Editor's note: Please see the bottom of this page for updated information. Which was last updated on 8/30/01.

Introduction One

On March 19 1931 on the island of Honolulu Hawaii Edmund Kealoha Parker Sr. was born. Carrying the bloodline of King Kamehameha "the hard shell crab" in his veins he began his martial arts training at the age of sixteen under the tutelage of Frank Chow and then his brother William. The system in which he was trained was called Kenpo Karate. When Ed Parker witnessed William Chow and his students practice he was moved by a "strong and spiritual feeling that penetrated the very depth of his soul communicating to him that Kenpo would become his life’s work". And that it did.

Equipped with an active and intelligent mind he realized the need for new innovations to combat modern day methods of fighting. He later developed revolutionary concepts and theories that are practical not classical. His innovative concepts and ideas have enhanced the martial arts in the United States and beyond. The system that he created is the one I have been training in and teaching for over twenty years.

Ten years before his death Mr. Parker started coming to the area where I lived to give seminars and train us. I have spent time with people that were what I would call spiritually advanced; swamis priest etc. I have friends and acquaintances who are physically gifted in strength and skill. I have friends and students who are brilliant in their collective fields of medicine and science. I have never met anyone who encompassed all three categories like Ed Parker. Ask the martial arts experts today who knew him Chuck Norris, Joe Lewis, Bruce Lee (when he was alive), Gene LeBelle, Billy Blanks, Bill Wallace and many more all who speak and remember him with respect. He pioneered martial arts in this country and others broke tradition and helped us to free our minds and constantly look for ways to improve.

Mr. Parker was always looking for ways to share our art. This included movies television and books. The movie "The Perfect Weapon" I had seen five years before it was made animated by Mr. Parker at many dinner conversations who was always eager to share his ideas. I marveled at the level of his intellect and looked on with awe at the magnitude of his martial prowess. On a few occasions I was used for demonstrative purposes. The more comfortable he became with you and the more he liked you the more he would hit you. On one occasion I felt my collar bone and rib cage flex inward close to breaking. It was as close to being in a fight with Ed Parker as I never wanted to be.

Mr. Parker thought a television show based on the Kenpo system would be an effective way to promote "our" art. (He always called it our art not just his since he felt we all made our contributions to it). A blow by blow analysis of any fight scene that would take place in an episode would only work once in my opinion and would fail to hold an audience’s attention for any length of time.

However a comic book told through the narrative of the title character where actions are frozen in time on paper would certainly be a more effective way to promote and teach the art. It is one of my greatest regrets that I never shared this idea and this project with him before he died. I think it would have excited him and I would have been elated to have his input.

Which brings us to the purpose behind "Legend of the Fist". It is my intent to use this book for entertainment and instructional purposes. To my knowledge no comic book has ever been completely done by a martial artist. Some may have written them. Some may even have drawn them but none have done every task involved in the creative process yet alone use it for instructional as well as entertaining purposes. Again at least not to my knowledge.

This book and the many that will follow (many many more I hope) contains the techniques and the principles of motion that are taught in the Kenpo system as they were taught to me by Mr. Parker and his contemporaries as I understand them. Let me stress that last point clearly; "as I understand them". Mr. Parker believed in the concept of tailoring to the individual since no one is exactly the same. Therefore he would teach one person slightly differently than he would another. Anyone who knows Joe Palonzo knows that he did not exactly receive the same instructions as Tom Kelly (inside joke sorry). So any Kenpo practitioner who feels compelled to tell me "That’s not the way Mr. Parker showed me!" please keep my previous comments in mind.

Also since Mr. Parker’s death there has been a symphony of in-house fighting and struggles for power. Let me now explain that I loath politics and want nothing to do with choosing sides in political struggles. I just want to share with everyone what Mr. Parker shared with me and my class mates. If you are entertained by this book or even better educated by it then I have done my job.

It has been a long hard road getting this book published. The details I will not got into at this time. There were plenty of times that I’d come close to giving up. The obstacles that life has put in the road were many. Fortunately there are exceptionally good people in my life who continue to believe in me even in the weakened moments when I can’t believe in myself. But adversity is the main ingredient in all worth while successes. I’ve learned to embrace it as a necessary training tool much like pain in class. If it doesn’t hurt you’re probably doing something wrong.

And the fight is not over just because this book has finally seen print. Now I have the task of getting others to learn of it. I’m hoping the internet and you the reader will help with that.

Yours in Kenpo

Jeff Palmer

New Information 8/30/01

Introduction Two

 Let me start this second introduction by explaining what has changed, why it changed, and what I hope for the future.

First, I had intended to make "Fist Law" a bi-monthly book. It quickly became obvious how impossible that would be. Writing, drawing, inking, lettering, painting covers, shading interior pages, editing, marketing, distributing, (is anybody dizzy, yet?) etc; were SO time consuming that even two months between issues was not enough time for me to produce the work with which I would be satisfied . Also, I had hoped to interest some distributors in my product. And while they were intrigued with the concept of this book, they were unwilling to commit themselves to monthly or bi-monthly distribution. Not that I blame them. From a marketing standpoint it wasn’t worth their efforts, plus they don’t know me and didn’t know if I could keep up on my deadlines, anyway. Therefore, I decided it would be more advantageous to put the current story line (all four issues) together into one graphic novel. This makes it easier to market and allows me time to do the follow up novels the way I would like .

Second, when I started this project the book was titled "Fist Law", the literal translation of Kenpo. But before I went to print I did a quick copyright search on the internet and found that some people had their names attached to that title though I didn’t know in which copyright class they were using it. Choosing to be safe rather than sorry I temporarily changed the title to "Legend of the Fist". I have since performed a full legal search and found that I could, indeed, use "Fist Law". For those of you who purchased the first issue of this work I hoped you are not too confused.

And third, the feedback I received from the first issue has been inspiring to say the least. The fact that ANYBODY finds my work enjoyable never ceases to amaze me. From the fan letters to the e-mails and the personal praises from all over (even Australia) the comments has been appreciated and I’m glad I get to share this with you.

Quitting has never been an option for this book. Even through all of the adversities. And there were many, I assure you. Wayne Dyer had once said, "Don’t die with your song still in you." I couldn’t agree more. This project has been something that I’ve felt I had to get out of me for sometime. There were times that it was overpowering and caused tensions in my personal life. But I couldn’t ignore the call. It was as if some voice or spirit was pushing me to complete it.

Looking towards the future, I hope that I can continue to publish "Fist Law" as an ongoing series. The next one is plotted out, already. If I’m able to sell enough of this first graphic novel then, hopefully, I’ll be able to afford to create the second. This will, also, give me the opportunity to improve on my work. In describing comic book artists it has been said that you have two thousand bad pages in you. The more you continue to work at it the closer you get to your true potential. Like Michelangelo chipping away at the stone to reveal Moses. I look forward to page two thousand one and sharing it with you. I hope it will be worth the wait and you don’t mind the ride.

In closing, I urge all of you to discover what YOUR passions are and pursue them. Like Wayne Dyer, I believe you come into this world with an agenda and it is up to you to follow it. I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Richard Bach:

Yours in Kenpo,

Jeff Palmer