He called his adapted style American Kenpo Karate. Parker, seeing that modern times posed new situations that were not addressed in Kenpo, adapted the art to make it more easily applicable to the streets of America. Parker trained with William Chow while serving in the Coast Guard and attending Brigham Young University, and in 1953 he was promoted to the rank of black belt. During the 1940s, Parker was introduced to Kenpō by Frank Chow, who then introduced Parker to William Chow, a student of James Mitose. Life īorn in Hawaii, Parker began training in Judo at an early age and later studied boxing. Benny Urquidez, Dan Inosanto, Elvis Presley, Jeff Speakman, Chuck Norris, Robert CulpĮdmund Kealoha Parker (Ma– December 15, 1990) was an American martial artist, actor, senior grandmaster, and founder of American Kenpo Karate.
