Local martial arts trainer is one of 5 in U.S. to receive ‘grandmaster’ status
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IDAHO FALLS – Kung Foo San Soo is something that many only see in movies, but for others it’s their life work.
A local Martial Arts trainer received the highest ranking in San Soo after giving his granddaughter her black belt. He’s one of a less than five in the nation to receive grandmaster status in San Soo.
“I just look at the grandmaster status as something that I’ve put a lot of time in,” San Soo grandmaster Kenneth Hensley says.
Kung Foo San Soo is a Chinese martial art form that teaches practical moves and requires the whole body.
The art form does not rely on muscle strength but teaches students to use their total body weight to offset their attackers balance. They say it’s just like street fighting where anything goes.
This grandmaster started in Riverside, California and has been training for almost 40 years.
“We use our fingers for gouging to the eyes. We use our palms. We pull hair, we bite, we use our elbows,” Hensley says.
Hensley is the grandmaster and owner of Martial Arts Academy on Whittier street. He’s also the founder of his own martial arts organization, the Ken Hensley Association. He’s owned his own school since 2000. He started a school in Salmon in 2004 which is now run by two of his former students. He’s been teaching in Idaho Falls since 2008.
“My instructor Dave Hopkins is a master and I don’t know half of what he knows, but yet I’m a grandmaster because my family continued on with it,” Kenneth Hensley says.
Ken gave his 16-year-old granddaughter Morgan Hensley her black belt on June 24th.
She’s the third generation Hensley in her family receive a black belt, which automatically qualifies Ken for grandmaster status.
“I’ve just been waiting for so long to get it and when I finally got it I was like ‘Wow, I made it,’” Morgan Hensley says.
Morgan has been training for 11 years and before this she was a 4th year junior. She trains with her mother, Dusty Hensley, who’s a master in San Soo.
“We just freestyle like everybody else, but it’s kind of different just because we are mother and daughter and we’re not as afraid to hurt each other,” Morgan Hensley says.
Morgan wants to continue training and eventually receive her master’s degree in San Soo. As for Ken, he’s happy his family has come this far in the art form.
“This is what we do. This is our thing,” Kenneth Hensley says.