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Unifying Diversity: Tournament 2002

By William Joseph Pemberton

It has been an eventful year for our nation and the world, much of it less than positive. It is in times like these that discipline, loyalty and community are most important. It is times like these that a sense of belonging to something greater than yourself can give hope for the future. These are, indeed, the times that try men’s souls and these are, by extension, the times when we must feed our souls by coming together in brotherhood and sisterhood for the greater good of all.

In our Kenpo community we have two times of the year when we join together as a family to share this sense of purpose. In these times of fear and divisiveness it is most important to share the common ideals of physical, mental and spiritual growth as a reminder that we all spring from the same source, walk the same path.

With this in mind, the camp, which is right around the corner, is a symbol of our unity and common purpose while the tournament, which we celebrated last May, is a symbol of our uniqueness within that common purpose. Our tournaments are a reminder that people with diverse backgrounds can come together to share those differences in love and honor and, through this sharing, grow as individuals and as a group.

This year’s tournament was, in many ways, one of the most successful. The number of spectators who came to see a group of men and women drawn together by a common bond was the largest ever to grace our space.

As always, the sportsmanship and camaraderie were unassailable. In fact, it was more so this year than in previous years. Not one person showed themselves to be small or petty in their competitive attitude. Not one outburst was heard. This was, as always, illustrated best by the Brown and Black Belts who, though throwing punches and kicks at one another, never lost control and never showed anything but the greatest respect for one another or their art

Of course, no tournament is ever complete without the schools who bring their students out, sometimes great distances, to join in our morning and afternoon of fun and togetherness. The schools this year were Steve Spry Karate Institute from Huntington Beach, Deloa’s Kenpo Karate from Bellflower, Tony Martin’s Kenpo Karate from Ventura, American Kenpo Concepts from Arcadia, Jim Diggs Kenpo Karate from Victorville, National Kenpo Karate in Ventura, Cornejo’s Kickers from Santa Monica, Ed Parker’s Kenpo from Pasadena, Two Dragons Martial Arts from Pasadena, Harris Kenpo from Mira Loma, Kenpo Karate from Woodland Hills, Poway Kenpo Karate from Poway, Akutagawa Kenpo Karate from Marina Del Rey, Paul Dye’s Kenpo Karate from Covina, Edward Chavez Karate Institute from Buena Park, Pearl of Wisdom Kenpo Karate from Los Alamitos, Advanced Academy of Martial Arts from Mission Hills, Scholar and Warrior Kenpo Karate from Pasadena and Steve Cooper’s Kenpo. If I have missed any schools here I apologize for the oversight as it is the schools that makes the tournament as well as the art. Without the foundation of the students our art would die, as would any community.

As in years past, one of the highlights of the tournament is the presence of several luminaries, the pioneers, of our community. These are the people through whom Ed Parker has passed this art to us, the folks toward whom we should all look for guidance and inspiration. This years Seniors were Joe Hyams (co-author of “The Journey”, the oral history of many of those who led the way for us), Chuck Sullivan, Vic LeRoux, Jack Autry, George Waite, Edmund Parker Jr., Robert Temple, Frank Trejo and Robert Liles. These names should all be familiar to the true student of Kenpo as they are the men who sacrificed their time, aspects of their lives and, in many ways, their bodies to help refine this art that we must never take for granted. We should always take time to remember and understand our history, our roots, the path that others have cleared to give us this art that we do not ever take it for granted. That, it seems, is the real joy of the tournament and the upcoming camp, to celebrate our shared history and to walk together in our diversity into the future that we are, with our every breath, building.

As always, we must remember Ed Parker and his gift, the legacy he has left for us, and our own Mr. Bryan Hawkins who, through his time and, more importantly, his example has kept the dream alive for us all to share.

Once again, thank you for keeping the flame.

See you next time..

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