Edmund Kealoha Parker Jr. (born November 15, 1959) is an American

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

practitioner and

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...

and the only son of American Kenpo Karate founder

Ed Parker Edmund Kealoha Parker (March 19, 1931 – December 15, 1990) was an American martial artist, actor, senior grandmaster, and founder of American Kenpo Karate. Life Born in Hawaii, Parker began training in Judo at an early age and later studied ...

.Who’s Who in Kenpo: Ed Parker Jr.
accessed on April 6, 2010.Ed Parker’s Son Sets the Record Straight

Black Belt Magazine ''Black Belt'' is an American magazine covering martial arts and combat sports. The magazine is based in Valencia, California, and is one of the oldest titles dedicated to martial arts in the United States. History and profile The magazine was ...

, November 1999, URL accessed on April 6, 2010.

Biography

Parker was born in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from ...

. He trained under his father as a youth for several years before moving away at age 19 to

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

to do

missionary work A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

at various

Indian reservations An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a federally recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the state government in which it ...

. For two years he worked with the

Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

Hopi The Hopi are a Native American ethnic group who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 census, there are 19,338 Hopi in the country. The Hopi Tribe is a sovereign nation within the Unite ...

, Zuni,

Southern Ute The Southern Ute Indian Reservation (Ute dialect: Kapuuta-wa Moghwachi Núuchi-u) is a Native American reservation in southwestern Colorado near the northern New Mexico state line. Its territory consists of land from three counties; in descendin ...

Havasupai The Havasupai people (Havasupai: ''Havsuw' Baaja'') are an American Indian tribe who have lived in the Grand Canyon for at least the past 800 years. ''Havasu'' means "blue-green water" and ''pai'' "people". Located primarily in an area know ...

White Mountain Apache The Fort Apache Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation on the border of New Mexico and Arizona, United States, encompassing parts of Navajo, Gila, and Apache counties. It is home to the federally recognized White Mountain Apache Tribe of th ...

and

Jicarilla Apache Jicarilla Apache (, Jicarilla language: Jicarilla Dindéi), one of several loosely organized autonomous bands of the Eastern Apache, refers to the members of the Jicarilla Apache Nation currently living in New Mexico and speaking a Southern Athab ...

Tribes. Parker then moved to his father’s home state of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

where he attended

Brigham Young University-Hawaii Brigham may refer to: Places * Brigham, Cumbria, England * Brigham, East Riding of Yorkshire, England * Brigham City, Utah, USA * Brigham, Wisconsin, USA * Brigham, Quebec, Canada People * Brigham (surname), including a list of people with t ...

majoring in

Illustration An illustration is a decoration, interpretation or visual explanation of a text, concept or process, designed for integration in print and digital published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vid ...

with a minor in Theatrical Arts. During his schooling he studied and made student films—one of which won him an award for the Best Student Film for 1982 in the State of Hawaii Film Festival. He was awarded an internship on the television show "

Magnum, P.I. ''Magnum, P.I.'' is an American crime drama television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator (P.I.) living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from December 11, 1980 to May 8, 1988 during its first-run broadcast on ...

" He also received 12 University art and theatrical scholarship awards. After finishing school, Parker returned to California where he did graduate work at the

Art Center College of Design Art Center College of Design (stylized as ArtCenter College of Design) is a private art college in Pasadena, California. History ArtCenter College of Design was founded in 1930 in downtown Los Angeles as the Art Center School. In 1935, Fred R. ...

. Upon completing his training there, he went into partnership with his father. He helped edit and provided illustrations for his father's ''"Infinite Insights Into Kenpo"'' series of books. From 1983 to 1991 he helped in the production of 8 International Karate Championships. In December 1990, after his father died, Parker continued on within the martial arts industry and produced 6 educational martial arts videos. In June 1992 he published ''"The Encyclopedia Of Kenpo"'' a complete encyclopedia on American Kenpo Karate as taught by his father. He is also well known for his artwork, including many

portrait A portrait is a portrait painting, painting, portrait photography, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, Personality type ...

s of notable martial arts practitioners. His illustrations have been commissioned for film projects, DVDs, book and magazine covers, corporate identities, and custom certificates. His artwork has been distributed internationally. He portrayed his father in the 1993 Bruce Lee biography, '' Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story''. That same year Parker would earn his 1st degree black belt in American kenpo karate under Ron Chapel, one of his father’s students.

Personal

Parker is the son of Edmund Kealoha Parker Sr. (Ed Parker) and his wife Leilani Parker. He lives in Sumpter, Oregon, with his wife Baer and is the father of four children (one son, Edmund K. Parker III, and three daughters).

References

External links

Ed Parker Jr.'s ArtEd Parker Jr.'s Custom certificate designsEd Parker Jr.'s Kenpo Kards
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Ed Jr. 1959 births Living people Kenpō American Kenpo practitioners American male karateka People from Glendale, California People from Sumpter, Oregon