“To enlighten and evolve through the art of Kenpo” 

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From The President...

by Bryan Hawkins, President, UKS  

One of the most interesting aspects of Kenpo is the correlation between the study of our art and our everyday life experiences. Due to the complexities of Kenpo physically, mentally and spiritually, it is analogous by nature. Any lesson that can be learned in any other area of your life can be readily applied to your Kenpo training. My wife and I recently saw the movie ‘The Edge’. At one point in this film three men find themselves stranded in the Canadian wilderness in sub-freezing temperatures with no food, water, shelter or any hope of rescue. Upon fully realizing just how grave their situation was two of the men panicked and became hysterical knowing that their chances of survival were very slim. The third man, unlike the first two, had done a great deal of reading on the subject of wilderness survival. Although he was not the outdoors type at all, he wanted to be prepared just on the outside chance he would ever find himself in this predicament. This third man turned to the other two and asked, “do you know what people who find themselves in our situation actually die from?” before they could answer he said, “it’s not from exposure to the elements, lack of water or lack of food - it’s shame - they die of shame.” His point was that people who find themselves in desperate situations usually spend all their energy beating themselves for getting into the situation to begin with and not having been prepared for any eventuality. Certainly this third man was utilizing the Kenpo philosophy. He prepared himself ahead of time for this unforeseen occurrence and stayed calm when things were critical. After overcoming some other obstacles Mother Nature threw at them, he of course, led them back to civilization.

I never want any Kenpoist to find themselves in a “shameful” state of mind. With diligent preparation (training) and proper mind set, there will be no situation that can ever overwhelm us, either physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually.