Episode 80 – Jeff Grant

In Episode 80 of My Empty Hands, host Reggie Darden sits down with martial artist Jeff Grant for an insightful Kenpo Conversation. Jeff takes us through his decades-long journey, starting from watching Bruce Lee movies as a kid in Germany to finding his true martial arts home in the comprehensive system of Kajukenbo.

Listen as Jeff shares his unique experience cross-training across multiple disciplines—from Texas Blood and Guts Karate to Judo, Jiu-Jitsu, and Kempo—and explains why Kajukenbo became the “full bloom” art that satisfied his hunger for realistic, complete combat training.

In This Episode, We Discuss:

• The Martial Arts Journey Begins: Jeff shares his early influences, from his father’s Taekwondo training in Korea to the impact of Bruce Lee films on base in Germany [02:14].
• The Blood and Guts Era: His intense training experience at the Texas Karate Institute (TKI) in Dallas, emphasizing sparring and body conditioning [04:27].
• A World of Arts: Jeff’s path through Taekwondo, an unplanned Air Force stint with Aikido, and his time as a “throwing dummy” while learning Judo and Jiu-Jitsu at Vince Tumura’s school [10:06].
• Finding His ‘Home’: The moment he was introduced to Kajukenbo by Bert Vickers and realized it was the complete art he had been searching for, blending striking, throws, and joint locks [16:00].
• Kajukenbo Philosophy: Jeff discusses the art’s five contributing styles (Kempo, Judo, Jujitsu, Kenpo, and Chinese Boxing) and the importance of realistic, hard-contact training to test techniques [33:31].
• Forms, Weapons, and Training: A look into Kajukenbo’s 14 forms, the nature of its weapons work (especially the knife), and the differences between various Kaji Kempo branches [34:05].
• The Future of a Complete Art: The delicate balance of growing the Kajukenbo community without “softening” the training and losing its original combat intent [49:13].
• Lightning Round: Jeff reveals his favorite rapid-fire technique, his favorite forms, and why the knife is his weapon of choice [58:09].

Shout-Outs & Resources:

• Guest’s Art: Kajukenbo
• Instructors Mentioned: Bert Vickers, Chris Kimbro, Tommy Burks, Steve Tapper
• Reggie’s Training: Reggie Darden gives a shout-out to Steve Tapper and Tommy Burks’s excellent training groups [23:38].