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Thank You Mr. Silva...

By Bryan Hawkins

Moving to Los Angeles in 1979 was a true culture ‘shock’ in every sense of the word. Coming from a small agricultural community in Central California and being raised in a very close knit family with nine brothers and sisters in a neighborhood was either ‘through the woods’, ‘across the field’ or ‘down the creek a bit’ - Los Angeles was indeed an environmental shock for an eighteen year old kid out on his own for the first time! Thanks to the many friends I would soon meet at the Ed Parker Kenpo Studio, I was quickly acclimated to my new and diverse environment. Howard Silva, being a Green Belt at the time I started, took me under his wing and helped me a great deal with my Kenpo training. Since those early training years up to this very moment, Howard Silva has been a very special friend and has had an enormous influence in every aspect of my life. Words cannot express the gratitude I feel toward him. As an Advisor to the U.K.S., Howard’s wisdom has time after time, proven to be an asset the likes of which the U.K.S. could not be without.

As a friend, confidante, advisor and martial artist, Howard Silva’s contributions to me, the extended Kenpo family, Ed Parker himself, and the U.K.S. have been and continue to be invaluable!