|
Mr. William L. Kongaika
6th Degree Black Belt
Chief Instructor/Owner
The oldest son of 9 children, William Larry
Kongaika was born in Nuku'alofa, Tonga in 1969. Seeking a better
opportunity for their children, his parents moved to Los Angeles,
California when he was three years old. Mr. Kongaika's father, Sioeli,
was a noted boxer throughout the Tongan Islands and felt it was
important to impart the boxing skills he learned to the Kongaika boys at
a young age. Moving from one rough neighborhood to another, Larry found
his boxing skills a necessity as he was regularly faced with
confrontation.
The Kongaika family later moved to a Los Angeles suburb of Rowland
Heights -- where Mr. Kongaika, along with other family members began to
study Budokan Tai. His instructor, Mr. Jerry Bradford, was a student of
first generation Ed Parker black belt, Mr. David German.
Mr. Kongaika resumed his martial arts endeavors by training at Ed
Parker's Pasadena Studio. Under the instruction of Ed Parker Black Belt
-- Mr. Tommy Chavies, Mr. Kongaika was taught a solid foundation in
basics and freestyle. Shortly before Larry and Sheri were married, he
stopped working as a diesel mechanic and accepted a position as the
assistant manager of the Pasadena Studio. His Kenpo training went from
part time to full time and his love for the system grew into a life long
passion.
Along with assisting in management at the Pasadena Studio, Mr. Kongaika
ran the membership department of the International Kenpo Karate
Association, and functioned as the Producer for Ed Parker's Long Beach
International Karate Championships. Additionally he aided in the
development of the Encyclopedia of Kenpo.
As a green belt, Mr. Kongaika desired to refine different elements of
Kenpo and pursue training under IKKA Representative Mr. Paul Mills in
Evanston, Wyoming. Mr. Mills was instrumental in teaching Mr. Kongaika
the principles and concepts he learned from Mr. Parker -- which helped
enable him to create power, speed, and energy. Mr. Kongaika greatly
benefited from his training with Mr. Mills and respected him as an
instructor. His training continued from green belt to 2nd Degree Black
Belt under Mr. Mills. Subsequently the relationship between student and
instructor began to take on different paths. Mr. Kongaika painstakingly
made the decision to discontinue training under his instruction.
Realizing the importance of expounding upon his Kenpo knowledge, Mr.
Kongaika reached beyond his circles to gain better insight and
understanding into other martial art systems. Mr. Kongaika trained for
several years with Ed Parker's good friend, the late Master Al Thomas,
founder of the Mako Budo System. He was part of an elite group
specifically trained to teach branches of the Marine Corp in underwater
defense tactics. The team trained extensively in the ocean, certifying
in all levels of scuba diving and rescue dives, to develop an operative
defense curriculum for one-on-one under water enemy attacks.
Mr. Kongaika is honored to be one of the few invited to serve as a
member of the California Martial Arts Advisory Panel for the Los Angeles
Police Department. Among the martial art's members he serves with are
Gene Le Belle, Gokar Chivinchian, Gracie Brothers, Mercado Brothers, Dr.
Joe Verna, Jeff Imada, and formerly with the late Al Thomas, among
others. The purpose of the panel was to revamp the L.A.P.D.'s present
defense tactics training program and perpetually keep them current on
legal effective defensive control procedures. In 1998, Mr. Kongaika
humbly received a certificate of recognition from the Mayor of Los
Angeles for his service to the county of Los Angeles and the L.A.P.D.
Mr. Kongaika was the former Manager and Chief Head Instructor at Ed
Parker’s original Pasadena Studio and was personally instructing many
Kenpo black belts as well as Black Belts from other martial arts
backgrounds. His goal is to perpetuate the art of Kenpo by not
compromising the quality and substance of the system. The art of Kenpo
evolves by applying the universal principles and concepts of motion and
adding upon the base of the system -- not by deleting. He hopes to play
a significant role in helping to unite our Kenpo family together
again—believing that we can continue to grow by unifying our talents for
the benefit of our own students.
Today...and as a respected 6th Degree Black belt, he continues his quest
to keep Kenpo alive and keep the flame burning by opening up his own
studio called "M.A.X. Dojo". Stop on by and see for yourself why this
man is regarded as the Who's Who in Martial arts and experience the
magic of Kenpo that only Mr. Kongaika can show you.
|
