Ed Parker facts for kids

Edmund Kealoha Parker (born March 19, 1931 – died December 15, 1990) was a very important American martial artist. He was a senior grandmaster and the person who created American Kenpo Karate. He was also an actor and stunt performer.

Life Story of Ed Parker

Ed Parker was born in Hawaii. He started learning Judo when he was young. Later, he also studied boxing. In the 1940s, he learned about a martial art called Kenpō from Frank Chow. Frank Chow then introduced Ed Parker to William Chow. William Chow was a student of James Mitose.

Ed Parker trained with William Chow while he was in the Coast Guard. He also went to Brigham Young University. In 1953, he earned his black belt. Ed Parker saw that the old Kenpo style didn't always fit modern situations. So, he changed the art to make it work better for self-defense in America. He named his new style American Kenpo Karate.

How Ed Parker Became Successful

In 1954, Ed Parker opened the first karate school in the western United States. This school was in Provo, Utah. By 1956, he opened another school in Pasadena, California. James Ibrao was the first person to earn a black belt from Ed Parker. Charles Beeder was his first brown belt student.

Ed Parker was very good at business. He helped many other martial artists open their own schools. He was also well-known in Hollywood. There, he trained many stunt performers and famous people. One of his most famous students was the singer Elvis Presley. Ed Parker even gave Elvis a first-degree black belt in Kenpo.

Some of his world-famous grand master students include Bob White, Richard "Huk" Planas, Larry Tatum, Ron Chapel, and Frank Trejo. Ed Parker also helped Bruce Lee become famous across the country. He introduced Bruce Lee at his Long Beach International Karate Championships. Ed Parker also worked as one of Elvis Presley's bodyguards during Elvis's last years. People who practice Kenpo often call him the "Father of American Kenpo." His formal title is Senior Grand Master of American Kenpo.

Ed Parker's Hollywood Work

Ed Parker had a small career as an actor and stunt performer in Hollywood. His most famous movie was Kill the Golden Goose. In this film, he acted alongside Hapkido master Bong Soo Han. He also played himself as a mercenary in the 1979 action movie Seven.

He also had uncredited roles (meaning his name wasn't shown in the credits) in Revenge of the Pink Panther and Curse of the Pink Panther. He was one of the teachers for action movie star Jeff Speakman. Ed Parker also helped create the fight scenes for Speakman's movie The Perfect Weapon. This movie came out in 1991, shortly after Parker passed away.

You can see Ed Parker with Elvis Presley in the beginning of the 1977 TV special "Elvis in Concert". Ed Parker even wrote a book about his time traveling with Elvis.

How Ed Parker Trained

Ed Parker's father enrolled him in Judo classes when he was twelve. He earned his first black belt (called Shodan) in Judo in 1949, when he was eighteen. After getting his brown belt in Kenpo, he moved to the mainland United States. He went to Brigham Young University, where he started teaching martial arts. His Kenpo black belt diploma is dated 1953.

At first, Ed Parker's style was influenced by Japanese and Okinawan martial arts. His book Kenpo Karate, published in 1961, showed many strong, straight movements. These movements were different from other styles.

Later, he started to be influenced by Chinese martial arts. He added this new information to his system. After leaving the Coast Guard and finishing college, he settled in Southern California. There, he met many other martial artists. They were from different styles and were happy to share their knowledge with him. Parker met people who practiced arts like Five Family Fist Kung Fu, Splashing-Hands, San Soo, T'ai Chi, and Hung Gar. These influences are still seen in American Kenpo today.

Because he learned new Chinese training ideas, he wrote a second book. It was called Secrets of Chinese Karate and was published in 1963. In this book, Parker compared karate (which was more known in the US at the time) to the Chinese methods he learned and taught.

Ed Parker's Passing

Ed Parker, who owned many karate schools around the world, died from a heart attack. This happened on Saturday, December 15, 1990. He was 59 years old and had just arrived at Honolulu International Airport.

Movies Ed Parker Was In

TV Shows Ed Parker Was In

See also

In Spanish: Ed Parker para niños