Purpose of This Page
This page is intended for students, parents, and practitioners who wish to understand the background and influences behind the training approach used at the academy.
The History Behind the System
Ed Parker and the Birth of American Kenpo
American Kenpo was developed by Senior Grandmaster Ed Parker - a Hawaiian-born martial artist who earned a black belt in Judo before studying Kenpo under William K.S. Chow in his native Hawaii. He eventually came to the United States, where he spent decades dissecting, innovating, and refining what would become one of the most complete self-defence systems ever created. During his early years in California, he studied widely, conversed with instructors across the state, and experienced real street confrontations - all of which shaped what the system became.
What set Mr. Parker apart was not his physical ability, but his mind. He approached martial arts as a science, grounding every movement in logic, physics, geometry, and kinesiology. He gave names to principles of motion that others felt but could not articulate, and in doing so created a framework for teaching that was genuinely unprecedented.
He believed the art should never stop evolving. As he often said, it was meant to remain "a living art." And as he taught those closest to him: "The man who knows how will always be a student, but he who knows why will continue to be the instructor." - Ed Parker
Mr. Parker passed away on 15 December 1990, leaving behind a system of extraordinary depth, and a small number of students who truly understood it.
Paul Mills: The Smiling Guillotine
Among Mr. Parker's closest students was Grandmaster Paul Mills of Evanston, Wyoming - a 10th degree black belt and one of the most technically proficient Kenpo practitioners of his generation.
Mr. Mills began his Kenpo training in 1966 and became a direct private student of Mr. Parker around 1980, training personally at Mr. Parker's home consistently for the last ten years of his life. Mr. Parker promoted him through his fifth degree black belt and was known to introduce him to other students during visits to various schools. It was during these trips that Mr. Mills earned the nickname "The Smiling Guillotine," and Mr. Parker was often heard referring to him as his "Secret Weapon."
What Mr. Parker taught Mr. Mills went beyond technique. He taught him how to think analytically, logically, and without being chained to tradition for tradition's sake. That lesson shaped everything Mr. Mills would go on to create.
Real-World Experience
Mr. Mills' development of the system was not purely academic. For over twenty years, he worked security at his nightclub in Evanston, Wyoming, during some of the roughest years in the state's history - dealing regularly with situations that most martial artists only theorise about. Those experiences gave him something rare: an honest, field-tested understanding of what actually works under pressure.
Outside the nightclub, much of his research and development took place in what he called "The House of Pain" - his private training space in his basement where thousands of hours of experimentation, dissection, and refinement were carried out. His seminars later became known as the “Travelling House of Pain.” He was also a world record-holding quick-draw artist in 1971, training under his mentor Bob Munden, “The Fastest Gun Alive”, a fact that speaks to the level of precision and physical development he brought to his study of movement.
This real-world foundation is why the system he developed is practical, direct, and grounded in reality rather than performance. Every update he made to American Kenpo was the result of experience, experimentation, and rigorous research and development - never changed on a whim, always changed with purpose.
The Founding of the AKKI
In September 1997, after more than thirty years of dedication to the art - during which he served simultaneously as National Testing Director, Regional Representative for a ten-state area, and one of only three members on the IKKA Systems Council - Mr. Mills made the difficult decision to leave the IKKA and form his own association. The reason was simple: he believed American Kenpo needed to keep evolving, and he needed the freedom to do that properly.
The American Kenpo Karate International (AKKI) was born from that conviction.
What Mr. Mills built was not a departure from Mr. Parker's vision. It was a continuation of it. He developed new empty hand techniques, a complete knife and club system, ground fighting curriculum, and identified new principles of motion that clarified and deepened everything Mr. Parker had laid down. Chief among his innovations were the Rhythmic Timing Patterns, a master key to understanding how explosive, efficient movement is generated, and his guiding philosophy: "Structure Governs Function."
At its peak, the AKKI had over 200 affiliated schools and clubs worldwide and was widely regarded as producing some of the most technically proficient Kenpo practitioners anywhere, earning the distinction of being called "The Special Forces of American Kenpo."
A Legacy Left Behind
On the 18th of February 2024, Grandmaster Paul Mills passed away, leaving behind a body of work, techniques, forms, sets, drills, manuals, and principles - that represents one of the most significant contributions to American Kenpo since Ed Parker himself.
He also left behind a group of senior black belts who trained directly under him and remain committed to preserving the depth and integrity of what he developed. It is through these practitioners that his principles continue to be passed on.
Mike's Academy of Martial Arts teaches in the direct lineage of Grandmaster Paul Mills. The principles taught here are his principles, logical, honest, and built to last.
Why This Matters for Your Training
Understanding where a system comes from helps you understand what you're actually learning.
When you train at Mike's Academy, you are not learning a watered-down or commercialised version of martial arts. You are learning a system that was shaped by one of Ed Parker's most trusted students, refined through decades of real-world experience, and preserved by people who regard that responsibility seriously.
The goal has never changed: to develop practitioners who understand why they move, not just how, and who carry that understanding with them long after they leave the mat.
Mike’s Academy of Martial Arts is currently an independent school and does not represent or operate under any association or organisation.