Some Thoughts on Self-Defense
by John McSweeney originally published 1996 Unlike sport competition, skill in self-defense is a lifelong endeavor requiring regular training throughout your entire life. With this in mind, you should create a training regimen which will maintain your fighting skills without harming your body as it ages. It should be simple and short so as not to [...]
Dit Da Jow – The Magical Healer
by John McSweeney originally published in 1999 In the summer of 1960, I was training with the U.S. Army at the Presidio in San Francisco, California. Evenings, I was also teaching a class of kenpo karate students, all of whom were army personnel. One night, some kung-fu friends of Ed Parker’s came to observe my [...]
The Evolution and Development of Kenpo in Ireland
by Tommy Jordan The evolution of kenpo lies within the hands of those instructors who strive to improve their standards, as any good instructor should do, by “putting greater effort into the time” they spend developing and sharpening their skills. Not quite the same as “Putting time in”. We should never let up in our [...]
The Beginning of Kenpo in Ireland
by Tommy Jordan and Peter Whitney Ed Parker Snr. Stated in Infinite Insights Vol. 1. that John Mc Sweeney was the first of his black belts to bring kenpo outside of the United States and in doing so made the IKKA International when he went to Ireland to study in Trinity College in 1962, and [...]
McSweeney’s 7th from Ed Parker
by Zoran Sevic It would seem that many in the Kenpo community believe that John McSweeney was never awarded a 7th Degree Black by Ed Parker. I’m here to say that they are wrong. So lets set the records straight. On January 6, 1990; Grandmaster Edmund Kealoha Parker awarded John McSweeney his 7th Degree Black. [...]
John McSweeney at ACCS
from American Center for Chinese Studies I have had many martial arts teachers in my life, most of whom were Chinese. Even those Chinese teachers who could speak a little English did not have a total command of the language, so communication was always a challenge. I could only copy what the teacher showed, leaving [...]
Last Interview with John McSweeney
from American Center of Chinese Studies Question one: Let me start by asking you how you came to pick Kenpo as your chosen style. Also, what are your impressions of the late Master Ed Parker? John McSweeney: “I picked Kenpo after many years in Judo and then later Jujitsu. The man who taught me Jujitsu [...]
Tribute to John McSweeney
by Zoran Sevic The Phone Rings I’m sitting at home with my wife. We are talking about going out to a movie, as we don’t get much of a chance to do things like that because of our schedule. The phone rings and I could see by the caller ID that it’s Tom Saviano. I [...]
Difference Between Sport and Self-Defense
by John McSweeney With all of the emphasis these days on the competitive aspects of the martial arts, it’s appropriate to bring a realistic perspective to the situation. In the Ultimate Fighting Championship and similar full-contact sporting events, wrestlers have consistently had the edge on boxers whenever they’ve been paired in competition. In self-defense, however, [...]
Handgun Basics
by John McSweeney In this article, I’ll cover some of the basics of gun ownership. First and foremost, of course, is that anyone who would own a gun must learn how to use it safely, effectively and responsibly. The only way to do this is to seek out a qualified expert in the field and [...]
