Mixed or hybrid

American Kenpo Karate (/ˈkɛnpoʊ/), also known as American Kenpo and Kenpo Karate, is an updated system of martial arts based on modern-day street fighting that applies logic and practicality. It is characterized by the use of quick and powerful strikes delivered from all of the body's natural weapons, powered by rapid stance transitions, called "shifting." Beginners are introduced to basic attack responses, which comprise a larger system taught through scripted scenarios, which allow instructors a platform to share concepts and principles Ed Parker emphasized in his teachings. The purpose of training in this manner is to increase physical coordination and continuity with linear and circular motion. Each movement, when correctly executed, leads into the next, keeping an adversary's "dimensional zone" in check, while limiting their ability to retaliate. Should the adversary not react as anticipated, the skilled Kenpo practitioner, it is argued, is able to seamlessly transition into an alternative and appropriate action, drawn spontaneously from the trained subconscious.[2][3][4][5] Founded and codified by Ed Parker, American Kenpo is primarily a self-defense combat system. Parker made significant modifications to the original art of Kenpo which he learned throughout his life, by introducing or changing principles, theories, and concepts of motion, as well as terminology. At the time of his passing in December 1990, Parker had created Short Form 1, Long Form 1, Short Form 2, Long Form 2, Short Form 3, Long Form 3, Long Form 4, Long Form 5 (Surprise Attacks), Long Form 6 (Bare Hands vs. Weapons), Long Form 7 (Twin Clubs), and Long Form 8 (Twin Knives). Parker also created 154 named (ideal phase) technique sequences with 96 extensions, taught in three phases (Ideal, What-if and Formulation Phases). Parker believed in tailoring Kenpo to the individual and would also encourage his students to explore the unknown areas of martial arts. Parker left behind a large following of instructors who honored his teachings by implementing many different versions of American Kenpo. As Senior Grandmaster, Parker did not name a successor to his art, but instead entrusted his senior students to continue his teachings in their own way.

The modern history of American Kenpo began in the 1940s with James Mitose (1916–1981). Mitose and Parker were both students of William K. S. Chow (also known as Professor Chow, Thunderbolt Chow). Chow and his teacher, Thomas Young, handled much of the teaching of the martial arts, and Mitose advertised the club and organized demonstrations. However, Professor Chow thought of Mitose as "a con-artist who was all talk" and went to teach on his own. William Chow claimed to have studied multiple martial arts in Hawaii, including Chinese Kung Fu (Shaolin) from his father.[7] Chow eventually developed Kenpo Karate, which had a blend of linear and circular motion, and emphasized practical fighting techniques designed to outperform the various martial arts in the melting pot of Hawaii.[8][9] Chow experimented and modified his art, adapting it to meet the needs of American students.[8] Parker, dubbed The Magician of Motion, started his martial arts training in Judo, earning a black belt. He then studied western boxing from his father, a boxing commissioner in Hawaii, before eventually training and earning a black belt from Chow in Kenpo Karate. After Ed Parker moved to California, he cross-referenced his martial arts knowledge with Chinese martial arts masters in China. Parker hosted a large martial arts tournament, the Long Beach Internationals, where he analyzed the attending martial artists and improved his own system, eventually founding American Kenpo. Parker founded his own Kenpo association, The International Kenpo Karate Association (IKKA), after his students started teaching his art in other countries.[10][11] Al Tracy claims that Chow promoted Parker to sandan (3rd-degree black belt) in December 1961.[12] Parker started teaching other Hawaiian Islanders attending Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah in 1954. By 1956, he was teaching commercially in Provo.[11] Late in 1956, he opened a studio in Pasadena, California.[13] He published a book about his early system in 1960.[10] The book has a heavy Japanese influence, including the use of linear and circular movements, "focused" techniques and jujutsu-style locks, holds, and throws. When Parker increased the Chinese arts content of his system, he began to refer to his art as Chinese Kenpo. Based on this influence, he wrote Secrets of Chinese Karate,[14] published in 1963. The system which came to be known as American Kenpo was developed by Parker as his Specific System, and featured Parker's revisions of older methods to work in more modern fighting scenarios.[15] He heavily restructured American Kenpo's forms and techniques during this period. He moved away from methods that were recognizable from other arts (such as forms that were familiar within Hung Gar) and established a more definitive relationship between forms and the self-defense technique curriculum of American Kenpo. Parker also eschewed esoteric Eastern concepts and sought instead to express the art in terms of Western scientific principles and metaphors. During this time, Parker also dropped most Asian language elements and altered traditions in favor of American English. Parker continually developed his art, causing students to learn different curriculum interpretations and arrangements depending on when they studied with him. Since many instructors had gone their own ways and didn't continue with Parker's updating, Kenpo today has several different versions of techniques. None of the versions is wrong, as long as it works for the individual practitioner. This is what set Parker apart from many traditionalists who wanted to make students into exact replicas of their instructors. American Kenpo should be tailored to fit each individual student by a competent instructor. While Parker was labeled a rebel when he first introduced his revolutionary ideas, they have since been tested and proven by members of the military, law enforcement, and civilians. Many have successfully survived violent situations due to the training they received in American Kenpo. One of Parker's best-known students was singer/actor Elvis Presley.

Baguazhang or Pakua chang (Chinese: 八卦掌; pinyin: Bāguà Zhǎng) is one of the three main Chinese martial arts of the Wudang school, the other two being T'ai chi and Xing Yi Quan. It is more broadly grouped as an internal practice (or neijia quan). Bāguà zhǎng literally means "eight trigram palm," referring to the trigrams of the I Ching (Yijing), one of the canons of Taoism.

History

The creation of Baguazhang as a formalized martial art, is attributed to Dong Haichuan (董海川), who is said to have learned from Taoist and Buddhist masters in the mountains of rural China during the early 19th century.[3] Many Chinese authorities do not accept the Buddhist origin, instead maintaining that those teachers were purely Taoist in origin, the evidence lying in Baguazhang's frequent reference to core concepts central to Taoism, such as Yin and Yang theory, I Ching and Taoism's most distinctive paradigm, the Bagua diagram.[4] The attribution to Buddhist teachers came from the 2nd generation teachers, i.e. Dong Haichuan's students, some of whom were Buddhist. There is evidence to suggest a synthesis of several pre-existing martial arts taught and practised in the region in which Dong Haichuan lived, combined with Taoist circle walking. Through his work as a servant in the Imperial Palace he impressed the emperor with his graceful movements and fighting skill, and became an instructor and a bodyguard to the court.[5] Dong Haichuan taught for many years in Beijing, eventually earning patronage by the Imperial court.[6] Famous disciples of Dong Haichuan to become teachers were Yin Fu (尹福), Cheng Tinghua (程廷華), Ma Gui (馬貴), Song Changrong (宋長榮), Liu Fengchun (劉鳳春), Ma Weiqi (馬維棋), Liu Baozhen (劉寶珍), Liang Zhenpu (梁振蒲) and Liu Dekuan (劉德寛). Although they were all students of the same teacher, their methods of training and expressions of palm techniques differed.[2] The Cheng and Liu styles are said to specialize in "pushing" the palms, Yin style is known for "threading" the palms, Song's followers practice "Plum Flower" (梅花 Mei Hua) palm technique and Ma style palms are known as "hammers." Some of Dong Haichuan's students, including Cheng Tinghua, participated in the Boxer Rebellion. In general, most bagua exponents today practice either the Yin (尹), Cheng (程), or Liang (梁) styles, although Fan (樊), Shi (史), Liu (劉), Fu (傅), and other styles also exist. (The Liu style is a special case, in that it is rarely practiced alone, but as a complement to other styles). In addition, there are sub-styles of the above methods as well, such as the Sun (孫), Gao (高), and Jiang (姜) styles, which are sub-styles of Cheng method.

Pencak silat (Indonesian pronunciation: [ˈpent͡ʃaʔ ˈsilat]; in Western writings sometimes spelled "pentjak silat" or phonetically as "penchak silat") is an umbrella term for a class of related Indonesian martial arts.[1][2] In neighbouring countries, the term usually refers to professional competitive silat.[3] It is a full-body fighting form incorporating strikes, grappling and throwing in addition to weaponry. Every part of the body is used and subject to attack. Pencak silat was practiced not only for physical defense but also for psychological ends.[4] The leading organization of pencak silat in Indonesia is Ikatan Pencak Silat Indonesia (Pencak Silat Association of Indonesia). The liaison body for international pencak silat is the International Pencak Silat Federation or PERSILAT (Persekutuan Pencak Silat Antara Bangsa). Pencak silat is included in the Southeast Asian Games and other region-wide competitions. Pencak silat first made its debut in 1987 Southeast Asian Games and 2018 Asian Games, both were held in Indonesia.[5] Pencak Silat is recognized as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity from Indonesia by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) on December 12, 2019.

Silat is a collective word for a class of indigenous martial arts from the geo-cultural area of Indonesia, more precisely in the Indonesian Archipelago, a region known locally as Nusantara.[8] The origin of the word silat is uncertain. The Malay term silat is linked to Minangkabau word silek. Due to Sumatran origin of the Malay language, the Sumatran origin of the term is likely.[8] The term the word Pencak comes from the Sundanese Penca, in the western part of Java is the origin of this martial art and has been played by the Sundanese for centuries, until it exists in Central and East Java to be studied.[9] Although the word silat is widely known throughout much of Southeast Asia, the term pencak silat is used mainly in Indonesia. Pencak silat was chosen in 1948 as a unifying term for the Indonesian fighting styles. It was a compound of the two most commonly used words for martial arts in Indonesia. Pencak was the term used by the Sundanese in western part of Java and also in the Central Java and East Java,[10] while silat was used in Sumatra, Malay Peninsula and Borneo. In Minang usage, pencak and silat are seen as being two aspects of the same practice. Pencak is the essence of training, the outward aspect of the art which a casual observer is permitted to witness as performance. Silat is the essence of combat and self-defense, the true fighting application of the techniques which are kept secret from outsiders and not divulged to students until the guru deems them ready. While other definitions exist, all agree that silat cannot exist without pencak, and pencak without silat skills is purposeless.[11] Some believe that pencak comes from the Sanskrit word pancha meaning five, or from the Chinese term pencha or pungcha which implies parrying or deflecting, and striking or pressing.[12] Other terms may be used in particular dialects such as silek, penca, mancak, maen po or main-po. Dutch East Indies newspapers of the colonial era recorded the terms for martial arts under Dutch spellings. These include silat, pencak (spelled in Dutch as "pentjak"), penca ("pentjah"), mancak ("mentjak"), manca ("mentjah"), and pukulan ("poekoelan").[13] In 1881 a magazine calls mancak a Batak fencing game "with long swords, daggers or wood (mentjah)"[14] These papers described mancak as Malay (Maleische) suggesting that the word originates in Sumatra.[15] These terms were used separately from silat in the Dutch East Indies.[16] The terms pukulan or main pukulan (spelled "maen poekoelan" in Dutch) referred to the fighting systems of Jakarta but was also used generally for the martial arts of other parts of Indonesia such as Sumatra and Lombok.[13] Believed to be a Betawi term, it derives from the words for play (main) and hit (pukulan).

The oral history of Indonesia begins with the mythical legend about the arrival of Aji Saka (lit. primordial king) from India to Java. At the request of the local people, he successfully killed the monarch Dewata Cengkar of Medang Kamulan in battle and took his place as ruler. This story traditionally marks the rise of Java and the dawn of its Dharmic civilisation. The tale also illustrates the influence India had on Indonesian and Southeast Asian culture in general. Aji Saka is shown to be a fighter and swordsman, while his servants are also depicted as fighting with daggers. The Indian method of knife-duelling was adapted by the Batak and Bugis-Makassar peoples. Ancient Indonesian art from this period also depicts warriors mounted on elephants wielding Chinese weapons such as the jian or straight double-edge sword, which is still used in Java. The earliest evidence of pencak silat being taught in a structured manner comes from 6th-century[17] Riau from where it spread to the Minangkabau capital in West Sumatra. The Minangkabau had a clan-based feudal government. Military officers called hulubalang acted as bodyguards to the king or yam tuan. Minang warriors served without pay. The plunder was divided among them according to military merit, so fighters strove to outdo each other. They were skilled horsemen with the native pony and also expert bladesmiths, producing arms both for their own use and for export to Aceh. Traditional Minang society was based around matrilineal custom, so pencak silat was commonly practiced by women.[1] As pencak silat became widespread in Srivijaya, the empire was defeated by the Tamil Cholas of south India in the 13th century. The Tamil stick fighting art of silambam is still the most common Indian fighting system in Southeast Asia today. During the 13th century, Ken Arok, a thug turned into a self made hero and ruler, took over the power from Kediri Kingdom and established the Rajasa Dynasty. This is pretty much reflected the jago (people's champion) culture of ancient Java, where a self made cunning man skillful in martial arts, could rally supports and took over the kingdom.[18] His successor, the warrior-king Kertanegara of Singhasari conquered the Melayu Kingdom, Maluku Islands, Bali, and other neighbouring areas. From 1280-1289, Kublai Khan sent envoys demanding that Singhasari submit to the Khan as Jambi and Melayu had already done, but Kertanegara responded defiantly by scarring the last envoy's face. Kublai Khan retaliated by sending a punitive expedition of 1000 junks to Java, but Kertanegara had already been killed by a vassal in Kediri before the Yuan force arrived. His son-in-law Raden Wijaya replaced Kertanegara as leader and allied himself with the arriving Mongol army. With their help Raden Wijaya was able to defeat the Kediri forces. With his silat-trained warriors, Raden Wijaya then turned on the Mongols so that they fled back to China. The village he founded became the Majapahit empire. This was the first empire to unite all of Indonesia's major islands, and pencak silat reached its technical zenith during this period. In Majapahit, pencak silat became the specialised property of the nobility and its advanced secrets were hidden from commoners.