The Fist Lawyers
The Fist Lawyers James Mitose. He brought Kenpo to Hawaii. He did not believe in street fights. He was the 21st generation descendent. He died in Folsom prison. William Chow. A tough master who learned what worked in the streets. He would often get into street fights. He founded Karaho Kempo. They called him “Thunderbolt” He lived in virtual obscurity. He died in poverty. He had many renowned students. Among them are: Ed Parker. The Father of American Kenpo Karate. He died without naming a successor. Adriano Emperado. One of the five who founder Kajukenbo. One of the “Black Belt Society” A policeman when he was young. Sam Kuoha. The current Grandmaster of Karaho Kempo Also a former policeman. He once took on 7 armed assailants in the line of duty. And then there is; Olaf Simon Brought Moh Kempo to Canada. Margie Hilbig Another student of Kempo. She was associated with both Ed Parker and Olaf Simon. She trains the Edmonton police force. These men and this woman all had this in common. They all possessed great martial skill. And. Their lives are shrouded in controversy. Without prejudice E&OE

The Fist Lawyers 2 Here is a link to Mr. John Bishop’s Kajukenbo Homepage. On the front page are 2 videos of William Chow in action! http://www.kajukenboinfo.com/professor_chow.aspx The are several fine links here too. Including an interview with Mr. Adriano Emperado. A fist lawyer himself and one of the five who founded Kajukenbo. He is also a first generation student of William Chow. Check it out. Regards, MrE2Me2

Cool clips Mystery. Chow looks like he was quite the powerhouse!

Hello Cam, Ya! I was quite impressed too. Regards, MrE2Me2

The Fist Lawyers 3 Another Kajukenbo stylist would be this man. The current title holder for the Light Heavy Weight Division in the U.F.C., Chuck Liddell. He is a man of many talents. And as I posted on this forum previously: A university graduate with degrees in Accounting and Business. A Black Belt in Kajukenbo A wrestler at the collegiate level And many others. Here are several links. A quick link to his kempo history. http://www.kajukenbocafe.com/smf/index.php?PHPSESSID=1embhu0ugs3qeknlrqthn1fph4&topic=955.msg8415 His official site (note the Kempo tattoo on his left shoulder). http://www.icemanmma.com/ His academy http://www.slokickboxing.com/ Liddell to fight Ortiz now. http://calsun.canoe.ca/Sports/OtherSports/2006/08/11/1744255-sun.html

Fist Lawyers 4
Here is another Fist Lawyer. “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.” It is from this link, just over halfway down the page. http://www.akka.org/history.htm You know, I get most of this stuff off of the net because it is there. There is hardly anything about the Fist Lawyers of Moh. What I know I’ll post in the next little while. Unless SOMEONE beats me to it….. (That is a hint folks!)

My first Mo Fist Lawyer
Fist Lawyers 5 To all, I went to see a senior classmate of mine today. I hadn’t seen him in a couple of years. His studio keeps him very busy. And he trains with the enthusiasm and energy of someone half his age. Although, He was visited my Richard Shergold a couple of years ago. This man was R. Shergold’s first Mo Kempo teacher. On his wall there is a banner that reads, “Master is a Journey, not a Destination”. He is a fist lawyer of the first order. I am speaking of Master Roman Terlecki. His webpage is here. http://www.kungfubc.com/ I first met him in the old Edmonton studio over 28 years ago. He had already been training for quite some time. I remember sparring blindfolded with him in the K.F.C. one night. We did not use pads in that studio at that time. It was an interesting session. He opened the first North Vancouver T.K.F. studio. Later, he branched out on his own. I went to see him at his studio a couple of years ago. I had not seen or spoken to him in twenty years. Yet he welcomed me in and we talked as old friends. Regards, MrE2Me2

Did Mr. Terlecki have any thoughts on the current situation with TKF and the dipute of Simon's claims? I can imagine it's not the kind of thing you bring up in polite conversation after twenty years... then again, knowing martial artists, maybe it's exactly the kind of thing you bring up! ;) I suppose I'm wondering if he's ever felt any backlash or whatnot due to his association with Simon. edit: I misread your post as saying 'a couple of weeks' not 'years' -- sorry, my mistake.

Hello Drunken Monkey, Actually, we did bring up a lot of things. This included the forum, SKS, TKF, the Old Days, the Dispute, etc. We even talked for awhile about striking verses grappling, rules and no rules. It was just a really interesting chat. Let me tell you he is a real busy guy. He teaches, he trains, he eats, and he sleeps. Sometimes, on the weekend, he will test. Did I mention he trained? By the time he gets home, he’s done (his words). Any info he gets on the dispute is in the nature of a rumor or two. When I brought him up to date, he was quite surprised. Not at the way things had gone but that Olaf and Doreen had retired. When he was the heir apparent, he tried to modernize the biz. He was no more successful at it than Mr. Sparrow. He has felt some backlash from his association with Simon. But not much and not often. He is very concerned with his people and their martial abilities. He will start off a skills class with a minimum of 500 punches (after warm ups). From there, he gets frisky. It has been my experience that when I trained that hard, I had little time for much else. He gives every indication of enjoying this as much as I did when I taught professionally. Regards, MrE2Me2

more "First Lawyers"
Wasn't sure where to post this, the "First Lawyers" thread seemed most appropriate. This article about the early days of MA in US is not about Moh, but I found it interesting to read. http://www.tracyskarate.com/Stories/was_elvis_really_a_black_belt.htm

Hello 92, Yes, I’d say that Henry Slomanski (?) definitely qualifies as a “Fist Lawyer”. At first glance, that article was very interesting and really quite inspiring. And let’s call him what he is, “A Living Legend” and “A Formidable Fighting Machine”. Yet when I went back and read it again, a couple of things stood out. This was an article about military H2H training and not about civilian self defense. Also, this was a chronicle to a man who had slipped through the cracks of history. As a military man, the people under him were both duty bound and honor bound to stay. Both training and medical were paid for by the military. And the men under him were highly motivated and physically fit professional warriors. They were there to protect their country in the most violent terms necessary. In fact, Henry Slomanski died doing just that. This is a very different type of student than the average studio will teach. In this very inspiring article, all the emphasis was on describing his fighting abilities. (That he changed the way tournaments were held in Japan, speaks for itself.) This brings me to my second point. I’d never heard of this guy up until this article. Here is an amazing and inspirational martial arts master. And he seems to have gotten lost in the pages of history! Thank you for bring this to our attention. And thanks to the Tracy’s for writing about him to begin with. Regards, MrE2Me2 Without prejudice E&OE