James Ibrao Bio
by Zoran Sevic Martial Arts History: James Ibrao was born in November 3, !937 in Hawaii in a city called Waialua. His first introduction to the martial arts was in Judo. In 1956, Mr. Ibrao met Mr. Ed Parker. During this time Mr. Ibrao ate, lived and breathed kenpo. By 1957, he became Mr. Parker’s [...]
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 [...]
Chuck Sullivan Bio
Martial History Mr. Chuck Sullivan began his training in the martial arts in 1959, under Edmund K. Parker. By 1962, he earned a 1st black from Mr. Parker. Mr. Sullivan was one of the few students that stayed with Mr. Parker during the first split that happened with Mr. Parker’s students. His accomplishments include, first [...]
Dave Hebler Bio
Martial History Mr. Hebler began his training in Kenpo under Ed Parker around the late 50’s. He received his 1st black in 1962. He is one of the very few of the “Parker Originals” who stayed within the Parker system. He also has the distinction of being the first person promoted by Mr. Parker from [...]
William Kwai Sun Chow Biography
by Zoran Sevic William K S Chow was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1914. He spent most of his life practicing and perfecting his martial arts; usually on the streets of Hawaii. He had the ability to remember every technique he had learned. William Chow was also known as “Thunderbolt” because of his incredible speed [...]
Keith Hackney Bio
Martial Arts History Keith Hackney began his training, in 1974, at the age of 14 in wrestling and boxing. In 1976, he began his training in Tae Kwon Do. He eventually achieved the rank of 2nd Black. In 1988 he continued his training in the Korean arts in Tang So Do, also achieving a 2nd [...]
Mike Vassolo Bio
by Zoran Sevic Martial Arts History In 1977, Mike Vassolo began his training in the martial arts in Goju-Shorei. In 1980 Mr. Vassolo began his training in kenpo, under John McSweeney, one of Ed Parker’s earlier black belts. Mr. Vassolo was one of John McSweeney’s first black belts in Illinois, along with Tom Saviano and [...]
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 [...]
Solo Training
by John McSweeney At some point in your life, you may no longer be training in a class or even with a partner. Training on your own will then become your only way to maintain your self-defense ability. For such solo training, you must create your own daily training routine, one that you will stick [...]
