Ed Parker’s Family Tree
The Ed Parker American Kenpo Family Tree is not the first in the Kenpo Black Belt lineage, but it is the first lineage that is readily available. In the future, the tree will be pruned and become a branch of the much larger family tree. The Parker Black Belts are derived from Ed Parker’s 1982 &Infinite Insights into Kenpo, 1 Mental Stimulation,&The list was already outdated when published, and some names are misspelled.
| ADAMS, BRIAN (24)+ | MITCHELL, JIM (8) |
| ARNELL, TERRY (4)+ | OILER, JACK (1)+ |
| CHAPEL, RON (11)* | PALANZO, JOE (24)+ |
| CLARY, HARVEY (9)* | PEACOCK, STERLING (4)+ |
| CONATSER, DENNIS (4) | PERRY, ROBERT (27)+ |
| CONNOR, TOM (22) | PETIT, ARTURO (31)+ |
| CRENSHAW, MILLS (3)+ | PLANAS, RICHARD “HUK” (2) |
| DALTON, PAUL (2)+ | RODARTE, DAN (3)+ |
| DIMMICK, JOE (22)+ | SANDERS, STEVE (31) |
| FLORES, JESUS, REFUGIO (4) | SARTOR, TONY (13) |
| FOX, STEVE (23) | SCHULTE, RAINIER (4)+ |
| FURUYA, JIM “JOSH” (6) | SNELSON, STEVE (26) |
| GRUNWALL, JIM (12)+ | STILLE, FRED (1) |
| HEBLER, DAVID (19)+ | SULLIVAN, CHUCK (14)+ |
| HUTCHINGS, HARRY (23) | TATUM, LARRY (18)+ |
| KELLY, TOM (9) | TRACY, AL & JIM (102)+ |
| KRIVONAK, CHRIS (1) | TREJO, FRANK (4)++ |
| LaBOUNTY, STEVE (10) | VELEZ, GILBERT (4) |
| LaTOURETTE, JOHN (4) | WEDLAKE, LEE JR (2) |
| MacDONALD, ROY (4) | WHITE, ROBERT (13) |
| MARGESON, RANDY (3) | WILL, JAY “T” (32) |
| McSWEENEY, JOHN (8)+ | WILSTEIN, RON (1)+ |
| MEADOWS, ROGER (3)+ |
The following Black Belts were listed on the Parker family tree but with no branches.
| Aaron, Steve | Demeke,Jim | Inosanto, Dan | Roper, Richard |
| Alan, Mike | Downs, George | Inouye, Arnie+ | Sandavol, Sandy |
| Autry, Jack | Dunne, Tom | Laxon, Dan | See, Keith |
| Beckinger, Richard | Eisele, Bob | Leichtman, Jerry | Sepulveda, John |
| Beeder, Charles Sr.(1) | Elkins, Larry | Liles, Robert | Solis, Louie |
| Bleecker, Tom | English, Jeff | Loring, Scott | Steckling, Deon |
| Booze, Ed | Estrada, Sam | Mau, Leonard | Steele, Richard |
| Brewster, Fred | Farr, Jack | McLeod, Doug | Steele, Willie |
| Cardinas, Dave | Feinman, Russ | McCoy, Craig | Street, Herb |
| Carthew, Richard | Flores, Rick (3) | Meyers, Jerry | Strain, Brian |
| Castaneda, Rudy | Garriga, Tom | Mitchell, Robert | Streeter, Randy |
| Castellanos, Ralph | Gemmell, Robert | Montanez, Jorge | Tabian, Ed |
| Castro, Ralph* | Gioia, Robert | Montgomery, Rich (2) | Tanaka, Diane |
| Cholewinski, Stan | Golden, Steve | Mulrine, Frank | Tang, Ming |
| Cineceros, David | Gonzales, Steve | Nall, Calvin | Tillery, Ray |
| Clapp, Jim + | Gow, Tom | Nehdar, Ray | Trevino, Jim |
| Clapp, Judy + | Hancock, Skip | Nishita, Roy | Tuiolosega, Tino |
| Collier, Wayne | Harris, Melvin | Pattiz, Norm | Waite, George |
| Conti, Lincoln | Hartsell, Larry | Pegelow, George | Walker, Dale |
| Conti, Phil | Herring, Steve | Pick, Mike | Weidell, Craig |
| Conway, John Sr. | Hibben, Gil | Powell, Dave | Wenke, Ed |
| Conway, John Jr. | Holleman, Vern | Presley, Elvis | White, Jack |
| Cook, Robert | Howard, Tom | Psik, Paul | White, Roscoe |
| Coots, Lonny | Ibrao, James (1) | Reyes, Manny | |
| Cornejo, Albert | Riskas, Tom |
AS OF 1982, MASTER ED PARKER HAD AWARDED 145 BLACK BELTS
The first Black Belt was James Ibrao, promoted to Shodan in 1957. Ed Parker had taught at BYU before 1956, but the highest rank he awarded there was brown belt. Two of these brown belts, Charles Beeder, Jr. and Mills (Miles) Crenshaw were promoted to Shodan in 1963 just prior to the formation of the International Kenpo Karate Association. Beeder has since dropped from the martial arts scene and has not been heard of in 20 years. He is presumed dead. Mills Crenshaw founded the IKKA in 1964 and headed that organization with Ed Parker for nearly a decade before dropping from the martial arts.
Ed Parker promoted 7 Shodans and one 1st Degree Black Belt between 1956 and early 1963, they are in the order in which they were promoted:
(1) James Ibrao – 1st, promoted by Ed Parker to Shodan (1957) after opening his first studio in Pasadena. James Ibrao is the most senior and highest ranked black belt in kenpo.
(2) Rich Montgomery 2nd, promoted by Ed Parker to Shodan (1959)
(3) Rick Flores 3rd, promoted by Ed Parker to Shodan (1960)
(4) Al Tracy 5th, promoted by Ed Parker to Shodan 1/2/1962. Certificate dated 1/7/62.
(5) Jim Tracy 6th, promoted by Ed Parker to Shodan 1/2/1962. Certificate dated 1/7/62.
(6) Chuck Sullivan 9th, was promoted by Ed Parker to Black Belt in early September 1962.
(7) John McSweeney, promoted by Ed Parker to Shodan, September 28, 1962. He was the first to receive a Shodan certificate in the IKKA in 1962.
(8) Dave Hebler, promoted by Ed Parker to Shodan, October 1962.
(9) Sterling Peacock promoted by Ed Parker to Shodan in 1963.
The exact order of Shodan promotions after Sterling Peacock, up to 1965, is unknown, but the Shodan are believed to be as follows:
Joe Hyams
Dan Inosanto
Jim Grunwall
Joe Dimmick
Brian Adams
Tom Gow
Jerry Meyers
Leonard Mau
Steve Golden
Phil Conti
Tom Bleecker
Dave Butts
Robert White
George Waite
Larry Hartsell
Robert Cook
Mike Pick
Albert Conejo
