Enter the Mind of Master Ken, the Martial Artist Behind Enter the Dojo, Part 1

If you haven’t seen the hugely popular Enter the Dojo comedy series, do so now. Before you read this article. Go to YouTube and click. It’s the only way you can show the face, voice, and mustache behind the odd words coming from the martial artist known as Master Ken. Caution: You’re about to read a commentary by a real fighter (Matt Page) interspersed with a comment by a fictional character (Master Ken). To make it easier to distinguish the two, we have italicized the words of Master Ken. BLACK STRAP: WHEN YOU’RE IN THE CHARACTERS IS A KEN MASTER, YOUR TRANSFER REMEMBER ME ABOUT KENPO. ARE YOU FROM KENPO BACKGROUND? Matt page: My first styles were Okinawan kenpo and kobudo. I received my first degree black belt from Rich Pelletier in 1996. He was a great instructor and instilled in me the discipline and structure in life when I really needed it. His school is very traditional and gave me a solid background not only in martial arts as a way of self-defense but also in martial arts as a way of life. After that, I moved around and studied various arts: aikido, boxing, batting, etc. After that, I settled in American kenpo, studying under Tony and Erika Potter in Santa Fe at one of the schools. kenpo 5.0 by Jeff Speakman. I’ve always wanted to learn the kind of kenpo I’ve seen in movies like Perfect Weapon, so it’s been a lot of fun. Recently, I have been learning Brazilian jiu-jitsu. There are so many styles I want to learn – hapkido, kung fu – but for some reason I’ve always been drawn to some form of kenpo.Silat for the Street is the title of an online course from the Black Belt Hall of Famer Burton Richardson and Black Belt magazine. Now you can learn the most functional silat techniques whenever and wherever you want on your smartphone, tablet or computer. Get more information here! Read: who is the master kenBLACK STRAP: MASTER KEN, I KNOW YOUR BACKGROUND IS US-DO-TE, BUT IN THE MAGAZINE WE DON’T USE UPPERCASE IN THE NAME OF ARTIFICIAL ARTS. CAN YOU GET OUT WHEN WE ADD YOUR ART NAME “ameri-do-te” OR IS THAT A TIP FOR EVERYTHING YOU STOP?Mr. Ken: I noticed that you have no problem using Black Belt. How would you like it if I called you a “black belt magazine”? It’s not just an insult; it weakens the word. Capitalizing not one, not two, but THREE letters in the name of my deadly street combat system tells people how serious it is. Speaking of seriousness: With the authority conferred upon me as the creator and 11th class black belt of the most dangerous martial art in the world – Ameri-Do-Te – I demote you to a white belt.BLACK BELT: HAVE YOU LEARNED ameri-do-te FROM A DOCTOR OR HAVE YOU CREATE IT?Mr. Ken: I’ve wasted years of my life researching pretty much every combat system in the world. In kenpo, they always slap themselves. For each time a kenpo guy hits his opponent, he hits himself three times – which is great because if you fight a kenpo black belt long enough, he’ll end up kicking his own ass. belt system. How do they know who is more senior? All they do is exchange patches like a group of Girl Scouts. I once witnessed a tai chi instructor defeated by a pantomime. He was thrown against an imaginary wall and suffocated by an invisible rope.New pricing announcement for the Greg Jackson Mixed Martial Arts Curriculum, an online course from Black Belt magazine and the world’s leading MMA coach! Learn the best fighting techniques, combinations and strategies on your tablet or smartphone. More info here!Every time I learn a new martial art, I can see a few moves work – with my own special modifications, of course – but I also find flaws and weaknesses everywhere. My style takes the best of every other martial art in the world without any weaknesses. That’s why we like to say “Ameri-Do-Te: Best, Worst of Zero.”BLACK belt: DO YOU HAVE YOUR OWN KENPO SCHOOL?Matt page: I have never run my own school. I helped teach children’s and occasional adult classes at a few schools, but I always thought of myself as a permanent student.BLACK BELT: WHAT IS IT LIKE RUNING THE MOST EFFECTIVE ARTS SCHOOL IN THE WORLD? ARE YOUR COMPETITORS RICH? CHALLENGES? HOW DO They NOT ALL BUSINESS?Mr. Ken: The hardest part was getting people over the initial shock of how effective our style was. I attract people to go out into the street and watch us perform our patented “groin gunfight,” in which the first student to grab another student’s groin wins the match, and they just shook his head and walked out. They are too scared.BLACK BELT: HOW DO YOU – AND MASTER KEN – COME WITH THE CONCEPT?Matt page: After graduating from high school, I moved to Southern California to become a movie star. Of course being so naive, I struggled there. Every time I move to a new neighborhood – usually – I go to the nearest dojo and sign up for classes. One place has a training method they call “groin fighting”. They say the groin is the only target that matters in a street fight, so they don’t focus on kicks or punches on other parts of the body. Whoever catches his opponent’s groin first wins. Simple, right? But then in my first fight, they made me fight a woman. It was just one of many strange experiences over the years.BLACK BELT: WHERE HAS THE NAME “ameri-do-te” come from?Mr. Ken: Most people think that the word “karate” stands for all martial arts. I believe that one day my Ameri-Do-Te style will replace all combat systems, so I want it to sound the same but different. America has a wonderful history of taking things created by other countries and improving them. Likes Italian food. So I took the word “karate-do” and Americanized it as “Ameri-Do-Te.” In addition, there is a martial art that begins with the letter “A” that makes us appear first in the phone book.The karate/kobudo master teamed up with a Black Belt master to create the Karate Weapon Fumio Demura: Complete Video Course. Combining Demura’s classic DVDs with new kata footage, the program streams lessons in nunchaku, bo, kama, sai, tonfa, and eku bo to a smartphone, tablet or computer your count. Details here!BLACK BELT: WHO ARE SOME REAL MARTIAL ARTISTS YOU SEE?Matt page: Have a lot of. From the famous boxers whose films spurred my interest in the entertainment business – Jean-Claude Van Damme, Steven Seagal, Jeff Speakman, Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee – to people whose books and interviews have Magazine interviews have inspired me to keep working out – like Ed Parker, Bill “Superfoot” Wallace and Royce Gracie. It is strange to meet these people in person after admiring their work from afar all these years. I said some crazy things about Van Damme and Seagal, but that’s because they were my favorite action stars growing up. And I always poke fun at kenpo because that’s the style I’ve devoted a lot of my life to. So if Master Ken takes the time to chase you or your style, it’s a sign of affection.Read more: Who vs. Whom: How to Use Who and Whom | Top Q&ABLACK BELT: ANY MARTIAL ARTISTS OR ARTISTS YOU FIND?Mr. Ken: Asking me what other martial arts I’m looking for is like asking me to pick my favorite illness. I can tell which is worse than the other, but I won’t choose between them.BLACK BELT: HAS EVER BEEN SURVIVED WHEN THE MAU KEN MAY SAY THAT HE – OR SHE – HAS CHALLENGE YOU TO A STRATEGY?Matt page: Not personally, but Master Ken has received hundreds of challenges, as well as several death threats. Those people mostly came from people who didn’t realize he was a fictional character. Most of those people soon realized that we were joking, but still a few chose to continue to be hurt or threatened by what Ken said. I do a live show, and even at my best performances, I get reports afterward of people getting offended and getting up and walking out. But that’s okay – you can’t please everyone, I guess.BLACK BELT: HAVE YOU EVER DEFINED YOUR SCHOOL OR ARTS HONOR IN A FIGHT? HOW IT TURNED OUT?Mr. Ken: Are you kidding? People go out and challenge me all the time. I give them a chance to sign a waiver that releases me from any and all liability if they are killed. It’s a 400 page document. No one gets past the first 50 signatures. But when they do, they will sign their own death warrant. Click here to read Part 2. Photo by Cory SorensenBONUS: Master Ken in bodybuilding!“If you want to exercise, do it. Aerobics classes masquerading as self-defense — like cardio kickboxing — waste precious time on cardiovascular fitness. I focus on street fighting gymnastics. It is a scientific fact that the more often you experience moments of terror, the larger your adrenal glands, allowing you to store more testosterone than the average person. multiple attackers – for example, while you are using the dojo’s restroom. To avoid going forward, the fight should end as quickly as possible. If your fight lasts longer than I tie your belt, you’re not ready to go. “Read more: Who is jimmy in the virgin river