KENPO KARATE
Mills Crenshaw claims to have been a black belt under Ed Parker when Ed Parker was a BYU. However except for his own unverified statements, there is no evidence that Crenshaw had more than 4-5 months of training with Ed Parker during that time period. To the contrary, all evidence, which includes BYU records and written statements by Ed Parker clearly establish that Ed Parker did not begin teaching outside the BYU Polynesian community until January 1956, and he left for California immediately after graduating BYU on June 1, 1956. Additionally, Mills Crenshaw recently admitted that he was never a part of the KKAA (Kenpo Karate association of America). That is true, and he never received any rank in the KKAA, but only in the International Kenpo Karate Association of America which was formed years later. Ed Parker, wrote, "The International Kenpo Karate Association of America originated in 1956 as the Kenpo Karate Association of America." And it was the KKAA through which Ed Parker awarded all belt rank from 1956 to 1963. All students whom Ed Parker promoted are in the KKAA records, and Mills Crenshaw is not listed. Ed Parker's first Utah black belt - that is from those who studied with him while Ed Parker was at BYU - was Charles Beeder. However it is now undisputed and Charles Beeder's son, Charles Beeder Jr., has confirmed that his father did not receive his black belt until 1963. Since Charles Beeder Senior did not receive his black belt until 1963, and he was the first Utah black belt, then Mills Crenshaw could not have received his black belt until 1963, after Charles Beeder.
The limit of Mills Crenshaw's training is shown in his statement.
Ed Parker began writing a self-defense column for Iron Man Magazine in 1958, after being recommended by Eric (Charles) Jones who was a fellow Mormon and husband of Helen Hinckley Jones who was a famous Mormon writer; and, I helped Ed with his first article for Iron Man Magazine, Kenpo Karate - Developing the Body into Weapons. This was so well received that Ed was given a regular column and Ed asked me to select the techniques for those articles. In 1958 Eric Jones convinced Iron Man to have Ed Parker write Kenpo Karate Law of the Fist and the Empty Hand, and Ed asked me to select the techniques for the book also. There are 62 techniques in the book, all fully illustrated and explained. These techniques had from 3-6 variations, and in some cases the variation was used instead of the technique. These 62 techniques along with their variations were required to receive your first Kyu rank, which was Gokyu (5th degree the lowest awarded white belt in 1956-59). Photography was complete in the sumer of 1959, and the book was published in early 1960, and there are four (4) gun techniques in the book.
The techniques in the book were titled:
INTERMEDIATE COURSE
Mills Crenshaw never learned the gun technique shown on page 151 of the book, and goes so far as to criticizes the technique.
WHY DRAG THE WEAPON ACROSS YOUR BODY?
There are two reasons.
First: Because that's how Ed Parker taught it.
Second: There are times when that is the safest and most effective way to neutralize the danger. But explaining that to those who have a limited knowledge of Kenpo is a waste of time.
Rich Montgomery (Brown Belt - Ikkyu - 1959) defends in the attack. His right hand sweeps the gun from pointing at his heart across his body. That's how the technique was taught then, and that's how it's taught in the Tracy system today. Those who never advanced to the intermediate level in Kenpo would never have learned this.