Dear Prospective US Kempo Team Member,                               1 September 2012

            My name is Robert Zingg and I am writing on behalf of The United States Kempo Team, The American Kempo-Karate Association, and the Board of Directors of the International Kempo Federation (IKF).  The IKF promotes all Kenpo/Kempo styles around the world through Regional, National and International competitions. The United States Kempo Team is the official representative team of the USA.

            Kenpo pioneer Master Jeff Speakman, of the Jeff Speakman Kenpo 5.0 System, is the President of The International Kempo Federation and fully supports the US Kempo Team in its efforts to recruit all styles of Kenpo/Kempo fighters and traditional events players, from across the USA, as well as initiating teams from Canada, Central and South America, to compete on the international stage of the World Kempo Championship Tournament in Antalya, Turkey, being held this April 22-28, 2013.

            I would like to invite you to be part of the 2013 US Kempo Team.  Please consider this letter as a personal invitation from me. In addition to being the US Kempo Team leader I am also the Pan-American Director for the IKF and am active in recruiting teams from Central and South America, and Canada to form teams to compete in the upcoming IKF World Kempo Championships this coming April 22-28, 2012 , in Antalya, Turkey.

            I have the privilege of being the Team Leader for the US Kempo Team, and have the honor of leading the Team to successes in each of the previous seven World Championships, in 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, and  2012 (there was no competition in 2004, 2006, or 2010).  I also had the honor of organizing the “USA vs. Romania” Full-contact Exhibitions in April of 2006, which took place in West Virginia and Maryland. 

            The US Kempo Team is searching for individuals Kenpo/Kempo players, Kenpo/Kempo dojos, small and large Kai, and other organizations that may be interested in participating on the 2013 US Kempo Team.  The team is open to any Kenpo/Kempo student or instructor who may practice any form of Kenpo/Kempo.  Japanese, Chinese, Okinawan, Hawaiian, Shorinji, American, Ed Parker Style, Jeff Speakman’s Kenpo 5.0, Kajukenbo, or any other system that has a Kempo or Kenpo base or derivative is welcome. 

            Our goal is to form team consisting of a cross-section of all styles of Traditional Kenpo/Kempo players, as well as those interested in the Sport Kempo fighting, so the world can see the high quality of Kenpo/Kempo in the USA.

            As we prepare for the 2013 WKC Tournament we endeavor to form the highest caliber team we can possibly form in order to match the excellent quality of the European, Russian, Middle Eastern, and Asian competitors we will face.   

    There are many places you can contribute to the team!

            There are five separate full-contact and semi-contact fighting styles and seven Traditional divisions in which to compete, many also divided into male and female categories. The tournament is a Black Belt only competition; however, anyone can compete as long as they realize there is only one rank division.  There is no separation of rank in the tournament; however, several of my blue, green, and brown belts won 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd place medals in the WKC in 2003, 2005, 2008, and 2009.  One of my teen white belts won 3 Bronze medals in his fighting categories in 2008.

Full-contact and Semi-contact

Fighting divsions

There are 5 types of empty hand Sport Kempo Fighting Divisions and

1 type of Weapons Fighting:

(The full set of rules may be obtained by visiting the IKF website:   www.kempoikf.com

 “K-1 Kempo” Full-contact Kick Boxing, full-contact kickboxing with 8 oz boxing gloves. No grappling, throws, or takedowns allowed. Stand-up fighting only.  Knees strikes to the body are allowed during a clinch, and leg kicks are allowed. Round type kicks only to the head, no front or side-kicks to head, all other kicks to the body are allowed.

 “Mixed Kempo” Full-contact Kick Boxing, full-contact kick boxing, with 8 oz boxing gloves.  Grappling is allowed, with throws, takedowns, and submissions. Submissions only while on the ground, no striking or kicking while on the ground. Leg kicks are allowed, knees to body and legs in clinch allowed. Round type kicks only to the head, no front or side-kicks to head. You have 10 seconds to fix your submission, if not then you are stood up, if you are close at the end of 10 second you may get 10 additional seconds to fix it, if not you are stood up.

“Knockdown Kempo” Bare Knuckle Full-contact Kickboxing,  this is full contact fighting, without gloves (grappling gloves are sometimes used in various jurisdictions) no striking to the face with the hand, fist, elbow or knee, only round style kicking to the head, no front or side-kicks to head. Punches, kicks, knees and elbows are allowed to the body and legs while standing and on the ground. All judo, wrestling, and ju-jutsu throws and takedowns are allowed, and full grappling allowed, as well as ground fighting (punches, knees, and elbows to the body while maintaining 3 points of contact with the floor while your opponent is also on the floor.) You have 30-45 seconds to fix your submission, if not then you are stood up, if you are close at the end you may get 15-30 additional seconds to fix it, if not you are stood up. Very similar to MMA (mixed martial arts), but with some safety considerations.

 “Submission Kempo”, grappling only, no striking or kicking.  Submissions, chokes, locks, holds, grappling. Start standing, throws, takedowns, and submissions. Most judo and ju-jutsu throws, takedowns, and techniques permitted, unless deemed dangerous or unsafe by referee.

 “Semi-contact Kempo”, Light Touch point,              similar to regular karate tournaments in the US, but with considerable more contact than what is allowed in the US.. 

 “Full-contact Weapons Fighting”, full-contact fighting with a variety of padded weapons.  Fighters wear protective helmets and use their choice of padded weapons. This category is considered part of the Traditional Kempo Divisions.

Weight classes are divided every 5 kg.

The weight classes are critical for keeping fighters matched up as equally as possible.  From about 50 kg to 95kg and over. 

 Age divisions are as follows:  Male and Female fighters are separated.

World Cup Competition (for juniors only)         World Kempo Championships (for adults)

10 & 11 year olds                                                        16 and 17 year olds

12 & 13 year olds                                                        18 – 35 year olds

14 & 15 year olds                                                        36 - and over Masters

            We are allowed 2 fighters in each weight, class/age, class/type of fighting category, occasionally they allow a 3^rd fighter from each country in each division so there are plenty of opportunities for members to participate, with approximately 10 weight classes in each of the fighting styles and age categories. The younger fighters are only allowed to do the semi-contact and grappling.  Full-contact and knockdown are reserved for the older teenagers and the adults. Those who are from other styles, and are interested in the Sport Kempo Fighting divisions, are eligible for a place on the US Team, provided they can fight under our rules in kickboxing, MMA style full-contact Kempo, and submission fighting, and have the skills necessary to compete against some of the best Kempo Fighters in the world. 

 Traditional divisions: 

There are also other divisions: same age divisions as the fighting.

• Traditional Kata – Male and Female, Solo and 3 person synchronized

• Traditional Weapon Kata – Male and Female, Solo and 3 person synchronized

• Self-defense Division, (both Empty Hand and Weapon divisions)                Small Team, Small Team is 1 defender against 1 attacker.

                    Large Team. Large Team is 1 defender against 3 attackers. 

The “Team” must perform - 4 - “self-defense” scenarios that are similar in nature to one-steps within a group re-enactment of a “fight”.  They are looking for stuff that are “street fight” movements and ideas presented in a realistic but formalized manner.  The “Team” presents the scenario in slow motion, then at full-speed.  One routine after the other, first slow, then fast.  Time limit is 3-4 minutes.  It is very exciting and interesting to watch.  They look for precision, realism, accuracy, effectiveness, creativity, and coordination between team members.

• The categories are:

                  Same age – same gender (small team and large team)

                  Same age – different genders (small team and large team)

                  Mixed ages and genders – (Open Division) (small team and large team)

• In the Kata and Weapon Kata are also separated by age male/female. We are allowed 3 players per age/sex categories, and 3 Teams in the Synchronized Kata divisions.
• There are many opportunities for people to find a spot on the US Kempo Team.

2013 WKC Tournament Update

            The 2013 WKC tournament will be a very grand affair and is scheduled for Antalya, Turkey, this April 22-28, 2013. This will be our second visit to Antalya, Turkey, as we held last year’s competition here. 

The local government was such a wonderful and helpful host to our competition that we decided to return again for this year’s competition. The 2014 World Kempo Championships will be held in Budapest Hungary, April 21-27, 2014.

Our goal is to field a US Team of 50 or more competitors. Previous IKF Championship Tournaments have had tremendous turnouts from many countries, and the skill level of the competitors has been superb. The European Kempo Championship Oct. 2006 in Slovakia, had over 370 competitors from 20 countries.  The 2007 World Kempo Championship in Budapest, Hungary, May 2007 had 483 competitors from 28 countries.  The 2008 WKC in Faro, Portugal had 588 competitors, the 2009 WKC in Bucharest, Romania had over 600 competitors, the 2011 Tournament in Saint Petersburg, Russia had almost 500 competitors, and last year’s competition in Antalya, Turkey has well over 450 competitors. 

     Past Team Success

            While the USA has struggled to form large teams, we have competed successfully against teams many times larger than ourselves.  Consistently, teams from Romania, Russia, France, the Netherlands, Algeria, Hungary, Kazakhstan consistently have very large and powerful teams. Many teams receive full or partial funding for their teams directly from their governments, and are able to field teams of 25 - 75 competitors, or more, each.  Many of the former Eastern Bloc nations, and nations in the North African region, receive subsidies from their governments through their Ministry of Sport to help finance their teams.

Everyone who has been associated with the US Team in the past World Championships has paid their own way and expenses. The goal is for the USA to build a large, strong team in order to compete on the same level as our European counterparts.  Despite our typically small teams we have done very well in previous WKC’s, even with relatively small teams. 

• 2003: We had 11 competitors at the first WKC in 2003, and won the 3^rd Place Overall Team Cup, with 3 Gold, 2 Silver and 16 Bronze medals. (the 1^st place Overall Team cup winner, Romania, had 114 team members, and the 2^nd place Hungarians had 55)
• 2005: We had 7 Team members and won 7 Gold, 7 Silver, and 2 Bronze.
• 2006: USA vs Romania events in the USA, the young and inexperienced US Kempo Team came away with 2 Gold and 10 Silver medals.
• 2007: We were only able to field 4 team members due to last minute injuries; however we still won 5 Gold, 3 Silver and 2 Bronze.
• 2008: With 6 team members we again took the 3^rd Place Overall Team Cup, and the 3^rd Place Traditional Events Team Cup, winning 8 Gold, 6 Silver, 12 Bronze medals.
• 2009: We managed to field a team with 8 members this year, and upped the score with the 2nd Place Overall Team Cup and again with the 3rd Place Overall Traditional Events Team Cup. With the inclusion of 2 of Master Jeff Speakman’s top instructors, we managed to win 7 Gold, 8 Silver, and 12 Bronze medals.
• 2011:  We were only able to send 1 competitor to the World Championships this year (Me! I was the only one who could make it due to the economy and last minute problems). Despite being the only American to compete in 2011, I still managed to return home victorious; earning 1 Gold, 3 Silver, 1 Bronze, and one 4^th Place medal.
• 2012:  We, again, were only able to send 1 competitor from the USA to represent the US Kempo Team. I was, again, the only American to participate, earning 5 Bronze medals for the USA. Even though at 57 I find it harder and harder to compete on this level of world class competition, I could not stand by and watch no one represent the USA in the World Kempo Championships.
• There were no World Kempo Championship Tournaments in 2004, 2006, or 2010.

We had tremendous difficulty producing a team last year, getting members to participate despite financial hardships, and many members deciding not to participate, primarily due to world protests against the USA, and threats by Iran to send “hit squads” to Turkey to target Americans and other westerners traveling there. The Turkish national and local governments are extremely concerned about tourist safety and place a great deal of effort on keeping law and order in Antalya. Tourism safety in Turkey is a top priority and Antalya was a tremendously safe place to hold this event.

I understand the reasons folks have for not wanting to travel to certain parts of the world, we are not soldiers going in to face combat, however, I am not one to back down from threats, and neither are my Kempo/Kenpo brethren across the USA. I feel that the USA and the US Kempo Team should stand proud, regardless of our political leanings, and proudly represent the USA no matter where the event is held each year.     

The 2013 US Kempo Team can be as strong as the participants want it to be…50… 75… 100…or more!

Let the world witness the strength of Kenpo/Kempo in the USA!

           The US Kempo Team needs coaches and trainers to assist the athletes, photographers and videographers to record our work.  This is a large endeavor that will need a great deal of coordination between the various Kenpo/Kempo schools, groups, organizations and associations that will be affiliated.

            We are in need of sponsorships, locally and nationally, to help defray the travel costs associated with the WKC 2013.  Airfare, hotel, misc. travel, etc, are all expensive.  Everyone who has been associated with the US Team in the past World Championships has paid their own way and expenses.  We would like to eliminate that problem through sponsorships and donations. I hope to hear from you soon.  You may call me at my school anytime between 3:30 pm and 9pm EST Monday through Friday at 304-725-3639, or my cell 304-261-0160.

            Please pass on this information to others who you feel would be interested and to make copies of the rules for whom ever needs them.  Please feel free to contact me for any reason. 

   Thank you.                                                                                      

   Sincerely,

   Robert E. Zingg

   Zingg’s Karate Center

   Team Leader of the US Kempo Team

   Pan-American Director of the International Kempo Federation

   The American Kempo-Karate Association–Director of Foreign Relations



 

1. Complete Name

2. Age, DOB,

3. Gender

4. Height, Weight

5. Rank, Experience level

6. Kempo training history

7. Categories in which you would like to compete, see under: Services -  Types of  Competitions.

8. Compelling biography or introduction.

9. Detailed contact info.

10. Please send to:           info@uskempoteam.com

11. Any hard copy or video/dvd of your abilities may be mailed to:

The US Kempo Team

111 W. 2nd Ave, Suite B

Ranson, WV 25438

 ATTN: Robert Zingg                         Team Tryouts 

---------- 

Thank you.

Still have questions? Please contact us anytime! We look forward to hearing from you.

uskempoteam@yahoo.com