Carter Hargrave is known internationally for his teaching of Kempo Karate and of Jeet Kune Do. He is the pioneer in DVD training for distance programs for self defense. Hargrave has produced twenty martial art films on the martial arts, and has authored three martial arts books to date.
The most famous of Carter Hargrave's martial arts books is the Original Jeet Kune Do Training Manual that goes onto great detail of the art of Jeet Kune Do. Jeet Kune Do in its English translation means way of the intercepting fist, and was founded by the legendary Bruce Lee. Hargrave's book on Jeet Kune Do was the first of its kind to go into great detail with pictures of the actual Jeet Kune Do moves. Carter Hargrave learned Jeet Kune Do from and Original Bruce Lee School student, which makes Hargrave a second generation JKD teacher.
In the early nineties the art of Jeet Kune Do was in total chaos. All of the instructors were not getting along, and there was no governing body to bring everyone together to promote the art. Carter Hargrave then took on the monumental task of forming a new organization to end the political bickering for the good of the art, and to bring Jeet Kune Do to the masses which had never been done. The World Jeet Kune Do Federation was born.
Also in the early nineties Carter Hargrave was experimenting with multiple martial art styles and was actively training and ranking in four at the same time. He found it difficult to keep the systems separated fully to pass the stringent rank requirements of various teachers, but he managed. After four and half years his belts started turning from brown to black. During this time as an assistant instructor he noticed many people coming to the schools wanting specific training that was not offered anywhere at any school at the time. People were needing for lack of a better phrase "Instant self defense skills" as they were having serious problems on various levels.
Some of the prospective students were being bullied at school or even at work. Others were having problems with stalkers and were concerned that a piece of paper known as a protective order would not keep them safe from "Crazy." And like Hargrave says all the time "You cant predict Crazy." "Crazy will show up at any given time for any reason or for no reason and strike violently without provocation when you least expect it, so don't be surprised or paralyzed when Crazy happens."
So to meet a need that was not being met, Carter Hargrave cannibalized and heavily modified two martial arts systems of Karate (Japanese / Okinawan old systems - meaning prior to tournament styles) and threw in weapon fighting and defense for real world applications which includes sticks of all sorts, traditional okinawan weapons, sai, bo, Jo, tonfa, Kama, knife, katana, then brought along with even modern firearms in keeping with his philosophy of overwhelming superiority and not fighting fair. The only winner is the guy or gal who goes home. You can figure out what happens to the attacker.
The style he formed was known simply as Combat Martial Arts which was the first time that this name had been used in reference to a martial art. Others called it just Combat Kempo. Carter Hargrave felt that it needed a proper name to signify more accurately what it was composed of. Ed Parker the famous founder of American Kenpo, and also the body guard of Elvis Presley, was a major force in American martial arts. While Hargrave's art looks nothing like Parkers art in that it is so heavily combat modified it is just goes right for the takeout with the fewest moves and straightest lines, Hargrave liked the beauty and respected Parker for his contribution to martial arts. So the first word in Carter Hargrave's new art would be American. Named after what is was specifically meant for came the word Combat. Now for the last word in the name would be the old school meaning dating back to the Chinese Shaolin Temple from Hargrave's direct lineage would be Kempo. Carter Hargrave gave birth to the new art that brought the old style Kempo into the new world, inverted all the stances, and removed all of the not needed movements, made them more fluid and lastly changed all of the angles.
While many modern Grand Masters have simply combined styles and called it their own, Hargrave made huge changes so that the arts were hardy recognizable after he got done with them. Many masters complained that his principles were too non traditional, and many of the heretical comments that Bruce Lee endured were also tagged for Carter Hargrave's new martial art. Some called it ugly, brutal, too violent, and lacking in empty hand kata for weapon kata for even the lowly under black belt was not done at the time, and that was totally unacceptable.
While definitely not flowery or having large flowing movements or telegraphing and chambering of kicks and punches, Carter Hargrave's American Combat Kempo gets down to business and ends the fight with the stark beauty of efficiency and the coldness of dirt nap.