Why good basics matter
Introduction My recent article about Ed Parker's basics in 1963 provoked a storm of protest and understandably so: he is the "senior grandmaster" of practically all kenpo lineages in America. It seems sacrilegious to call his technique into doubt - even in 1963. Well in fairness to Ed Parker, I did find some footage of him kicking in his later years - it looks like the '80s - and I have to say the kick is perfectly functional. In fact, he breaks some boards (something Parker seems to have done quite well) and the kicks and punches were well up to the task. So I post the video by way of "atonement" for my comment that I doubted his technique would have improved in later years. It clearly did. Whatever one might say of Ed Parker, he was not one to rest on his laurels as I had so dismissively (as well as rashly and unfairly) assumed. But if there is any "silver lining" in this whole debate it is this: a discussion has ensued about the ...