American Kenpo Yellow Belt Requirements

Techniques

1. Delayed Sword – Front right-hand lapel grab
2. Alternating Maces – Front two-hand push
3. Sword of Destruction – Front left straight or roundhouse punch
4. Deflecting Hammer – Front right front thrust kick
5. Captured Twigs – Rear bear hug with arms pinned
6. Grasp of Death – Left flank right arm headlock
7. Checking the Storm – Front right step-through overhead club strike
8. Mace of Aggression – Front two-hand lapel grab while pulling in
9. Attacking Mace – Front right step through straight punch
10. Sword and Hammer – Right flank left hand shoulder grab

Sets

• Blocking Set #1

Forms

• Short Form #1 (right side only)

Freestyle Techniques

The freestyle techniques taught in Kenpo are progressive patterns of attack. They teach you to create your own freestyle techniques and use body and foot maneuvers to gauge distance. Instead of named techniques like Delayed Sword, they use letters and numbers for specific moves in freestyle techniques. Many instructors avoid teaching these techniques at the Yellow Belt level because they repeat at the Orange Belt level and additional weapons are introduced. However, other instructors include them as they are listed in Kenpo texts like Infinite Insights.

• B = Base move- the base move consists of two variations: (a), a left hooking grab, pulling down diagonally to the left with a right vertical punch to your attacker’s face, and (b) a left hooking grab, pulling horizontally to the left with a right uppercut to your opponent’s ribs.
• a = first variation
• b = second variation
• 1 = in-place stance change
• 2 = push drag
• 3 = front crossover step out
• 4 = front crossover step out with a step-through

Categorical Breakdown