This is the beginning of a series of biographies meant to provide clarity to Kenpo practitioners worldwide about the history of where Ed Parker’s art came from, how it evolved into what it is today, and who some of the key soldiers were. This series will serve as a historical documentation of the garden produced by the seeds sowed by Ed Parker and some of his most decorated dignitaries.

This is Rainer Schulte’s story—a story of a young German boy who at the age of 5 was caught in the middle of a firefight between Russian and German soldiers during World War II, being one of the only German survivors along with his sister Ursula and mother Martha. Turmoil became a frequent factor throughout Rainer’s childhood all stemming from the war. After a move to the United States as a young teenager, things began to change for Rainer.

Dodging bullets, running for his life on several occasions led into his relocating to California from New York , turning tragedies into triumphs. After having enlisted in the United States Armed Forces, Rainer became a person of interest by Army officials, which eventually led him into working for the U.S. State Department on anti-terrorist details in Germany . Taking an interest in martial arts, Rainer begins searching for a martial arts school suitable to help him deal with life or death situations. After a couple attempts he ended up in Ed Parker’s Kenpo Karate studio in Santa Monica .

Rainer’s journey as a student of “The Father of American Karate” would lead him into many twists of success including body guarding for several diplomats as well as legendary singer Paul McCartney; constantly protecting his own life throughout his government job; and becoming the driving force of Ed Parker’s American Kenpo in Europe.

“This book will have you scratching your head in disbelief as you witness the turmoil Rainer Schulte has gone through. You will have a new respect for this man.”

-- Joe Lewis
The Greatest Karate Fighter of All-Time

“Almost every senior black belt in Kenpo has a different story to tell about how he came to the martial arts. Rainer Schulte’s journey has a most unlikely beginning and is more like a James Bond novel than a biography.”

-- Joe Hyams
Author of Zen in the Martial Arts

mmmmmAs Rainer stared at the blade, he thought he was going go die. A Russian officer spotted the altercation, came over and pulled his gun on the soldier. Both Russians began arguing, resulting in the soldier putting his knife away and leaving. The officer looked at Rainer and his family and said in broken German, “You’ve got to get out of here. Get back to the road.” Martha grabbed Rainer and Ursula’s hands and began walking them to the road.
mmmmm“Down, down, down,” the officer said, hunched over, as he motioned his hands to the ground.
mmmmm“A German woman walks upright,” Martha replied. She remained upright back to the wagon, as bullets continued to fly everywhere.
mmmmmThe aftermath of that horrific day left all forty German soldiers, the two random women, and several Russian soldiers lying dead on the trampled ground. Rainer and his family were the only survivors of the German group. After all that chaos they headed back to the village to rethink their options.
mmmmmGoing back to the village led them to some difficult moments. Rainer, his mother and his sister had come back from the fields and noticed some Russian soldiers loitering on the cobblestone road. When they saw Rainer’s mother they motioned her to go with them. When she refused they grabbed her by the arm. It seemed like the Russians were going to take Rainer’s mother away; Rainer’s sister had a little ring on her finger and went in between them, pulled off her ring and said, “Please leave my mom. I’ll give you my ring.” The commotion attracted an officer to come over to see what the problem was. When he found out what the soldiers were trying to do he commanded them to back off. The officer waited there until Rainer and his family was safe inside their house.