The Kenpo Staff Set

Chuck Sullivan is the man responsible for the Staff Set taught by the majority of Parker lineage Kenpo schools in the world.

In the early 1960’s Mr. Sullivan was Ed Parker’s chief student and deeply involved in the transitional period between the curriculum of Ed Parker’s Chinese Kenpo and what would later become American Kenpo.

During this time, Ed Parker was teaching a long, involved Staff Set. Mr. Sullivan took the time to evaluate this set, redesign it, and recommend an optimized, shorter set to Mr. Parker. After viewing the new version, Mr. Parker stated, “That’s it, that’s the one we’ll use.”

Thus, what is known today as simply the “Kenpo Staff Set” was born. Since the creation, this set has been a mainstay of Kenpo weapons forms and has found its way into several other lineages as a tournament competition form. 

IKCA Staff Set
IKCA Staff Set Graphic

A few years ago, Mr. Sullivan released a video teaching the very set he presented to Mr. Parker so many years ago. The video contains the entire set as performed in the early 1960s and a step by step process to learn the form in its entirety. Chuck performs the set himself from multiple angles and presents drills to assist your learning experience!

It is SGM Sullivan’s desire that his video be made available to the public at no cost. Enjoy!

Staff Set Introduction

Basic Staff Movement

Staff Set Sequence 1

Staff Set Sequence 2

Staff Set Sequence 3

Staff Set Sequence 4

Staff Set Sequence 5

Staff Set Sequence 6

Staff Set – Putting It All Together

Staff Set 1962

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