Jeff Speakman

Jeff Speakman
Speakman in Moscow, 2008
Born	Jeffrey F. Speakman (1958-11-08) November 8, 1958 Chicago, Illinois
Nationality	American
Style	Kenpo Karate Goju-ryu
Rank	9th degree black belt in American Kenpo Karate      9th degree black belt in Japanese Goju-Ryu
Years active	1988-present
Occupation	Actor Martial artist
Website	http://www.jeffspeakman.com

Jeff Speakman (born November 8, 1958) is an American actor and a martial artist in the art of American Kenpo and Japanese Gōjū-ryū,^[1] earning black belts in each.

Early life

Speakman was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, where he was a springboard diver at John Hersey High School and achieved All-American status.^[2] He graduated from Missouri Southern State College.^[1]

He has said that the television show Kung Fu got him interested in martial arts,^[3] 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.^[4]

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^[5] in the Gōjū-ryū Karate style which he began to study under Grandmaster Lou Angel starting in 1978.^[1]

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.

Career

Speakman started acting in 1988 and became an actor in 1991 with the release of The Perfect Weapon,^[2] He followed this up with the feature film Street Knight.^[2] In the United Kingdom, this movie was released straight to video in 1993. Other action films followed, including The Expert and Deadly Outbreak.^[2]

Speakman holds training camps every year (Jeff Speakman International Kenpo Camp) for American kenpo. In 1993, Jeff was inducted into the Black Belt Hall of Fame for "Instructor of the Year". He was also 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".

Filmography

Film and television credits

References

External links

• Jeff Speakman website: Jeff Speakman website
• Jeff Speakman at the Internet Movie Database