JERSEY HISTORY

Jersey Channel Islands

American Kenpo in Europe was pioneered by many instructors, John Conway, Rainer Schulte, Gary Ellis, Roy MacDonald, and Graham Lelliott to name but a few. The purpose of this page is to shed some light on the history of Kenpo in Jersey.

Having spoken to many Kenpo black belts in Europe, we felt that there should be some representation as to how the system has grown and who developed it in each country. It is up to each country to make its own family tree, this is important so that historical facts are preserved and not hearsay as to how Kenpo was developed and promoted in Europe. This was not achieved by one man but by contributions from many.

One of the major pioneers was Rainer Schulte from Germany, along with Graham Lelliott, Roy MacDonald and many others from the Island of Jersey. Graham Lelliott traveling extensively throughout Europe to promote the art taught to him by his instructor, Ed Parker. To begin with, the first school on the Island was started in or around 1967/8. Graham Lelliott and Roy MacDonald's first instructor was Don Cassidy and Maurice Mahon from Ireland. They were doing Irish Kenpo at the time that came from John Conway's schools. Eventually, both of the Irish instructors left the island and the school was then run by the students that they trained. 

Both Graham Lelliott and Roy MacDonald were training under them and receiving rank from them. In 1979 Roy MacDonald returned from a trip to America with his 1st degree black belt. This was after splitting from his Irish Kenpo roots and moving on to train directly under Mr Parker. 

Copyright Michael Miller

Rainer Schulte

A prominent figure in Graham Lelliott and Roy MacDonald's instruction was Rainer Schulte from Germany, this was to be the group's main instructor and it was Mr. Schulte that prepared all of them for their black belt test. Graham Lelliott acknowledges Mr. Schulte as his primary instructor and it was Rainer Schulte that set up Kenpo in Europe with I.K.K.A Europe starting in 1982.

To find out more about the history of Kenpo in Europe and who received their black from whom, you can read the full story in Michael Miller's book “Legends of Kenpo - Rainer Schulte”. This clearly states that Mr. Schulte was the pioneering force in developing Kenpo in Europe and how it was structured, you can read a sample of it here. You can also read Mr. Schulte's story in his own words on Facebook. >Read More


Gorey Castle - Jersey 

Larry Tatum

Another prominent instructor to have a big influence on Kenpo development in Jersey was Larry Tatum. Larry Tatum filmed "Walls of Defence" within the grounds of Gorey Castle and used the ramparts as part of his demonstration routines. 

Both instructors were considered direct students of Ed Parker, and both received rank from him. Source “Legends of Kenpo - Rainer Schulte”

Graham Lelliott, Roy Travert and Tony Martin

Graham Lelliott

Mr. Parker visited Jersey in 1980 and promoted Graham Lelliott, Dave William's, and Jim Rennie to 1st Degree Black. In 1982 Graham Lelliott was promoted along with Dave William's and Jim Rennie to 2nd Degree. Mr. Lelliott tested for the following ranks on the below dates:

1st Degree Nov 5th, 1980
2nd Degree April 11th, 1982
3rd Degree April 6th, 1985
4th Degree April 14th, 1989
5th Degree June 4th, 1993
6th Degree June 28th, 1997
7th Degree Dec 9th, 2005
8th Degree May 2nd, 2009
9th Degree 12 December 2017

Please Note: Grading dates are directly from Graham Lelliott.

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