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The Life & Arts of MISTER PARKER
(Documentary)
Legacy of the American Kenpo Legend
A tribute by Frank
Trejo
Mister Ed
Parker was born in Hawaii in 1931 and began training in the
martial arts at a young age in judo and later boxing. During the
1940s, Parker was first introduced to Kenpō by Frank Chow. He
introduced Parker to William Chow, a student of James Mitose who
trained Parker while serving in the Coast Guard and attending
Brigham Young University. In 1953 he was promoted to the rank of
black belt. Parker, seeing that modern times posed new
situations that were not addressed in Kenpo, adapted the art to
make it more easily applicable to the streets of America and
called his style, American Karate. Parker opened the first
"Americanized" karate school in the western United States in
Provo, Utah in 1954. By 1956, Parker opened a dojo in Pasadena,
California. Parker was well known for his business creativity
and helped many martial artists open their own dojos. He was
well known in Hollywood where he trained a great many stunt men
and celebrities; most notable was Elvis Presley, to whom he
eventually awarded an eighth degree black belt in Kenpo. He left
behind a great number of grand masters who are known around the
world to this day such as Al Tracy, Frank Trejo... Parker helped
Bruce Lee gain national attention by introducing him at his
International Karate Champion- ships. He served as one of Elvis
Presley's bodyguard during the singer's final years, did movie
stunt-work and acting, and was one of the Kenpo instructors of
martial arts action movie actor Jeff Speakman. Mister Parker is
best known to Kenpoists as the founder of American Kenpo and is
referred to fondly as the "Father of American Kenpo". Edmund K.
Parker died in Honolulu of a heart attack on December 15, 1990.
His widow Leilani Parker died on June 12, 2006. Of their four
surviving children, only his son, Ed Parker Jr., remains active
in the system his father created. Item # em3-3199 ISBN:
852668418778 TRT: 70minutes
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