LAWS & BUCK

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As you become skilled in the martial arts, you become capable of great violence.

You also develop levels of resourcefulness and personal power that make you able to do more than many of the people around you. These abilities could easily be used to hurt others, instead of just to protect the helpless and improve your own life.

That’s why warrior cultures throughout the world developed ethical codes as part of their training and lifestyle: to prevent these powerful individuals from misusing their power. Our ethical training at KmK is the Code of Bushido.

Bushido is a code of ethics and conduct used by Samurai in feudal Japan. It’s roughly similar to the Chivalry codes practiced by Knights during feudal times in Europe.

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Followers of Bushido strove to develop seven ethical principles within themselves:

Truth

Being honest with others, even when that honesty has unpleasant repercussions. Telling the truth is one of the earliest tests of character and warrior spirit anybody faces. Warriors learn how to pass that test.

Bravery

Having courage in the face of fear, whether that fear is from physical, emotional, or social sources. Bravery is not a lack of being afraid; It’s being afraid and doing the right thing anyway.

Courtesy

Showing good manners, because acting respectfully toward others demonstrates and develops respect for yourself. Acting with courtesy also helps maintain a good reputation for both you and the students you train with.

Compassion

Being kind to those less powerful and fortunate than you, which is a warriors main job in any civilized society. Both heroes and villains are individuals of action and violence. Compassion is the difference between the two.

Sincerity

Being honest with yourself and analyzing what you think is motivating you until you know the truth behind what you do and why you do it. Without sincerity, a warrior can easily be fooled into bad actions.

Discernment

Also known as “wisdom.” This is seeing into the heart of what a situation really is. It helps you make the right choices with your power because you know what’s really going on and what best to do about it.

Loyalty

Doing right by the people who did right by you. This can be any and all loyalty to family, to country, to a martial arts community, or to anyone else who has earned your care and trust.

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These seven ethical principles guided the daily thoughts and actions of the Samurai, and we ask our students to follow that example in their own daily practices. To those classic principles, our ethical curriculum adds two more concepts:

Whatever it Takes

A commitment to accomplishing your goals inside and outside of the KmK martial arts training program. By promising to do “whatever it takes,” you eliminate the possibility of letting excuses stand between the person you are and the person you want to be.

This stands for an important warrior concept. Commitment to your training, to your fellow students, to your family and most cherished friends, isn’t something that comes and goes. It’s something you commit to until the last possible day.

Until the Last Day

You might notice that these last two aren’t ethical principles like the original seven. They’re more like tools you can use to succeed in pursuing the Ethical Code of Bushido. When you have trouble living up to the standards you set for yourself as a warrior and a martial artists, you can reach for these tools and use them as much as you need.

Why Bushido?

Human history tells the story of thousands of warrior cultures, each with its own ethical code. Why, then, choose Bushido in an American martial arts studio in Arizona? We chose Bushido for three reasons:

Kenpo Karate spent a lot of time developing in Japanese territories and among Japanese warriors. Teaching Bushido along with the physical skills of Kenpo is a way to pay homage to that lineage.

Students of Asian martial arts seem drawn to Eastern philosophies like Zen, the Tao and Bushido. Teaching universal ethics in the frame of an Eastern philosophical framework serves that. Students are not taught religion but the strong ethics of the Scholar & Warrior.

Our teacher, Lee Sprague, was enamored of the Bushido Code and made it a central part of his life. Just as we honor the Japanese lineage of Kenpo with Bushido, we pass on Mr. Sprague’s passion as a way to honor and celebrate his life and contribution to the arts.

THE WARRIOR’S PATH BEGINS WITH COMMITMENT

Commitment to martial arts training requires commitment to both the physical and the mental aspects of becoming a Warrior. If you’re ready to accept this challenge, we’re here to help you in any way you need. If not, we’re here to help you when you are ready.

Until the Last Day,

The Knight Method Kenpo Team

Phil BUCK's Locksmith Program

Knight Method Kenpo is proud to offer The Locksmith Program, a specialized training series developed and taught by Mr. Phil Buck, affectionately known as The Locksmith.

The Locksmith Method has been evolving the early 2000s through Phil Buck's experience in a variety of arts combined with research, development and teaching with a primary emphasis on direct no-nonsense practicality through working with the highest level instructors and ex-military personnel. Phil's late father Tony was a soldier, an Army combat instructor and a highly credentialled martial artist who qualified for the 1964 Olympics. Phil has sought to continue his father's legacy through Locksmith.

As a Method, Locksmith uses the same terminology, thinking and What-If approach as Kenpo. The core Program uses 15 standard Kenpo techniques as models to explore a range of variations using a freefrom flow approach emphasising the idea of 'position recognition'. Drawing from Japanese, Chinese, Hawaiian and SE Asian Martial Arts, Locksmith is tied together both by Parker principles and the Wedlake analytical methodology. This means that it requries no shift in thinking for Kenpoists. Instead the material can simply be plugged directly into the existing knowledge base without disruption.

The core Locksmith curriculum was formally set down in late 2022 in The Manual. Under the direction of SMA Lee Wedlake it underwent rigorous 'beta' testing over 18 months with a team of four highly experienced black belts from Chicago - Ozzie Rivero, Dan Helie, Rick Vecchi and Joe Cantele [collectively known as the OGs] . This resulted in a formalized program and the certification of the first Locksmith instructors, known as 'Redshirts', leading to the establishment of Locksmith HQ in Chicago, known as 'Hombu'.

Designed originally as an 'app' for the:Progressive Kenpo Systems organization, Locksmith has taken on a life of its own as Kenpoists have looked to develop their jointlocking skills and transfer that knowledge into their base art. Knight Method Kenpo's Shawn and Rebecca Knight were the first qualified instructors to graduate from the formalized program, and Tucson was established as the West Coast hub for Locksmith as well as the location for annual in-person training with Phil. The Knights have subsequently spearheaded Locksmith in the Western states from their unique cross-lineage perspective.

Locksmith is simple, direct, flexible and easy to learn. 100% hands on, Locksmith gives the student constant direct feedback on effectiveness and develops knowledge of the body, how it works and how to become sensitive to it in order to control it. Locksmith uses leverage rather than physical strength, and as such it can be adapted to virtually anyone whether they simply wish to learn some new skills, integrate joint manipulation into their core art or take the full Instructor program for certification.