A major criteria for obtaining your First Degree Brown Belt is an in-depth evaluation of your attitudes. It is important that you ask yourself what are your attitudes toward training or when training? What are your views concerning fighting or when fighting? If ever involved in a life or death situation, to what extent would you implement your knowledge? Would you gauge your knowledge to match the situation? Or, would you allow your emotions to take over? What are your attitudes toward teaching others? What attitudes do you wish to instil in your students? Are you satisfied with your present knowledge of Kenpo or are you willing to strive for higher goals and refinements? There is a special section following this introduction on attitude that should help you understand its importance.

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You must again explore the idea that, "For every move, concept, theory, principle, and definition there is an opposite and a reverse." For First Degree Brown Belt you will be encouraged to apply this idea when blocking, especially with your feet. While most systems stress blocking and striking with their hands, do not overlook the importance of learning how to block and strike with your feet. Since the majority of street encounters result in one or more opponents on the ground, it only stands to reason that you should be confident in your ability to block as well as strike with your legs and feet. When confronted with such predicaments there is a high probability of your legs being used to block with. Therefore, you should familiarise yourself with a variety of dimensional predicaments. It is imperative that you spend hours learning to block as well as strike with your legs and feet when confronted with such encounters.

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Long Form #4 has often been referred to as containing the "meat" of Ed Parker's Kenpo. Since "forms are expressions of basic skills", you must develop Long Form #4 to a point of expressing your physical, mental, and emotional levels combined with your breathing techniques. Synchronise these ingredients and you are well on the road to Harnessing Force, Intoning Motion, etc. Needless to say your movements should be crisp, precise, powerful, as well as contain sequential flow. Furthermore, scrutinise and analyse the form until you realise the many technicalities that it teaches. Practice with the goal of internalizing these concepts as well as those introduced in previous forms.

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Your Blue Belt introduced you to the benefits of suffixing. You, therefore, should have become reasonably acquainted with its use in all of the techniques learned. Investigating and experimenting with all prospects of suffixing when practising your techniques is essential. This trend should continue throughout all of your belt levels. each technique has a theme; that is it teaches a concept, theory, or principle not contained elsewhere, or an interesting perspective of how to modify your existing knowledge. Caution! You certainly must develop your basic Techniques to a proficient level before trying to use any extension of them. It would be unwise to add to a weak base.

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During the study of your First Degree Brown Belt level please emphasise your freestyle training. You must continue to explore the blending of your self-defense concepts with those of your freestyle concepts. Additionally, you must employ greater timing as you refine your use of the Dimensional Stages of Action. You should make every effort to incorporate the use of body manoeuvres when employing your defensive and offensive skills.