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Jeff Speakman (born November 8, 1958) is an American actor and a martial artist in the art of American kenpo karate and Japanese Goju-Ryu, earning black belts in each. ==Early life== Speakman was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, where he was a springboard diver at John Hersey High School and achieved All-American status. He graduated from Missouri Southern State College.〔 He has said that the television show ''Kung Fu'' got him interested in martial arts, and he began by studying in the Okinawan martial art of Goju Ryu Karate until achieving black belt rank. His instructor then recommended that, if he was really intent in pursuing martial arts as a lifestyle, then he should go looking for Ed Parker, a friend of his master. Speakman sold his car to pay for the moving expenses and succeeded in meeting Parker at one of his famous tournaments. Speakman spent years training in American Kenpo under his principal instructor, Larry Tatum, as well as under Ed Parker, the founder of the system. Speakman received his 1st degree black belt in American Kenpo in 1984. He has subsequently obtained an 9th-degree rank in kenpo karate with other instructors, and also currently holds a 9th-degree black belt〔Jeff Speakman was promoted to 9th degree black belt in kenpo karate by Mills Crenshaw and Bob White, and 9th degree black belt in goju-ryu karate by Lou Angel on July 2, 2013.〕 in the Goju-Ryu Karate style which he began to study under Grandmaster Lou Angel starting in 1978.〔 Speakman is also founder and director of American Kenpo Karate Systems (AKKS), an international kenpo karate organization with more than 50 schools. In 2013, Speakman was ill with throat cancer, however he has since fully recovered from it. He has continued his martial arts labor, transforming his previous association, AKKS into Kenpo 5.0. Citing some of Ed Parker's last statements about American Kenpo, Speakman decided to make an attempt to integrate ground fighting techniques to Kenpo's self defense curriculum. Speakman is adamant that in doing this he is preserving the will of Parker, who always intended Kenpo to continue evolving, and that his additions to the system will increase the students ability to repel any type of attack. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Jeff Speakman」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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