What Exactly is Kenpo Karate?

Kenpo Karate blends traditional Chinese and Japanese martial arts into a practical, real world self-defense system designed to end an attack as quickly as possible. The system emphasizes technique over brute force, which compensates for differences in size and strength between the aggressor and defender.

Al and Jim Tracy first studied Kenpo under the renowned Grand Master Ed Parker. The Tracy brothers further researched into the history of Kenpo, tracing its roots back to ancient China and systemizing its techniques into a modern, standardized system that almost anyone, regardless of age, size, height, or background, can train in to learn efficient, effective self-defense. Tracy Kenpo Karate is the largest and most widely utilized system of martial arts in the world. Although Great Grand Master Al Tracy passed away in 2018, Self Defense Centers continues to teach and uphold the standards set forth by the Tracy brothers nearly 60 years ago.

The system breaks down each belt into approximately 30 moves, some with variations that address “what if” situations. What if the attacker punches with his left hand? What if the attacker throws a kick? What if the attacker has a knife or gun?  The system teaches you to defend against different attacks and overwhelm the aggressor with strikes, takedowns and joint-locks.  The Tracy System of Kenpo is regarded as one of the most complete in the world due to the large variety of attacks it teaches you to defend against and the versatility of its techniques.