Kenpo-The Way of the Dragon & the Tiger

By Ash

"Remember, that you wear that black belt around your heart. You go out to represent this school, and set an example for the younger students. I swear, if you ever abuse your training, one way or another I will personally kick your ass."
Mike Rainy, my instructor in Kenpo

"I shall never let pride rule my passions and will defend, with all the skill I possess, the weak, the helpless, and the oppressed. I pledge an unswerving loyalty to the association and my instructor, in addition, I pledge an unending effort to earn the self-same loyalty from those who look to me for training."
Blue Belt Pledge, Ed Parker.

The art form of Kenpo in Rifter #6 while similar to my style is not Kenpo as I know it. Kenpo is a very young art form only developed a short time after World War II by Ed Parker. Kenpo is a melding of Kung-Fu, Tae Kwon Do, and grappling. This makes it a versatile defensive and offensive art.

Kenpo follows two mind sets, the way of the Dragon, which represents wisdom, and the way of the Tiger, which represents strength. A more physical representation of this is an open palm (the Dragon) over a closed fist (the Tiger). The Dragon rules the Tiger, the Dragon must hold the Tiger, but the Dragon may unleash the Tiger.
When attacked, a Kenpo master would defend against the first few attacks, then immediately go for a debilitation move, such as sleeper hold, eye gouge, or a fierce kick to the back of the knee. The way of Kenpo is, "Strike second, but strike to finish".
Kenpo schools can be found throughout the world, but teachers only accept those of good principles, and are able to weed out those who would abuse the art.

Entrance Requirements: Limited to those of Honorable Alignment. No Attribute Requirements.
Skill Cost: 10 Years.
Costume: Black, white, or red cotton gi, red can only be worn by those of brown belt rank or higher. Blue is only worn by teachers.
Stance: Facing opponent, legs shoulder width apart, with the lead foot commonly at the 11 o'clock from artist, and the back foot at 5 o'clock. Lead hand forward, open or closed fist, with dominant hand chambered at the waist.
CHARACTER BONUSES:
Add 2 to P.S.
Add 1 to P.P.
Add 1 to P.E.
Add 10 to Chi

COMBAT SKILLS
Attacks Per Melee: 2
Escape Moves: Roll, Break fall, Maintain Balance.
Basic Defense Moves: Dodge, Parry, Auto Parry.
Advanced Defenses: Multiple Dodge, Circular Parry, Disarm, Power Block/Parry.
Hand Attacks: Punch, Knife Hand, Backhand, Palm Strike, Claw Hand.
Basic Foot Attacks: Kick, Trip/Leg Hook, Backward Sweep, Snap Kick, Reverse Turning Kick, Roundhouse Kick, Crescent Kick.
Jumping Foot Attacks: Jump Kick.
Special Attacks: Auto Flip/Throw, Death Blow, Combination Grab/Kick, Choke, Body Block/Tackle, Duo-Palm Strike (SPECIAL! Both palms shoot out to strike the opponents chest. If the strike is successful it does 1d4 damage, and the opponent is stunned for his next action; the attacker cannot parry during this strike).
Holds/Locks: Finger Lock, Wrist Lock, Elbow Lock, Sleeper Hold (SPECIAL! See below).
Weapon Katas (Pick Two): W.P. Staff, W.P. Knife (Paired), W.P. Club (Paired), or W.P. Nunchaku.
Modifiers to Attack: Pull Punch, KO/Stun, Critical, Death Blow, Critical Strike from Rear.
SPECIAL KATAS
Dragon: The artist spends the entire melee using only defensive actions, using the wisdom of the Dragon to assess his opponents fighting pattern. No offensive actions can be made for the entire melee, but next melee and for the rest of the fight, the user has a +1 to strike, parry, and dodge against his opponent. This can only be used against one attacker, not multiple, and it cannot be used more than once for multiple bonuses.
Tiger: The artists spends the entire melee in a flurry of power attacks, using the strength of the Tiger to end the fight with as much speed as possible. No defensive actions can be made this melee, however the user gains a +4 to damage with all of his attacks, as well as a +1 to strike (this strike bonus is cumulative with bonuses from the Dragon kata).

SKILLS INCLUDED IN TRAINING
Martial Arts Powers: Select at total of two powers from among Body Hardening Exercises or Speciality Katas. If desired, any number of powers can be traded, one-for-one, for any Basic Skill Programs.
Languages: None.
Physical: Athletics.
Philospohical Training: Buddhism.
If this is your primary martial art form, then the following other forms can be learned in shorter time. Tae Kwon Do Karate (4 years), Shao-Lin Kung Fu (7 years), Sankukai Karate (6 years), Tai-Chi Ch'uan (5 years), or T'ang-su Karate (4 years).

LEVEL ADVANCEMENT BONUSES
Level 1: +1 to Maintain Balance, Death Blow on a Natural 20.
Level 2: +2 to Roll, Select one Power from Atemi.
Level 3: +1 Attack, +2 to Damage.
Level 4: +2 to Parry/Dodge, Critical on an 18, 19, or 20.
Level 5: +2 to Maintain Balance, +1 to Strike.
Level 6: +2 to Roll, +1 to Damage.
Level 7: +1 Attack, KO/Stun on an 18, 19, or 20.
Level 8: +1 to Parry/Dodge, Select one Zenjorike.
Level 9: +1 Attack, +2 to Break fall.
Level 10: Select one Power from Atemi.
Level 11: Double Chi, +2 to Roll.
Level 12: +1 to Parry/Dodge, +1 to Maintain Balance.
Level 13: +1 Attack, +1 to Break fall.
Level 14: +2 to Damage.
Level 15: Select on Zenjorike.

Why Study Kenpo?
Kenpo is a solid martial art, well balanced with good offensive/defensive abilities.

SPECIAL MANEUVERS
Sleeper Holds
There are two Sleeper techniques taught two Kenpo students, each one designed to defend a specific attack.

The first one is Sleeper, defending against a right step through punch. The martial artist steps back and does a left inward block, and then quickly moves forward, bringing his right arm to the opponents neck, wrapping it around, and locking his hand down on their left shoulder. The left hand is used to solidify the lock.

The second technique, Thrusting Wedge, defends against a front two-hand high push. The martial artist does a prayer parry, bringing his hands togther prayer style between the opponents arms and then spreading them, then a quick follow up is made with a duo-palm strike to stun the opponent. Then the opponent is forcefully spun around, with the right arm once again going around the neck, and the right hand clasping on their left shoulder, with the left hand solidifying the hold.

Performing these techniques takes speed, accuracy, and anticipating the opponent. These techniques can only be used in one-on-one combat. First the Kenpo artist must make a successful parry roll, then follow up with a strike roll, or two for Thrusting Wedge (if the duo-palm strike fails then the technique fails). Once the hold is made, the person applies pressure to the Corotid arterries for 12 seconds, causing the victim to pass out. However if the hold is kept any longer, serious brain damage can result, which is something no true Kenpo artist would wish.