Gary, Both Ed Parker and his wife have written that Ed’s first public demonstration was in 1954. They were there! The fact that they confused the first exhibition with the UCLA game is quite understandable. The first game with UCLA was a big deal. No one even remembers who BYU played that night in December of 1954...but no one who was actually there can forget the explosive demonstration. Remember, Kenpo was not on TV at the time, there were not studios on every fourth block as they are now. And none of the almost 20,000 spectators at the game had ever witnessed anything like it. All of us, in that audience, were stunned by what we saw.
The fact that Ed and his team were invited back the next year for the UCLA game halftime show makes logical sense. The committee wanted the most spectacular halftime show they had ever witnessed for one of the most important games in the school’s history.
Ed Parker said it was 1954. His wife wrote it was 1954. Those of us who WERE THERE say it was 1954 (and can offer sound reasons for establishing that date); however, there are those who were NOT there who, for their own reasons, insist that they know better than the actual witnesses. They do so on the single point of confusion as to which opponent BYU played that night. Consider the source.