American Kenpo or Kajukenbo

[EPAK]

Before I started taking American kenpo classes, I had Shaolin Kempo in mind.  The Villari website looked pretty enticing but there wasn't any school nearby.  So I started taking American Kenpo classes.  They say that things always happen for the better, and in this case, I believe it did.  American Kenpo (AK) is a very logical system and everything has a purpose.  Every single stance, strike, position, etc. in a technique is meant to teach a principle.  It would be unthinkable in this system to do anything that has no meaning or purpose.  I very much feel that this is the system for me.
I am going to be going of to college in September and in making my university choice, I'm actually considering if there are any kenpo schools nearby.  (Note: I am only considering, this will not be a limiting factor to the university that I attend).  In my search, I have seen several kajukenbo schools and Shaolin Kempo schools.

Now here goes by question, I saw a shaolin kempo kata being performed in a website.  The stances were very different from the American Kenpo style.  They were very open and exposed the groin to the opponent.  This is not something that you wanna do in a fight.  This system seems to be more karate based (one punch kill).  They also had a technique that seemed to have too much wasted movement.  I know it is impossible to interpret a style by watching a couple of clips.  But is there anyone that has any experience in both American kenpo and shaolin/kaju kempo.  

Parker's genius is based on how he eliminated a lot of techniques from the kenpo he learned and created a system that is based on the study of motion by means of category completions.  He also added a lot of terminology to his system to help in explaining the principles.  I am still very much a beginner and by no means am I trying to put down any system.  Each one has its strengths and weaknesses.

Thanks

[Karazenpo]

 Hello Sir, much of the Shaolin KeMpo out there is a subsystem of Sijo Gascon's Karazenpo Go Shinjutsu which in turn is a subsystem of Kajukenbo. This includes Villari's. The other popular system is the Shaolin KeNpo of Great Grandmaster Ralph Castro which has a direct link to Professor Chow's original system.
  I've been deeply involved with Shaolin Kempo of Karazenpo, Karazenpo Go Shinjutsu itself and Nick Cerio's Kenpo. These kempo systems were originally based on the early hard, explosive karate of Sijo Emperado's "Original Method" of Kajukenbo. Nowadays, some of the forms reflect this "hard' style while others are softer and still others have the "rapid-fire" hand striking. Stances, from what I've been trained in, are basically the same in both arts. These kempo systems I have studied are all based on scientifically validated principles of motion as Mr. Parker's is based. I don't know what form you observed nor which of the many off-shoot systems it came from and there are many. Each off-shoot reflects the perspective of its indidvidual founder which could cause the variation.
  I only have limited experience in Mr. Parker's American Kenpo but I have a "kempo brother" on the west coast that is proficient in both arts-Parker's & Villari's. His name is Peter Teymourez. He will be able to help you further. Contact me through my e-mail address, it is on this forum and I will tell you how to contact Mr. Teymourez.
                             Respectfully, Shihan Joe Shuras