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Fat-Free Kenpo: Training Camp 2003

by William Joseph Pemberton  

Skim Milk. Non-fat desserts. Diet this and sugar-free that. It seems that everywhere we look they are taking away the excess until only the basics remain. In one’s diet this can be extremely boring, taking the taste and enjoyment with it until, in our obsession with lean, we have nothing left save the vacuum of our blander selves. On the weekend of September 26, 27, and 28, we saw the other side of a non-fat diet. In an art as rich as Kenpo, with its ability to adapt and grow and experiment, there are bound to be some excess calories and fat that come with the richest meals. This is not always bad, nor is it always good, it simply means that the students must, as they grow, decide what to trim and what to keep to most enrich their own plates. It can be a daunting task for the more advanced student. For the beginning student it can be absolutely overwhelming. For all, it can be, and usually is, invigorating.

One thing that stands out in this year’s camp is the unprecedented lack of excess in every class and group. In fact, there was so much information and so little surplus that by lunch the first day most heads were spinning with new ways to look at old ideas. To see this, all one has to do is broach the subject of this year’s camp with any student, adult or child, who was in attendance and see the confused radiance that lights up their faces. Never has the post-camp glow been so brightly alive with the passion for Kenpo so that even those who were not there are vibrating with the energy.

For the third year in a row the camp was held outside, where the environment was more like the realistic world in which we find ourselves in our daily lives. No training mats. No bare feet. Just lean Kenpo, cooked to perfection.

Some of our past friends had to forgo this year’s camp as their journeys take them in different directions. Others continued on the road with us and left more than we could give back in a lifetime. Some came along for the first time as we join to share the offering of brotherhood and sisterhood that is the legacy of Mr. Parker.

Returning this year were Mr. Albert Cornejo, Mr. Paul and Mrs. Patty Dye, Mr. Howard Silva, and Mr. Patrick Pace to share more of their always-provocative and enlightening observations, experiences and insights into an already abundant art. From our own school we must again thank Mr. Gurujodha Singh Khalsa, Mr. Wesley Idol III, Mr. Scott Higgins and Mr. Steve Tapper. From these Kenpoists alone could our vessels be filled to overwhelming but this year we had the distinct privilege of studying with one of the legends of Kenpo, featured in The Journey, and expert in knife-making and fighting . . . Mr. Michael Pick, Sr. Mr. Pick brought his no holds barred, non-fat, non-BS form of Kenpo to Culver City and the city may never be the same. The honor of studying with such a man is second only to the humility with which he shares his lifetime of observations and experiences.

Perhaps the greatest gift that Edmund K. Parker left us, among the many, is Kenpo’s ability to adapt to the times and the individual. Never is this so obvious than at the camp as one gapes in awe as Mr. Dye opens the concepts of the Kata to the hungry mind and Mr. Pick offers understanding of Kenpo applications. The love of the art illustrated by all instructors and the love of one another and all their Kenpo family and the individuality and uniqueness they bring cannot be summed up in the words of one short article.

The dinner on Saturday night, where many of us come together as human beings to share good company, good drink and good food is one of the true highlights of the weekend where we get to doff our gis and don our finest and share of ourselves on a more personal level. Of course, the instructors and many of the students were there laughing and enjoying one another but there are always those who join us for dinner whose busy schedules do not allowed them to spend the earlier part of the day. Anyone who has read The Journey must be immediately familiar with the names of Mr. Joe Hyams and Mr. Tom Bleeker who put on paper the oral history of much of our art. Also, homage was paid to the Senior Grand Master himself by the presence of his son, Mr. Edmund Parker Jr. who has been a long time friend of UKS and who has always made time to drop by to our various events.

In the foment of the early days, when Mr. Parker was refining the art to which he devoted his life, there were many who helped in many ways. One such man of whom Mr. Parker spoke often was Terry Robinson. In book one of Infinite Insights Into Kenpo Mr. Parker writes that “if I owe any one man credit for starting me on the road to success in business, it would be Terry Robinson.” Mr. Robinson brought Mr. Parker to the attention of many celebrities and opened the doors to the Beverly Wilshire Health Club which aided Mr. Parker in getting the word of the great art to the public. Mr. Parker had the skill, dedication and creativity but without public awareness skill is difficult to share. The world grows best when private knowledge is made public and this, along with his loyal friendship, is Mr. Robinson’s great gift to the art of Kenpo. To have this man break bread with us gives resounding voice to the friendship shared between these two men of great depth, insight and talent and the bond forged between men of integrity that cannot, even in death, be broken.

This year’s event was further enhanced by the presence of a hero who, during the most recent war in Iraq, actually risked his life to carry one of his brothers in arms to safety as the Iraqi army tried to kill him. After Mr. Dye’s passionately affecting speech many of us went over to talk to Mr. Scott Montoya who responded with such humility that his heroism could only be enhanced. His mantra of “I was just doing my job” was so sincere that one could not help admire a man whose job included having people shoot at him while insisting it was no big deal. Special thanks to those whose “jobs” are to fight in the name of our nation and whose “jobs” often include sacrifices that go unnoticed and unheralded . . . And to their families and friends who live in fear that they may never see their loved ones again. May they all come home safe and secure and here’s to hoping the killing and bloodshed can stop honorably and with freedom to all nations.

Of course, each year there is a special award given to a person who has contributed above and beyond the call to the art and our association. This year there were two awards given.

It is always difficult to keep a secret in a small family, especially from one’s patriarch and friend. Of course, no one can operate in a vacuum, and Mr. Hawkins is no exception. Those of us who have known him for years know all that he has done for us. He has been honored and thanked and will continue to be so well into the future. This year the instructors at Bryan Hawkins Kenpo decided that it was time to thank a person whose sacrifice, love and sharing has to often gone unheralded . . . Melissa Hawkins. There are not enough awards on this planet to express our genuine respect and affection for this singularly giving person but with this award, given eloquently by Mr. Khalsa, we hope to express our love and gratitude to the woman who has given so much to so many with so little acknowledgment. The next time you see her give her a hug and a thank you.

The annual award this year was given to a man whose contribution is so profound that words and plaques cannot sum it up. He was a friend to our late Senior Grand Master, he is a friend to our current patriarch, and continues to be a friend to all of us. When one thinks the word humility his face comes to mind. When one hears the work loyalty . . . This man. Self sacrifice. Knowledge. And he has more stories to tell than could be contained in a hundred volumes. Buy him a beer and just sit back and listen, unless he gets to the bartender first, then the beer is on him and you get the story as an added bonus. His friendship is . . . There are not words to express. His reaction of honest emotion upon receiving this year’s award says it all. Never has a person received this award who more deserved it yet his surprised humility were so genuine that there was not a dry eye in the house. Mr. George Waite, we thank you, we honor you, we love you. May our journeys never diverge and may our friendship never wane for the greater loss would be, without doubt, to us. Here’s to you.

Of course, this dinner would not be possible without Mr. Idol and his family’s offering their establishment for our use so to him, and his new family, we must offer gratitude. Thanks Wes, Krista and Addison.

Finally, thanks to all those whose time were invaluable to putting an event like this together. Your help is always appreciated.

It is difficult to see how these camps can get any better or stronger but every year they somehow manage to do just that. This year, the feast of Kenpo was so richly lean and tight that there was not a wasted calorie to be found and the energy that has been stored for later use could sustain us for many long winters, even the forty degree ones in Los Angeles, and the enhanced enthusiasm for Kenpo is palpable. In this there is one group that has not yet been thanked and that is you, the students, for without you there would be no Kenpo because any banquet without the diners must surely perish and that is something that we must never happen let happen to this art we love. It is you who keep it alive and fresh for it is you who will carry it to succeeding generations. Thank you for the promise you give the future.

Finally, as always, thanks to Mr. Hawkins who is our father and has kept us together through it all. From our family to yours . . . Thank you.

See y’all next year.

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