The Family Groupings of
American Kenpo Karate

With this textbook and the accompanying video series, you will learn the pinnacle of the Kenpo system, Family Groupings. Family Groupings, and its associated topics such as Family Related Moves, are methods used by advanced practitioners to simplify the otherwise unpredictable nature of combat. By having a thorough understanding of this essential topic, you will be able to respond spontaneously to virtually any combat situation. But in recent years, especially since the passing of Ed Parker, this important topic is seldom taught. Why is this? Well, there are several reasons.

First, due to a lack of quality instruction and a lack of understanding of Kenpo, many organizations and instructors have changed the Kenpo system. For example, many techniques have been removed or changed in some way, the attacks have been altered, or the structure of the belt system has been changed. As we shall see shortly, Kenpo is laid out in a logical and progressive manner. Any change to this structure and you are no longer left with the Kenpo system as Ed Parker, the creator of American Kenpo, designed it. You have only a crude copy.

The second reason why Family Groups are seldom taught (and the one which disgusts me the most), are the many instructors who refuse to teach it! This has never been the case in the past. But in recent years, these " instructors" only hint at the information. They feel that Kenpo is best served if the student "figures it out for himself." By doing so, the "keys to the system won’t be given away." But is this really teaching or something else in disguise? Imagine an elementary school teacher who shows his/her students that 2+2=4 and then says, "OK class, figure the rest out for yourselves." This is not teaching; this is someone on a "power-trip." A true teacher gives the students all the necessary information they need so that they can eventually be independent. (Maybe the reason why these self-serving instructors won’t want their students to be independent is so that their wallets don’t run dry!)

To help the students achieve their goal, a true teacher will give all the necessary information and guide the students through a series of exercises designed to promote and develop this skill. This is precisely how this program is designed! In this series, we will guide you step-by-step through a fully interactive program designed to give you a full understanding of Family Groups and its associated topics which will complete your knowledge of Kenpo. To receive the most from this program, we recommend that you take your time and complete every exercise. Simply knowing the answers is not enough. If you expect to maximize your skills and talents and be better prepared for any combat situation, you must follow the program precisely.

Before we begin, it is necessary to understand why Family Groups are important and why it was developed. Let’s take a look at the reality of combat.

Family Groups and the Reality of Combat

Let’s begin by learning what actually happens to you in stressful combat situations. First, you will undergo several physiological changes such as:

• Increased adrenal activity
• Increased heart rate
• Increased respiration
• Vascular flow moves away from the extremities
• Pupil dilation
• Distorted sense of time and space

These physiological changes affect performance in the following ways:

• Loss of fine and complex motor skills (due to vascular flow moving away from extremities)
• Loss of peripheral vision—Tunnel Vision
• Hear impairment—Tunnel Hearing
• Loss of depth perception
• Increase in reaction and response time

This last effect is very important and is directly related to Family Groups. We will return to this shortly, but first lets look at some methods designed to reduce the effects of survival stressors.

• Increase confidence in skill through proper training.
• Provide a learned survival experience.
• Implement tactical breathing before and during tactical engagements.
• Evaluate personal relationships and faith systems.
• Train only combat effective methods to the point of spontaneity.

Let’s now take a look at reaction and response time.

Reaction/Response Time

A researcher in the 1950’s (Hick) found that "as the number of response options (techniques) increases from one to two, reaction time increases by 58%." This later led to the development of what is now known as Hick’s Law of Reaction/Response time. It states that "reaction time increases significantly when one must decide which response or techniques is most appropriate for the threat." For example, in 1993 a research (Ferrara) tested Hick's Law and found that the reaction time of a single block to a punch was .183 milliseconds. When four different blocks were given as options, reaction time increased to .481 milliseconds.

To summarize, reaction/response time increases when:

• Additional elements or components in a series are added to the action.
• Anytime more than one limb must be coordinated.
• When the duration of a skill becomes longer.
• Anytime a movement becomes more complicated from any of the above because additional time is needed to organize and download the motor muscle program.

How does Kenpo hold up?

Well, how does Kenpo hold up to this research? Let’s take a look at the data on Kenpo. In American Kenpo as originally taught, there are 154 separate techniques in the belt system plus two additional found in the Long 6 form giving a total of 156. Of these 156 there are:

Don’t forget about reaction and response time. Remember what Hicks said? He said that the more choices you have to counter a threat, the longer it takes you to respond. Now look at the number of techniques for punches, there are 30 choices! Hick’s found that going from one to two choices increased reaction/response time by 58%. Imagine what happens when you have 30 choices!

When it comes to reality in combat an over-whelming majority of Kenpo schools fail miserably. Why, it’s because they are unable to use the very techniques they train for. Just look at a typical class. After a brief warm-up, new techniques are learned. Techniques are then practiced with a partner, the "dummy." But what happens when it’s time to free-spar? Not one technique is seen! Mostly, you see only a lot of dancing with a backfist and a roundhouse thrown in. If you’re lucky, you might even see a side kick! If this happens in training, imagine what will happen if your life is threatened.

So how do we solve this dilemma? Should we throw all but a few techniques out? Should we re-organize the Kenpo system? There’s no need! Kenpo has always had the answer, Family Groups. Family Groups gives us a means of "reducing" the number of techniques from 156 down to 18 (one for each typical attack). Since there is only one choice per attack, our mind is free from decisions and a decrease in reaction time results.

But, unfortunately, the majority of Kenpo schools do not teach or have not been taught Family Groups. As a result, they will fail in combat situations. In short, they are no more than highly skilled, highly ranked victims.

Don’t let this happen to you!

Learn the Family Groupings and apply them to your daily practice.