KENPO STUDENT WORKBOOK LEVEL1

There is no way to learn martial arts from a book. A Martial art is an art of movement. Writing is an art of language. The best books about martial arts contain a lot more questions than answers! Pick up any of the martial arts "cookbooks" of technique and you'll spend challenging hours of trying to bring the pictured sets to life.

Even when you find a good book that does a good job "framing" the techniques, you'll probably wish the author had included a "technical support number"! Every time I study a good manual on technique, I end up wanting to meet the author to ask questions and have him check my movement and interpretation. In the case of Bruce Lee, Gichin Funakoshi, or Ed Parker, this is no longer possible. Books then become a valuable link to our heritage. In the case of Dr. Yang, Jhoon Rhee and William Chen, these people are still with us and through seminars and tours, we can have access to them!

Never before has there been a greater library of martial arts material available. Classic writings have been rediscovered, uncovered or revealed for the first time. The shroud of secrecy concerning martial technique and philosophy is no longer necessary and modern martial artists are bringing classic technique and thinking to everyone willing to learn and practice. Get these books, read them, interpret them, question them and THINK!

Just don't forget that the real essence of the martial arts is the interaction between two people! Keep the three pillars of martial arts training student to teacher, student to student and teacher to student. It is this interaction that gives us our greatest moments of enjoyment in martial arts. It is this communication that gives our lives as human beings its richness!

This KENPO STUDENT WORKBOOK is a little different than most martial arts manuals. Since every student has a slightly different perspective and expression of each movement, I thought it would be best if you wrote the book yourself! Keep the book in your head; just use the notes and outlines provided in this workbook to help jog the memory, to record a new idea, or for reference on those days when the memory is lagging behind the body.

Make this workbook a work in progress throughout your training. Use it as a diary and a companion. Stick note pages in it, mark it with highlighters, scribble in the margins! Rely on your instructors for help and guidance. Relish correction and challenge as the fuel for improvement and self-discovery. Enjoy every accomplishment. Enjoy every failure. Enjoy the camaraderie of your fellow students and ENJOY YOURSELF!

I sincerely express to you that each of you can attain the goal of Black Belt. I sincerely pledge to you that your instructors are here to help you achieve this goal. Your responsibility is to participate, question, explore and succeed!



With action, anything is possible!