Kenpo Black Belt? See If You Qualify To Be In A New Book!

A few years back, I published the first volume of 'The Kenpo Continuum’. The book is a collection of stories about kenpo enthusiasts who have dedicated their every spare moment, or at least spent a whole lot of years, studying Kenpo karate. I am working hard on composing volume 2 of the book and am looking for new stories to add. To qualify, you must be a black belt in Kenpo Karate and have at least 10 yrs. of time on the mat. Your type of kenpo isn’t important, as far as qualifying, because I am searching for kenpo practitioners from all varieties of lineages. The book isn’t about ego-stroking or showing off, it’s about remembering our Kenpo roots and recording where the many branches have gone. The following is my career, as included in the first volume.



My Kenpo karate story began in the year 1979, when I was 11 years old. My good friend at the time, Roben, was signed up for a kenpo class and because I wanted to be closer friends with her, I made the decision to start the class as well. (It worked out; we were great buddies for many years.) I knew nothing about the style, but was blessed to end up in an American Kenpo karate school, which took place at the Belmont, CA YMCA. My first teacher was Vinton Koklich. I stayed at that dojo for a bit over 4 years until my family moved up to Sacramento. The class was once per week and because I never practiced, I left there an advanced purple belt. But -- I was addicted. I had received my initial taste of Kenpo and there was no going back.

I took time off from kenpo to become adjusted to the move, but when a year or so had passed, I started my search for a Kenpo school. American kenpo is the type of thing that gets addicting in every way. It is not possible to keep away from it. I also found that there wasn’t any other sort of exercise that held any interest for me. I tested the waters at a couple of schools until eventually I found one I liked. One day, after I walked in before class, I saw a black belt there stretching, who I hadn’t met before. I greeted him , then introduced myself, then I proceeded with my stretching, then katas.



He watched me for a bit, left the workout room, returned, took my practice sheet, and instructed me to follow him. He took me into 1 of the little curtained areas where they did private sessions, and announced, “I’m your instructor now.� Uh, okay. His name is Ray Arquilla.



I learned to have a fascination for American kenpo beginning with Vinton, but I think I formed my passion for Kenpo karate from Ray. He cleaned up my basics and taught me how to train. And BOY, did we train! I was 17, so the three hr. twice-weekly workouts had been easier to handle then. I was , as it happened, the only woman in the class, so practically killed myself keep pace with the guys. We undertook some nutty workouts. One that sticks out was the fiveam, crack-of-dawn, dead of winter, up-in-the-hills, on a Sundayworkout, near the river. Near the end of the killer workout, Ray announced, “I want you to follow what I do - no hesitation. Is that clear?� YES SIR! Then, he charged down the hill, through the brush and dived headfirst into the freezing cold river! I was clearly a little nuts back then as well because I took the dive - with only a tiny hesitation. (GOD, I HATE cold water!) Objectively-speaking, it was a really short swim, but I still nearly froze in place. The guy helping us on the other shore said that my head poked up so high from the river that I looked like a turtle.



It was great though. I stayed at his school, learning much more than I can say, for close to two yrs.



I later learned from Bob Liles for roughly a year and a half, during the time I was around 20), then later left for a few yrs. to attend college along with other obligations.



One of the benefits to being at his dojo was that I was able to attend a seminar given by, as well as being an uke for, Mr. Ed Parker Sr., the previous year before he passed. I later moved down to Marin County, where I went to Marin Kenpo, where I became the student of Richard LaFave. He has since passed, but I learned a good deal in my brief time under his instruction. I had to stop training prior to his passing because I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Disease (Lymphoma). I was deathly ill for about eighteen months, with another year or two for overall healing. I tried several different Kenpo karate dojos during my recovery, but none of them proved good for me.



Eventually, I came across Darryl Liner’s school, at which I trained for about a year and a half, leaving after I became pregnant. 1 kid turned into 2 - (it’s like magic) so after what seemed like a blink, it had been six years that I’d been away from my art. During that time, I’d grown to be resigned to never earning my black belt. When my boy was two, however, I started to feel the itch. I was sick of of feeling like an overweight, dowdy lump. (Raising kids has that affect on a person, especially a work-from-home mom.)



I returned to Liner’s school, where I eventually was awarded my shodan. The quest for black belt only took twenty-five years (total). I had my test at Larry Tatum’s 1st Las Vegas camp, in 2004. I felt totally prepared had been training really hard for that test, but, Murphy’s Law kicked in, so my 220lb. instructor landed on my knee sideways at the end of one of the first few techniques for the test. I limped heavily through the rest of the test (and the next half a year). Not the kick-butt impression I had hoped to make!



The moment I was promoted though, I began teaching a beginner’s adult class. I had always assisted at all of the schools I’d attended since becoming a blue belt, but this class was all mine. I loved it.



The only hard thing about going to that school was that I had nobody to with. I did a ton of Air Kenpo. I could demolish the air like nothing you’ve ever seen. After awhile, I found a great Kenpo forum (www.kenpotalk.com) at which I found kenpo lovers of like-mind as well as one of like-location: Through the forum, I met Tara Turnbull, who lives only 45 min. away. Darryl’s school was smack dab in between, so I invited her to join me for a workout and assist me in teaching my class. As she was also a kick-butt Air-Kenpoist, she jumped at the opportunity.



As luck would have it, she is a kick-butt Kenpoist too. We rapidly became friends and not long after my second degree black test, made a decision to break away and start a new school. Sacramento Kenpo Karate was born.



I was with no instructor for, but once having gone to quite a few kenpo camps along with seminars, I found a large group of kenpo practitioners who offered me assistance. Most of my instructors have been from the Tatum lineage and Tara’s has been in the Planas lineage, so we have a good deal to draw from. Our school (and me personally) were very lucky when Ron Nakamoto joined us in 2008. He is currently a 4th degree black belt in American Kenpo and has not only enhanced the overall quality of our dojo, but of my personal life too.



At SKK, we have used a lot of various dvds, including Larry Tatum’s and Mike Lambert’s, both of whom have influenced my art. I’ve also found Lee Wedlake to be a wealth of generous knowledge. Most recently, Dr. Dave Crouch has been my instructor (and very good friend) and We've found our kenpo philosophies to be quite similar. I can honestly say I have developed more as a kenpoist from him, in my relatively-small amount of mat time, than I’d learned in the many years at my previous school. He teaches kenpo in a conceptual way, which I can apply to every technique in the system. As Dr. Dave says, Kenpo is HOW you move, not the moves themselves. He is one of the most outstanding kenpoist I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. In September of 2011, he honored me by promoting me to 3rd degree black belt.



American kenpo has been tantamount in shaping as well as guiding my life. It has at all times been a source of strength for me. I have met some of my most valued friends by way of Kenpo (you know who you are!)



I attend camps and seminars whenever I am able, often taking hundreds of pictures at most every one. I do whatever I can to give back to the art that I am committed to so much.



Our website is the Sacramento Kenpo Karate. If you you’re a Kenpoist, then you are family. Join us anytime and be a part of a class. We’d love having you.

Amy Long is a 3rd degree black belt in the art of Kenpo karate as well as the author of the first volume for the Kenpo Continuum. She is currently looking for new stories to add for the next volume of stories.