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Edmund Kealoha Parker (March 19, 1931 - December 15, 1990) was an American martial artist and teacher. Parker was born in Hawaii and raised a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He began his training in the martial arts at a young age in judo and later boxing. Some time in the 1940s, Ed Parker was first introduced to Kenpo by Frank Chow. After some time Frank Chow introduced Ed Parker to William K. S. Chow. Parker trained with William Chow, while serving in the Coast Guard and attending Brigham Young University. In 1953 he was promoted to the rank of black belt by William K.S. Chow. By 1956, Parker opened his Dojo in Pasadena, California. His first black belt student was Charles Beeder. The other black belts in chronological order up to 1962 were: James Ibrao, Rich Montgomery, Rick Flores, Al and Jim Tracy of Tracy Kenpo, Chuck Sullivan, John McSweeney, and Dave Hebler. In 1962 one of Parker's black belts, John McSweeney, opened a school in Ireland, which enabled Parker to create the International Kenpo Karate Association. Parker was well known for his business creativity. He helped many martial artists to open their dojos. He was also well known in Hollywood where he trained a great many stunt men and celebrities; most notable was Elvis Presley. He also helped Bruce Lee gain national attention by introducing him at his International Karate Championships. He served as Elvis Presley's bodyguard during the singer's final years, did movie stuntwork and acting, and was one of the Kenpo instructors of martial arts action movie actor Jeff Speakman. He is best known to Kenpoists as the founder of American Kenpo and is referred to fondly as the "Father of American Karate". He is referred to formally as Senior Grand Master. Parker had a minor career as a Hollywood actor and stunt man. His most notable film was Kill the Golden Goose . In this film, he co-stars with Hapkido master Bong Soo Han. His acting work included the (uncredited) role of Mr. Chong in student Blake Edwards' Revenge of the Pink Panther. Edmund K. Parker died in Honolulu of a heart attack on December 15, 1990. His widow Leilani Parker died on June 12, 2006.
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