Senior Grandmaster Edmund K. Parker Sr. is considered the father of American Kenpo Karate.

William K. S. Chow first met and taught the well-known and undisputed “Father” of today’s American Kenpo Karate, Senior Grandmaster Edmund Kealoha Parker Sr. in the Hawaiian Islands.

Mr. Parker realized the need for new innovations to combat modern day methods of fighting. He developed new concepts, theories, and principles that are practical in today’s environment. Every action from your opponent creates an opportunity for you where you can use an unending flow of motion. Every block is a strike and every strike is a block.

Parker Kenpo Karate is fit to the individual. It is very self-defense oriented and allows flexibility for you to draw from all of your body’s natural weapons in an overwhelming flow of circular and linear motions. This art can be practiced by anyone regardless of height, weight, age, or sex against single or multiple attackers.

In 1954, Mr. Parker moved from Honolulu to Provo, Utah and opened the first commercial karate studio in the United States. Mr. Parker graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Sociology and Psychology. During his days at BYU, he opened a class on campus and began teaching. After some exposure at a basketball game, he was recruited to teach local police officers various techniques. He taught them and they came back to him with feedback, having used those techniques in real combat.

It was there that he began to analyze how techniques are put together and the balance between circular and linear motions. A circular motion becomes a linear move and a linear move becomes a circular motion. Mr. Parker then moved to California and opened his second school. Within two years, he was teaching well-known Hollywood and entertainment personalities and had actors using martial arts in movies. From his schools came a variety of well-known individuals and from his tournaments, many got much-needed exposure.

Grandmaster Parker passed away on December 15, 1990 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Mr. Parker was a genius and pioneer that shared his vision with all who listened. He will be missed, but never forgotten.