AMERICAN KENPO KARATE A simple translation of Kenpo Karate would be "Law of the Fist and the Empty Hand". The exact history of Kenpo is unknown, but bits of information indicate Kenpo may have been practiced in India and China as long as five thousand years ago. The most popular story is that an Indian priest, Daruma is considered to be the forefather of modern day Kenpo. From China it crossed over to Okinawa and then in 1921 two Okinawa experts took their art to Japan. (Japanese martial arts are more straight line fighting styles, than the circular techniques of their Chinese cousins.) These same arts, influenced by the Chinese, were brought to the Hawaiian Islands. It was here that Senior Grand Master Ed Parker learned these arts under one of the world's leading Black Belt holders and American innovators of the art, Professor William K. S. Chow. In addition to Professor Chow's modifications, Mr. Parker also realized the need to revise the old methods to cope with modern day fighting. Thus the Kenpo system is unique, practical, realistic and applicable. It encompasses logic, reasoning and theoretical innovations not found in other systems as it continues to evolve under the direction of Skip Hancock.