“To enlighten and evolve through the art of Kenpo” 

Previous Issues

UKS Home

Kenpo Travels...

By Bryan Hawkins, President, U.K.S.

With the birth of our first child on the horizon, I decided to cut short my seminar trips greatly. Usually at this time of the year, I’m traveling to different U.K.S. schools virtually every weekend up until about mid-June when our All-Kenpo Invitational Tournament and our Kids Summer Camps beckon me to Los Angeles. But there were three places I was compelled to journey - the first of which was Oregon. A very special student of mine by the name of Jody Williams has a dojo he runs in the city of Troutdale nestled at the base of Mt. Hood. My main purpose there on the 19th of February was to attend a test comprised of most all of his kid students which, of course, included his own children Ashley & Aaron, twelve and ten years old, respectively. The overall test was excellent, as usual for Mr. Williams’ students and inspirational for all those in attendance. It was especially gratifying for me because Ashley and Aaron tested for their Green Belts and I’ve had the privilege of being on all of their tests except for their Yellow Belt. We anticipate many great things from Mr. Williams in the years to come.

On Friday, February 26th, I once again was invited to sit on a Test Board. This time, however, the request came from the Senior Advisor to the U.K.S. and my very close friend, Mr. Bob Liles. The test was held at his Sacramento dojo and featured Renee Neal, Noelle Peterson, Fernando Navarro and Henri Lam testing form 2nd Black and Mr. Mark Ainsley testing for his 5th Degree Black Belt. This group of Martial Artists put on one of the best Kenpo demonstrations, by a long shot, that I’ve ever seen - and I’ve seen a lot! Our Congratulations go out to them and their Instructor, Mr. Liles. The Test Board was comprised of Mr. Steve Archer, Guest Member Dave Kovar, Mr. Andre Sims, Howard ‘Keep In Touch’ Silva and, of course, myself and Mr. Liles. Mr. Parker would have been proud!

The next morning Mr. Silva, Mr. Liles and myself traveled North, 45 miles to the beautiful town of Auburn, California. Mr. Andre Sims, a 29-year veteran of Kenpo and student of Mr. Liles, hosted a seminar for me at his dojo. Not only was it good to see and work with his students, but a number of black belts from various Kenpo backgrounds were there and enjoyed the opportunity to blend their energies with Black Belts of direct Ed Parker lineage. Our Thanks go out to Mr. Sims and his students, especially the Christiansen Family for hosting a successful event and continuing to spread the word of Kenpo.

Although I unfortunately could not attend, there was a test held in New Orleans, Louisiana, on February 14, 1999. The test was for Mr. Rod Henson testing for the level of 2nd Degree Black Belt. Mr. Henson is a student of Mr. Mike Billings of Austin, Texas and is a superb technician and one of the true ‘gentlemen’ of the Martial Arts. He has been relocated to Sumatra, Indonesia by his company so I’m sure we’ll have a school affiliation there in no time! To Rod Henson - Good Luck and Congratulations!

Back to top of page