Sifu James Ibrao was always active in athletics. So it is not very surprising that he also excelled in the martial arts. A friend of his, Bob Sarno, was the one who introduced Mr. Ibrao to Ed Parker in 1956. He joined Ed Parker's Kenpo Karate class, becoming another member with the four other students he currently had.

He attributes his development mentally and physically to his total immersion into the new martial art. It is also true that he acheived the rank of black belt in only nine months, and yes, with Mr. Parker. He was with Mr. Parker when they were developing the forms into what we do today.

It was because of this development, that they involved Mr. James Wing Woo, from San Francisco. Mr. Woo taught Mr. Ibrao the Book Set, which is still used in the Tracy Kenpo system and is taught often as an ala carte form in the the modern American Kenpo system. Mr. Ibrao was one of the students there in the beginning. He helped begin the development of our forms and helped develop many of the self-defense techniques that we do today.

In 1962, Mr. Ibrao was asked to try out for the Harlem Globetrotters and did, touring with them for two years. In 1964, when he returned to Los Angeles, he did not resume his studies with Mr. Parker. He decided to look into the Chinese martial arts.

Mr. Ibrao attributes his martial arts skills, development, and longevity in the arts to his Kenpo roots. Currently, Mr. Ibrao is promoting a system of Jun Bao Kung Fu, which he has been teaching for nearly 30 years. It is a system which consists of 5 forms, including the Book Set, as a home video course for students to learn. He teaches it to develop aspects in the martial artist. This system has become his legacy and encompasses everything he feels the martial arts should encompass: basics, forms, kicks, footwork, balance, power, speed, intensity, and a love of your art. His system is detailed at TheBelt.com.

An interview with Mr. Ibrao can be found here.