holds the rank of Grand
Master, 10th degree black belt. Professor Temple has taught thousands of
students, earning recognition for his teachings in multiple martial arts
organizations. He is presently a member of the Santa Monica Youth Services and
serves as Coordinator/Youth Fitness Specialist of the Police Activities League
(PAL), while also being the proprietor of the Academy of Temple’s Martial Arts
and Family Fitness in Bakersfield, California. He has been recognized with
numerous awards in the martial arts throughout the United States and
internationally in both junior and senior competitions. Professor Temple’s hard
work and dedication have been acknowledged by various organizations including
the International Year of the Child-Black Childhood Development Organization,
which awarded him their prestigious Certificate of Recognition. He has also
been inducted into the International Martial Arts Hall of Fame.
Professor Temple has also worked extensively applying his technical expertise in
security and personal protection services. He has been featured in numerous
magazines such as Martial Arts and
Black Belt, as well as serving as host
of television shows such as Black Belt Video and co-host and martial arts
choreographer for the Infinite Power
workout morning training show. He also taught weekly classes for the Los
Angeles Unified School District’s Police Academy at Dorsey High School.
Presently, Professor Temple serves as Chief Training Instructor for the
Christian Karate Association (CKA), the Black Karate Federation (BKF) and the
Five Level Method. He also teaches Women’s Self-Defense Seminars for the Academy
of Martial Arts and mother/daughter self-defense workshops. He currently
teaches classes for children and adults with special needs through the Westside
Special Olympics and L.A. Metro.
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