"Ed Parker reveals his own dynamic techniques, catches and movements that are capable of creating one startling impact after another." — from the front matter
This vintage item is a product of a time when martial arts were riding high in American cinema, and the American curiosity about and appetite for martial secrets was perhaps at a historical peak. The author, Ed Parker, is described as follows on the back cover:
[...] one of America's foremost karate pioneers. He is the undisputed "Father of American karate", having opened the first karate studio in 1954. [...] In 1961, Time Magazine referred to Ed Parker as the "High Priest and Prophet of the Hollywood sect." To date, he has taught such notables as Elvis Presley, Robert Wagner, Blake Edwards [...] and many others.
Bibliographical Information:
- Title: Ed Parker's Guide to the Nunchaku: Today's Nunchaku with Kenpo Innovations
- Author: Edmund K. Parker, "10th Degree Black Belt"
- Illustrations: David P. Parker
- Publisher: self-published by the author, with a mailing address in Pasadena CA
- Year: second printing, 1980, after original publication in 1975
- Page count
- ISBN: 9780865681040, with LCN number from the front matter given as 75-29969
- Format: softcover, glue binding
Condition: Good to Very Good. The pages are unmarked and likely unread. The blue binding is brittle, commensurate with age, but still tight, with no cracking or page separation. The wrapper is bright with some creasing and shelf wear on the front. Also on the front are several discolorations, likely transfer from brief contact with coffee or food grease. The rear cover bears a bright green pricing gun sticker from a previous seller.
From the front matter: "Fantastic Kenpo innovations are illustrated by extensive charts, diagrams, illustrations, and hundreds of photographs. BRILLIANT NEW CONCEPTS VIRTUALLY LEAP FROM EVERY PAGE OF THIS STUNNING LITERARY ACHIEVEMENT." (Capitalization for emphasis is present in the original, ki-yah.)
This is a wonderful and scarce acquisition for a collector of consumer-market martial arts education and ephemera, for lovers of 70s commercial kitsch, or for the sincere martial arts enthusiast.