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Who is The Rightful Heir To Fd Parker's Kenpo Karate
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TIGHTFUL
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EU PARI{EROS
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Inteniew by Tony Cogliandro und Leonurd M. Brassurd, Ph,D.
In the aftermuth of Etl Parker's death, the American kenpo karste
communitT hcts been left without a leader. Parker's International
Kenpa Kcrate Assacicttion (IKKA1 lus regyouped under Leilani
Parker, the.f'ounder',s l+,itftnu, who htrs as,wmed the role of pre.siden 1
and who, togerher v'ith her.family, is acfininislering the IKzu
schools. One of the.iir.sr ucts of this ilew mancgement teum v'as ilte
creutiort of u council trs oversee cnd regulate the pradice qf the
Pctrker sltstem internatiorrtrlly. These indivicluctls clectrllt hs ve
nîancrgement appror:al to lead the IKKA memhership v'ell inlo the
next cetrft,r);.
It[oticeably absent.from lhe cuncil ttppointees were ht,o individtals
who were./brmalllt ,selecled b7, Ed Parker tct sert:e in leadership
roles vrithin the IKKA prior to the Jbunder's death. The pair-Richard
"Htrk" Plctttas snd Joe Pslanzo-,servec{ as IKKA executive vicepresident and tice-president, respectit,ely, for nruch o.f the 198ts. So
"I de|.7, anlone to shott me u
prominent were lheir role,s wilhin the IKKA thsl lheir signatures
new technique. All anyone is
joined Parker's an all IKKA rank certificates. Both men *-ere
ever going to shat: me is u ttelr
promulgotion o./ Parker ketpc, in tlte ( !n!tet!
ending that someone else made itntrttmentnl in tlte
States ancf orersens. Although omitted.from rhe nev IKKA cotnrcil,
up.
Palanzo v,as appointed one of three East (-.oast regional directors
cntd Plarrts v,,cts uskeol lo ,serve on on Esst ('onsl black bell pronutlianal bou'd. Concerned by the
fact thcrt none af the current IKKA hr(rilagement team hos odvunced
martial arts experience, Plonas c{ecided to join Palffitzo in lhe
formatiorr of a ne\t, n?srlial arts arganization dedicatecl to
preseruing whcrt Plsnas beIieves'ttre the originctl interpretalions
Parker esiablished.for the self-clefen.se technique.s andform.s of
Aruericurr kenpo. Thus, the Worldwide Kenpo Karate Associcttion
was boril in Baltimore earlier this year, +yilh Palanzo .çening a.ç
president cnrcl Plantts asurwing the role of executive vice-pre,sident.
Nov,, after c{ecutles of'chosen obscurity, Planûs is stepping <tut of
Parker's shadow cntd into the spotlight as one af the most
btot+,ledgetthle individuals irt the Americcm kenpo.systen?. In the
following intervieu,', his first for a martial arts trtublicutiort sirtce
Psrker's dettth, Planss .speak.s canditllT,about his relaîion.ship willt
lont'itro
ntu,l trtr
hi. tt"o/
tçnrr\' /À,' tçct
I ttté|
tçtr\trt,t
rhe forner grandma.;ler, his viet+,s on the res*ucturing r4r *e !KK4, qt.q
Jrlt
the IKI{A and.joining the \T.KKA. -T.he Editors.
mBLACKBELT:WhatwasyourcapacitywiththeInternational
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Who Is The Rightful Heir To Ed Parker's Kenpo Karate
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Kenpo Karate Association (IKKA) prior to Ed Parker naming you
the executive vice-president?
RICHARD PLANAS: Well, back in the late 1960s, I used to run
'When
his Pasadena, California school.
we started growing and
opening other schocls all over the country, we had what we called a
"road team," and I was one of the road team. Almost every day I w
as at a different school, teaching the school managers and
instructors.
BB: Was anyone else besides yourself and Parker qualified to teach
the other instructors?
PLANAS: Not really, because the material was basically new then.
Tom Kelly, Mr. Parker and I wrote the original manuals back in the
late'60s. So no one else at that time knew the material.
BB: So you wsre one of two individuals who together with Parker
created-the-original American kenpo manuals?
PLANAS: A lot of the original terminology in the kenpo system is
Richurd "Huk' Planas (above) mine, as well as a lot of the technique material. I keep hearing about
this "nei.v" kenpo system, but there is nothing ner,v. I de$r anyone to
was one of the late kenpo
grandmarter Ed Parker's right- show me a new technique. All anyone is ever going to show me is a
hand men. Afier Paùer's death, new ending that someone else made up. If you show
me a new
ltowev er, Plan as b eeume
ending, I'11 shaw you five new endings you've never sccn before. The
disenchanted with the new
endings are not the meat of the system. The meat is in the base move
IKK4 and leftfor the WKKtl.
that shows you what you caii do. Once you've learned tlie base
moves, then you can develop dillerent extensions. Kenpo is nothing but principles of motion. You
can do many things as long as you follow the rules.
BB: Do you feel that Parker named you the IKKA's executive vice-president because he felt you
were his most knowledgeable assistant?
PLANAS: There are probably several reasons why the old man (Parker) chose me. He used to get
mad at me for teaching too much and for teaching some people material that he didn't want them
to know. After that, when I did a seminar, I would clear with the o ld man what he did and didn't
want me to teach. There was a lot of material I know he didn't cover with certain people. The
reasûns why he selectively taught this way, we'll probably never know.
BB: Have you studied other martial arls and, if so, how do you compare them to Parker kenpo?
PLANAS: Parker wanted us to study other systems so we would know what we were talking
about when we talked to people from other systems. We never tried in kenpo to brainwash anyone
into thinking that ours is the best system there is and that everything el se is garbage. Kenpo is not
for everyone. There are some people who would much rather be practicing another system, and
that's fine. All we try to do in kenpo is make sure the student has a choice. That's the reason we
put the new association, the Worldwi de Kenpo Karate Associatian (WKKA) together. The people
who wanted to study Parker's kenpo basically never had a choice of associations before. Back in
the old days, when Steve Labounty, one of my first instructors, couldn't make a go of it with his
schoo l, the old man decided to close it. So Steve went to San Francisco and started the National
Chinese Kenpo Karate Associatian and nobody got in an uproar, ncbody cared anything about it.
l.Iow Joe ?alanzo and I come along and do the same thing, and all hell breaks loose. There is also
something I want to square away about the term "old man." A lot of the newer guys in the IKKA
a:e saying "Don't call Mr. Parker the 'old man.' That's disrespectful." These people don't know
what's going on. The old man was a s ailor in the Coast Guard, and that's how we got the term for
him. He would talk about guys who got in trouble and would have to go see the "old man,"
meaning the captain of the ship. So we used to say to Mr. Parker "You're the old man of the
system." And he'd say "Yeah, that's right." There's more respect in that than calling him "Mr."
Everyone's a Mr., but there is only one old man. To the old timers, the old man will always be the
old man.
BB: Do you feel the IKKA died with Parker?
I
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V/ho ls The Riehtful Heir To Ed Parker's Kenpo Karate
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PLANAS: Yes, no question about it. lt's not just my opinion. Even a
lot of the newer IKKA people say that. They know that the IKKA
was the old man, so when he died, it basically died with him.
BB: Were Parker's family members training in martial ans while you
were with the IKKA?
PLAF{AS: The kids were for a while. I used to teach them at the
Pasadena school when they were very young: To them, karate was
just like a game of tag. They weren't really interested in learning the
art, but now they are interested in running the IKKA. But karate
people follow karate people. Karate people are not going to followsomeone who doesn'f know what an inward block is. They want to
follow people they respect for the art.
BB: Following Parker's death, a lot of changes took place within the
IKKA that have caused divisions in the kenpo community. V/hat
happened to cause longtime IKKA members like yourseif to become "A lotaf
the n-ex.er guis h the
IKKA ute sar-ing 'Don't call Mr,
Parker the old wan. Tleu!'s
dissatisfiçd?
PLANAS: It's about power struggles and "r.vanna-bes." Everyone
disrespectful.' These people
dsn't knort'y,hst's goixg cn."
wanted to be llr. Parker's right-hand man. He told manir people
things that led them to believe they were going to be put in certain
positions or given certain roles within the organization. He of ten told people what they wanted to
hear and led people to believe that he was teaching them when he really w-asn't. I would hear how
certain people claimed to have taken private lessons with Mr. Parker fbr years. So I would watch
them and think to myself that if theSz had taken privates, they hadn't learned anything. I would then
talk to the old man about these people and he would tell me what w-as really going on. There are
lots of people Mr. Parker didn't want to teach, and didn't teach, although they thought they were
being taught bi' him. Basically, he would give th em the runaround.
BB: Why weren't you considered as a successor to Parker in the
IKKA?
PLAI\AS: Following Mr. Parker's death, I got a lot of phone calls
from people telling me "You're the man now; you've got to keep the
organization going." I said "No!" You see, these people were just
going by the structure they knew. They were saying that the old man
was president, I was executive vice president, and Joe Palanzo was
vice-president. So when the old man died, they naturally thought I
would become the IKKA president, Joe the executive vice-president,
and soon. But Mr. Parker never indicated that this is what he wanted
to have happen after his death. So when the family decided to
Follmdng Mr. Parker's death,
dissolve the IKK A and restructure it. I didn't even think about why.
I goi a |ot af phoite callsfroni
With the old man gone, this seemed like the natural thing to do.
people telling me 'You're the
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I said 'No.' "
PLANAS: The WKKA is basicallv no different than the old IKKA
The WKKA is basically letting people go on training and teaching in the way they were used to.
We're not going to tel! ani/one r,vhai to teach or how to teach it. N4r. Parker kne'"v that you can
only teach the art to people who want to learn it. If someone doesn't want to know the system, you
can't force it down his throat. There are a lot of kenpo schools out there that just want some
afïliation to give out certi{icates to students and verifii their ranks. We can provide that within the
WKKA
BB: Do you think Parker believed that when he was gone. the organization was going to fall apart
no matter how he had put it together?
PLANAS: Yes, I think he knew that. It's like history repeating itself.
He saw whæ happened w-hen (Masatoshi) Nakayama died in Japan. it
caused a big split over there in the Japan Karate Association. A
similar thing ïappened with the jujitsu people when Pr ofessor
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Who Is The Rightful Heir To Ed Parker's Kenpo Karate
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(Henry S.) Okazaki died in Hawaii. Then you had Professor (William
K.S.) Chow dying several years ago, and most recently (Robert)
Trias' death. Following each of those deaths, people started up new
assoeiations and caused splits. So the split betw een the IKI(A and
the SfKKA is like history repeating itself. The WKKA w-as formed
because the Parker family never got a hold of any of the senior
instructors and asked "What are we going to do? "They just tbllowed
the advice of several wanna-bes and ended u p saying to all of us
"This is the way it's going to be." They gave us an ultimatum: "Either
you're going to follorv our new-rules or you're out." So some of us
senior instructors started the WI(KA, because the IKKA chose not
to include our opinions in the restructuring of the organization.
Since leaving Ed Parker's
Instead, they chcse to pretend that lve don't exist. But .;;e do exist,
Inter n atioii iil Kenpo Kari;ie
Association for the Worlùdde
and w-e have a large following. It was actually Joe Palanzo's idea to
Kenpo Karate Association,
form the WKKA. He figureci that the more original Ii(KA ofiicers
Richurd Planas htts stepped into
who stuck together, the more credibility the WKKA would have.
tlte i n str u ction a! spotl ig !tt.
BB: If the Parker familv had asked senior instructors to help
restructure the IKKA, do you think the split could ha."'e been prevented?
Now they're realizing their mistake, but of
+ PLANAS: Definitely.
'We
gave them plenty'of chances. We made plenty
course it's too late.
of phone calls. But all we heard was "No, no, no!" and finally we got
tired of it. Then, after ever54hing broke loose, the y said "Oh, we
-.'-'%l1
screwed up. Let's try to save it. " But it's too.far gone to save.
BB: Do you feel there should be another grandmaster of American
kenpo? Can anyone fill Parker's shoes?
PLANAS: No one is ever soinq to fill the old man's shoes.
BB: Never?
PLANAS: It{o. Itrs going to be just like Bruce Lee. He is going to be
:ËS,,,.,,ffitffiæs#i
bigger in death than he was in life.
BB: Why?
PLANAS: That's just the way history goes. Why is it an artist's
paintings are not worth a thing when he is alive, but are worth
thousands wlæn he is dead?
BB:Do you u,,ant to be the heir to
Parker's American kenpo
grandmaSterShiO?
In asklitiotr to his extensive it
r Ê- r^-^'L
PLANAS:
For the record, you will
^ ^l
kenpo karate trainïng,
never hear.rne claiminc the title of
Richurd Plsnashas tt
grandmaster.
The old man n€\€r ev€n
background in Fîlipîno stick
fighting. Planas is currently liked the term "master. " Because of his
serving as the executive vice- religiouS beliefs, he said there is Only One
president oJ the wKI{'4'
-urter. He never chose the title master;
people hung thal title o n him.
BB: So you didn't help form the WKKA to make a naÊle fior yourself
or to take Parker's place?
PLAF,I-AS:No, no. l went with the \ryKKA because it recognized
me, whereas the IKKA did not recognize me or my position, nor did
the IKKA af any time ask for my opinion while iJ was restructuring
the crganization. {f Joe Palanzo hadn't asked rae to join the WKK,{
I'd be doing my own thing. People have wanted me to start my own
association for a iong time, but i wouicin't cio it. I said maybe after
the old man died I misht do it. But now I really have no desire to.
"For the r€cûrtl !:oa nill net'er
hear me claiming the title of
grandm*;ter...N <me is evet
going to.fill the old man's
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