8) Dr. James Mitose (1915-1981) Mitose is a great grand master of Hawaiian/U.S. Kempo, and we can trace part of our lineage to him. At the age of 5, Mitose was sent to Japan to study the Mitose family tradition of Ch'uan Fa (or "Kempo" in Japanese) at the Mt. Akenkai Kosho-Shorei temple. As stated previously, the Ch'uan Fa tradition had already been modified by successive Mitose masters until it became known as Kosho-Shorei Kempo (Old Pine Tree Style). After fifteen years of training in his family's temple in Japan, Mitose returned to Hawaii. Following World War II, he opened the Official Self-Defense Club to begin teaching his family's wartime art of Kosho-Ryu Kempo to the general public. During the next fifteen years of teaching, Grand Master Mitose awarded black belts to only six of his students: Giro Nakamura, Thomas Young, Paul Yamaguchi, Arthur Keawe, Edward Lowe and William K.S. Chow [Corcoran, 1984].

9) William K.S. Chow (1914-1987) Before studying under Grand Master Mitose, Master Chow had studied Boxing, Wrestling, Jujitsu and Karate. However, his main course of martial arts training was Chinese Shaolin Ch'uan Fa under the guidance of his father (Hoon Chow). Hoon Chow was a Buddhist Priest from Shanghai, China. Just prior to the Chinese Boxer Rebellion, Hoon Chow immigrated to Hawaii for a safer and more prosperous lifestyle. While living in Hawaii, Hoon Chow continued to practice the Shaolin Ch'uan Fa of Southeastern China (Kwangtung and Fukien). This is the style he taught his son, William K.S. Chow. Master William Chow incorporated many of the things his father had taught him into what he would be the first to call "Kenpo" (Fist Law) Karate. William K.S. Chow, a short man (approx. 5'1"), was raised in an Hawaiian culture where size, strength, and streetfighting ability were highly regarded. In order to survive on an island of giants, Master Chow began to alter Shaolin Ch'uan Fa to make it faster, more powerful, and oriented around streetfighting situations. Master Chow began the transformation by shortening the circular motions and flowing movements of Shaolin Ch'uan Fa. He continued by incorporating the linear movements, joint locks and takedowns learned in boxing, karate and jujitsu. Finally, he placed a major emphasis on the availability and targeting of vital parts of the human anatomy [Master Sam Kuoho, Interview]. William K.S. Chow's Hawaiian Kenpo system (Kara-Ho Kenpo) was unusual for the time because it incorporated other martial arts techniques; Mitose had never associated his Kosho-Ryu Kempo with any other system. One of the most famous students under Chow's tutelage was Ed Parker.

10) Ed Parker (1931-1990) Ed Parker, a native of Hawaii and student of Master Chow, revised the traditional methods of coping with modern fighting situations and brought the art to mainland U.S.A. Master Parker developed the modern Kenpo style by analyzing combative predicaments from the viewpoints of the attacker, the defender, and the bystander or spectator. Through his observations, Master Parker disproved many theories and concepts that had previously been considered as combat effective. Ed Parker systematized and categorized all the basic Kenpo elements into a logical order of progress for step-by-step instruction. Master Parker placed the Kenpo basics into eight categories: stances, blocks, parries, punches, strikes, finger techniques, kicks, and foot maneuvers. Master Parker also divided the Kenpo system into three major divisions: basics (including forms), self-defense techniques, and sparring (tournament and street). This innovative restructuring made the martial arts much easier to learn, understand, and master [Corcoran, 1984]. A recognized first generation student of Master Parker was Thomas Connor. Ed Parker and Thomas Connor were the founders of the Chinese Martial Arts Association.

11) Thomas Connor (1929-1989) Master Connor began martial arts training at the age of 7 years in the local Wing Chun and Hung Gar schools located in Newark, NJ and New York City. He studied continually until the age of 15 years at which time he enlisted in the U.S. Army by falsifying his age to fight in World War II. At the end of the war he returned to the United States to study linguistics. During this educational period, he honed his fighting skills and proceeded to win a series of Golden Gloves awards. Being a World War II veteran, a linguistics expert and having extensive knowledge of the fighting arts, Master Connor was the ideal candidate for intelligence work. From approximately 1950 to 1959, Master Connor worked for the U.S. Government as an operative in Central America and Mexico. As an agent for the U.S., Master Connor was able to broaden his martial arts training to include Jujitsu. In 1960, an exhausted Thomas Connor moved to Mexico with his young family to retire.

With time to meditate on life, Master Connor decided to return to the United States to begin teaching the martial arts. By 1965, Master Connor was running a very successful self-defense school and dance studio in San Jose, California. That same year, Master Connor formed a partnership (COPAR Kenpo) wit Ed Parker and the two proceeded to open a series of Kenpo schools in San Jose, San Francisco, and Phoenix, Arizona. Within a short period of time, Master Connor's extensive knowledge and skill earned him the title of master in Ed Parker's original Kenpo system. It was during his time in California that Master Connor continued his involvement and training in Chinese Wushu or "Martial Arts". Master Connor frequently visited Chinatown in San Francisco to meet and train with other Wushu practitioners. It was in Chinatown that master Connor learned how to use the two-headed chain and many other Chinese weapons. By the early 1970's, the partnership between Master Connor and Master Parker had expanded to include the Tracy Brothers (TRACOPAR Kenpo).

Master Connor's interests has also expanded to include bodybuilding (Master Connor won numerous bodybuilding including the Master's Division Mr. America). However, by the late 1970's the partnership has dissolved and Master Connor remained as owner of a great many Kenpo Schools (TRACO International) [Tom Connor II, Interview]. Tom Connor's mastery of Chinese Martial Arts, boxing, Jujitsu, and professional bodybuilding were incorporated into what was to become a very strong, yet highly artful form of American Kenpo. This unique system would later be named "American Kenpo Karate Association" by Bill Packer, one of Master Connor's original students.

Bill Packer, President A.K.K.A.

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