OUR HISTORY
The Parker/Planas Lineage traces its roots to Senior Grandmaster Edmund K. Parker, the founder of American Kenpo Karate. Richard “Huk” Planas began training in the late 1960s, earned his black belt and all subsequent ranks directly from Ed Parker (reaching 7th degree in 1985—the highest non-honorary rank Parker awarded), managed the Pasadena school, and served as Executive Vice President of the International Kenpo Karate Association during Parker’s final decade. He also helped develop the original system manuals.
After Parker’s passing, Mr. Planas continued teaching the art worldwide. Now with the passing of Mr. Planas, his senior students formed a committee to preserve and unify his lineage and teachings. Today that committee upholds the traditional curriculum, principles, and standards Mr. Planas received from Ed Parker, ensuring the art is passed on with integrity for future generations.
About Huk
Grandmaster Richard “Huk” Planas
Instructor’s Instructor · Parker/Planas Lineage
Richard “Huk” Planas was one of the foremost authorities on Ed Parker’s American Kenpo. First-generation Parker black belt, teacher of teachers, and founder of the Parker/Planas Lineage, he spent more than five decades teaching the whys of Kenpo—not only the hows—from the rules and principles of motion. He passed away on July 7, 2025, at the age of 78.
Early training and Ed Parker
Mr. Planas began Kenpo in Fresno, California, in the late 1960s under Steve LaBounty and Tom Kelly. In 1969 he moved to Texas to help Tom Kelly open a school in El Paso, then went to Pasadena as a brown belt to work for Ed Parker. He received his black belt and all subsequent rank through Parker through 7th Degree—the highest non-honorary, non-political rank Parker awarded—in 1985.
He managed the Pasadena school for several years and served as Executive Vice President of the International Kenpo Karate Association for the last ten years of Parker’s life. During that period he was instrumental in developing the original Kenpo manuals. He assisted Parker on Ed Parker’s Guide to the Nunchaku (1975) and appears in Infinite Insights Into Kenpo, Volume One.
Rank after Parker
After Parker’s passing in 1990, other associations formed. One promoted Mr. Planas to 8th Degree in 1991. In 1995 several associations joined to promote him to 9th Degree. He was later recognized as 10th Degree Senior Master of the Art. In 1994, in his 25th year in the system, he formed his own lineage and created the Planas Patch—awarded only to instructors who could perform the system to his personal satisfaction. Wearers are recognized as first-generation students under his guidance.
The teacher
Though Kenpo was his core, he also studied Judo, Tai Chi, Kung Fu, Shotokan, Silat, and the Filipino arts (he was part Filipino; his brother, Ed Planas, was a master of Kabaroan Eskrima). Students and school owners brought him in worldwide. He taught across the United States—Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Washington, and more—and internationally in Argentina, Canada, the Cayman Islands, Chile, England, Denmark, Greece, Guatemala, Ireland, Italy, the Jersey Channel Islands, Patagonia, Spain, and Sweden. Many traveled to train with him in New Orleans for private lessons and extended camps. Seminar packages typically included private training for the sponsoring instructor.
He was known as the “Instructor’s Instructor” and, among his students, “the encyclopedia of Kenpo.” A frequent line of his: Speed is an illusion of proper motion. He also said he did not give ranks—he gave lessons.
In print and on film
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Featured in Ed Parker’s Infinite Insights Into Kenpo, Volume One
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Assisted Ed Parker on Ed Parker’s Guide to the Nunchaku (1975)
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Black Belt magazine, January 1992: “Who Is the Rightful Heir to Ed Parker’s Kenpo?”
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Black Belt magazine, September 1997: “Nine Golden Rules of Kenpo”
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The Journey: The Oral Histories of 24 of the Most Proficient American Kenpoists of Today
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Original Kenpo Forms DVD series (Short Form 1 through Long Form 6, basics, and family groupings) and later “Problem Techniques” material
The man
He kept an extensive collection of whips, knives, guns, guitars, mandolins, and ukuleles, and was always looking to add to it. Friends remember the humor as much as the precision—the brown belt who showed up at Pasadena ready to fight and to laugh.
The lineage continues
The Parker/Planas Lineage Committee was formed to keep his material, rank standards, and the Patch intact. Following his wishes, the committee elevated Sifu Marty Zaninovich to 10th Degree. Committee members include Marty Zaninovich (10th), Chuck Epperson (9th), Scott Halsey (9th), Bruce Epperson (9th), Al Myrtle (9th), J.R. Diaz (9th), Joe Doyle (9th),
Max Bychkov (8th) and Ingmar Johansson (8th).
Events, instructor references, and lineage questions: parkerplanaslegacy@gmail.com