1. Jeff Speakman was born on November 8,1958 and is an American actor and a martial artist in the art of American Kenpo and Japanese Goju-ryu, earning black belts in each.
14 Facts About Jeff Speakman
1. 2.
Jeff Speakman has said that the television show Kung Fu got him interested in martial arts, and he began by studying the Okinawan martial art of Goju-ryu until achieving black belt rank.
3.
Jeff Speakman sold his car to pay for the moving expenses and met Parker at one of the latter's tournaments.
4.
Jeff Speakman spent years training in American Kenpo under his principal instructor, Larry Tatum, as well as under the system's founder Parker.
5.
Jeff Speakman received his first-degree black belt in American Kenpo in 1984.
6.
Jeff Speakman was promoted to ninth degree in kenpo karate by Mills Crenshaw and Bob White and ninth in Goju-ryu by Lou Angel on July 2,2013.
7.
Jeff Speakman was promoted to tenth degree on July 9,2022.
8.
Jeff Speakman started acting in 1988 and had his first main role in 1991 with the release of The Perfect Weapon, He followed this up with the feature film Street Knight.
9.
In 1993, Jeff Speakman was inducted into the Black Belt Hall of Fame for Instructor of the Year.
10.
Jeff Speakman was recognized for excellence in martial arts and was inducted into the Masters Hall of Fame in 2009 where he received the Silver Life Achievement Award.
11.
Jeff Speakman is founder and director of American Kenpo Karate Systems, an international kenpo karate organization with more than 50 schools.
12.
In 2013, Jeff Speakman was ill with throat cancer, however he has since fully recovered from it.
13.
Jeff Speakman has continued his martial arts labor, transforming his previous association, AKKS into Kenpo 5.0.
14.
Jeff 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 student's ability to repel any type of attack.