Why I Am Really Writing This?
In all of the other P90X videos, the cast members practice perfect form within reason. You don’t see people doing “fugly” pull-ups, poor push-ups, or bad yoga poses. Why should the equivalent be acceptable in Kenpo X? Besides of just being wrong, the fact is that bad form hurts the quality and benefits of the workout, as well as just giving people poor self-defense guidance. So, I thought I would write up this post for anyone who wants to get the most out of the Kenpo X workout.
I have to admit that I was shocked when I read in P90X related forums that people tried to copy Tony Lattimore’s form in Kenpo X. While he looks good, his form is generally horrible and definitely not to be used as an example. People claim that Wesley Idol looks lazy. I am not going to argue with that, but I might add some context later. As background, one of the major reasons that I purchased P90X is the fact that it included a Kenpo workout. I have a black belt in American Kenpo Karate, which is the specific martial arts form practiced in the video. Personally, I would love people to love the workout and share the art, but as I said, the form allowed among cast members and the lack of instruction significantly impacts the workout.
It Is Not The Cast Members Fault
I do not fault Tony Lattimore or Vanessa for the poor form they exhibit. They should have had better instruction, especially given Wesley Idol, a 5thdegree black belt, is standing behind them. Tony Horton even highlights and compliments the poor form displayed. There should have been some preparation before recording the workout.
That being said, Wesley does exhibit the right form, albeit without apparent energy. More at the end, if you get that far. I will recommend that you look at Wesley’s form and mirror him with more energy.
Kenpo X 101: Footwork
The first thing to get right is footwork. There is a saying that punches come from the legs. I previously wrote this article about proper Kenpo footwork. A good portion of Lattimore’s poor form results from not moving his back foot when throwing punches throughout the workout. Luckily, Wesley is wearing white shoes, so you can watch him to see how he moves his feet.
Vanessa generally has good footwork throughout the workout, except during the High-Low punches and Upper Block-Punch sequences. During those sequences, she brings her feet together as she goes back and forth, and brings her hands to the side as she goes back. When you bring your feet together during those moves, you lose all power and technically the way Vanessa holds her hands to the side, she leaves her face exposed to a punch. Unfortunately at some point, Tony Horton even compliments her for how she moves her feet, instead of correcting her.
The Specifics
When we get to the kicks, if you want to improve your balance, again watch Wesley. He keeps his hands up. Tony Lattimore definitely tries to kick hard, but he puts his hands down, during sidekicks at least. Besides of weakening your balance, it leaves the face open in case the opponent counters with a kick or punch.
In the Horse Stances, Tony Lattimore doesn’t keep his hands on his waist, but almost in his armpits. Also, he frequently has his hands facing inward, as opposed to facing upwards like everyone else. Again, this reduces the power of his movements, and generally slows them down.
Claw Hammer is actually interesting from a Kenpo perspective and the fine point that Wesley displays is that the punch is coming straight in, with the back foot facing forward, as the claw is circling down. This gives extra power. From a Kenpo perspective, whether you rake the eyes or not is irrelevant, as the claw 1) swipes protecting hands away, while 2) obscuring the vision of the person who you are hitting that the fist is coming right in behind the claw. Try it. When you get it right, it is self defense magic.
Regarding the blocks, I am not going to deny that Lattimore looks pretty, but his blocks are slow, ineffective, and won’t get you sweating. Again, Wesley’s form is prefect, but looks lazy. Upward blocks should have the fist of the blocking hand track up the center of the body, on the outside of the arm coming down. Then as the fist passes your face, your forearm turns outward, with your body slightly torqueing as your other hand returns to the side of the waist. You do not just swing your arm up.
For inward blocks, Lattimore brings his fist up, and then swings his forearm across his body. It looks great, but he would be hit every time. Tony Horton describes the motion as stabbing towards the outside. Your fist should go straight from your waist to the opposite corner. If the block was real, your fist should essentially be punching the attacker’s forearm.
Regarding downward blocks, Lattimore and Vanessa have an arcing motion that starts high, while Wesley does it correctly, crossing the blocking arm from waist level swiping straight downward.
One of my biggest peeves in the workout is when Tony Horton compliments Tony Lattimore doing the 3-direction kicks. Lattimore is balancing on one leg, and Horton says, "This is advanced!" While it did take some balance, the reality is that Lattimore was generally off balance, and if he did actually kick something, he would have fell over. It would have been better, from both a self-defense and exercise perspective, to put the other foot down to get a strong base, and then kick with power.
One of my biggest peeves in the workout is when Tony Horton compliments Tony Lattimore doing the 3-direction kicks. Lattimore is balancing on one leg, and Horton says, "This is advanced!" While it did take some balance, the reality is that Lattimore was generally off balance, and if he did actually kick something, he would have fell over. It would have been better, from both a self-defense and exercise perspective, to put the other foot down to get a strong base, and then kick with power.
Is Wesley Idol Really Lazy?
So why does Wesley look lazy? Possibly, he was. Possibly Wesley moved slow so that you could see his form. Kenpo is known for “fast hands” and a good practitioner can potentially get in 4 strikes a second. There are also a couple of issues specifically regarding Kenpo that could contribute. First with kicks, in Kenpo Karate, you do not train to normally kick above the groin. Kenpo is a style where you train to stay close to your attacker, so you really don't have room to kick higher. It is also not realistic for self-defense to train to kick your attacker in the face. Another thing that makes Wesley look lazy is that in some positions his hands and arms look loose. An advanced Kenpo practitioner trains to not tense up until the moment of impact of a strike. This allows your limbs to move faster, creating more powerful punches, elbows, blocks, etc. Here is a video segment of a really good Kenpo practitioner, and when you consider the points I just made, it might make sense. (It might look flashy and sped up, but that's really how fast you can move with proper form, leg work, etc, and the only thing fake is that the attackers would not be on their feet after the first 2-3 hits).
