We were at the Ridgehaven seminar last week (we had a ball).My wife took photos and also filmed it.I have to say meeting Mr Speakman was a life long dream of mine and i hope he comes back to Adelaide again soon, but i also hope you and the other instructors come back again also so thanks once again !!!

Had a great time at the Jeff Speakman seminar Saturday. Thanks to Jeff and all his helpers. I look forward to next year. Kym Reid

We had a seminar in Adelaide today (Ridgehaven dojo) all of you Kenpo guys and girls are truely amazing.... your power and speed blew my mind !! thankyou once again !!

I highly recommend attending a Jeff Speakman Kempo 5.0 seminar. Great bloke and great helpers. Warning: don't let them girls hit you ... ouch! International Budo Federation

A great time had at the seminar. Jeff was a down to earth bloke and all his helpers were brilliant. I think there were about 80 participants, one of the biggest and friendliest he's attended according to his minders. Everyone was working up a sweat and Shawn had all the questions. Hopefully there'll be a few photo's up soon.

Thank you to Mr. Speakman and his crew. Again he did not disappoint with an informative yet active seminar. It was great to see it "knuckle-heads" really strutting their stuff on the mat. Needless to say, I was buggered, but learned a lot. It was great to meet a whole load of new people and see some familiar faces as well. And yes, I'm pleased we could help with getting Mr. Speakman here. An opportunity we didn't have for the last 9 years. I look forward to the seminar next year and next time, I'm going to dinner. That's all for now, I'll try and post some more later.

had a great time at the seminar, came away battered and bruised and smilling from ear to ear. was great to see someone of Mr Speakmans calibre happy to speak personally with any and all of the students that were there. i had the honor of him actually introducing himself to me personally as he walked past me at the entrance. all the techniques show to us were fantastic, very well demonstrated and shown in such a way that made it easy to learn what we were meant to be doing (even if we couldnt do it correctly ) i am definitely looking forward to having him back next year.

Attended your Kenpo 5.0 seminar at Seaford 28th Nov 2009. A great insight into your style and concept. Really appreciated the high standard of your instructor assistants.

Dear Mr. Woods,

You do not know me, but I know one of your pupils, Aaron (who works at 'Silverlake' in Geebung). Although previously familiar with Kenpo through the movie "the perfect weapon", Aaron really brought my attention to American Kenpo a few months ago as we discussed the numerous martial arts we both have practiced over the years. Recently, I moved to Tasmania for my health and.with much time on my hands, decided to look at Jeff Speakman's 5.0 website. Well, what I read from then on was incredible. [At this point, can I please ask that you forward this to Mr. Speakman, that is, after you have read it yourself and deemed it appropriate. Thank you].

In all the literature I have ever read concerning the martial way and combative arts, Bruce Lee's "Tao of Jeet Kung Do" is the only other item that has as much meaning, sincerity, and passion that Mr. Speakman's did. Not only did Jeff's words echo in my heart as being the truth and the voice of the warrior, but his depth of emotion and humbleness was awe-inspiring. To take the 10 minutes to read his article was not only a good investment in myself, it was also the culmination of all that is right and true about the "way". This, above all I found to be of most benefit. It gave me something that I had been seeking for a long time. The truth. Not just about what martial arts should stand for, but more importantly, what the human being should stand for. Here, in this one article, Mr. Speakman hit the nail on head and brought it all to the forefront. His undying passion and honor to your discipline is an example that only a minority of schools could manage to ascertain, let-alone implement. You are truly blessed to have such a pioneer at the helm. But that's not all...

After reading his words, (which is a rare thing in itself) he then continued on to thank me and everyone else for reading his article! Honestly, I was absolutely overwhelmed at his humbleness and gratitude. Here we have a man, (a great man, a wise and honest man) who has just honored us with his words, and yet here he is thanking us for reading his article. Well, Mr. Speakman, I would like to thank you. Thank you for sharing your emotion and truth with all of us. Thank you for taking the time to put into words the truth about what martial arts should be about...The Journey. Not some commercialized BS black belt. Thank you for being so open and honest about what you went through. It is not often to find people of your position and responsibility sharing so much of themselves with such honesty. (Which, sadly enough, is exactly what others with responsibility should be doing.sharing their emotion and honesty).

If more teachers, leaders, parents, partners (and so on) did this, then the future will be one of greatness and of passion. As long as you and others like you, and even myself, continue to push the envelope of human potential and not sell short our integrity, then this ideal will be one day realized. May good health and long life always be with you. My thanks to you also Mr. Woods for taking the time to pass this on, should you choose to do so.

Sincerely,

Steve Kerin
Australia

Dear Mr Giovenco,

I have just returned to work following the Kenpo seminar conducted by Professor Speakman in Sydney on the weekend and felt compelled to put a couple of notes to paper (so to speak).

Firstly I hope the injuries Professor Speakman sustained are starting to heal well.

Congratulations must be passed onto your team for organising an exceptional event, and to Mr Martin Gosling and the students of that club who presented themselves in such a friendly and courteous manner, its always difficult travelling to another Martial Arts club, but the way in which I was accepted and treated is true reflection of their leadership.

I must also thank Mr Don Woods who trained with me on the day, his passion for the art of Kenpo and martial arts in general is a delight to see. I am sure he will go a long way within Kenpo.

Professor Speakman's dedication to his art is something to behold. I began training in the Martial Arts in 1982 and I should probably point out that I have just celebrated my 20th year as a Black Belt in Shotokan Karate so I've been around the the blocks a few times. I have had the chance and opportunity to train with a variety of Martial Arts "super stars" so to speak but Professor Speakman's humility always stands out in, he definitely shows all the traits for Bushido, the way of the warrior.

He has certainly created a fantastic and comprehensive system with Kenpo 5.0 one for which I am sure will be around for a long time.

You can expect an order for the Kenpo 5.0 material in the next day or so ( as soon as i can sneak the credit card away from the Minister of War and Finance...)

Again I thank you for the opportunity to train with your system and as I will be working in the United States next year with the New York Fire Department (Paramedic Unit) I would hope to be able to train at the Las Vegas Camp in 2008.

Yours in Martial Arts

Darren Hicks
Paramedic

We are all very aware of the standard that Mr. Jeff Speakman holds for his students. With pride we can say that we are among the elite in the martial arts world. I’ve only known Mr. Speakman for a short time in comparison to so many others within the organization (AKKS). I am truly envious of those who have been training with him for years and years.

When on the floor in one of his franchise schools he will always expect the best and will not tolerate anything less. It doesn’t matter if you’re on the floor with him or out to diner, he preaches his vision of unity between all of his franchise schools and how his standards of excellence must be met. Otherwise, I believe, we will become ordinary. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be ordinary. I’ve been to ordinary schools … it’s chaotic. I need the structure, long for it, and have found it.

On a certain scale I’ve enjoyed being part of an organization that is so open to share and spend time with one another. Never did I realize how big that “family” truly is. I was blessed with the opportunity to go to Australia last month. What an incredible journey! It was here that I realized that what Mr. Speakman has been preaching about is being accomplished.

Mr. David Giovenco, Mr. Speakman’s administrator for the Australian JSKK (Jeff Speakman’s Kenpo Karate) in Sydney spent precious time with me and went well out of his way to meet up with me again in Brisbane to continue our training with the Woods family. What an incredible family this is! Husband and Wife, side by side completely dedicated to “the vision”. Their children are all also involved within the Universal Program. So here you have a whole family of Kenpo practitioners … be afraid, be very afraid.

I can’t say enough about Mr. Giovenco and the standards that he holds for all of Australia. Working with him was just as if I were with Mr. Tony Potter in Santa Fe, NM or Mr. Michael Monti in Phoenix, Az. It was amazing, same standards of excellence, fundamentals, principles, everything … Here’s the thing, it all took place half the world away for me. Wow!! I drive to Santa Fe within an hour, fly to Phoenix within an hour, so yeah, I can see were these standards are met. But to go half way around the world (I mean when I left the United States it was summer, when I got to Australia it was winter) and to not skip a beat; I am truly amazed. How wonderful it is to have someone demand such structure. We will loss people from time to time because of the high demands, but to compromise our standards to meet the needs of those unable to meet those standards will take us out of the elite and we will be doomed to be ordinary.

By Joe Conway