About Mr. Crehan

Experience and Education

Mr. Crehan has been studying the martial arts for more than 30 years. He has been teaching Advanced Kenpo for over 38 years. He is a 7th degree black belt who has studied Fred Villari’s and Nick Cerio’s Karate before eventually switching to Advanced Kenpo Karate under his instructor Mr. John Sepulveda. He continues his training by attending seminars with well known Kenpoist Mr. Ed Parker Jr., Mr. Jeff Speakman, Mr. Pat Salantri, Mr. Frank Trejo, 9th Degree Black Belt Eddie Downey, 10th Degree Black Belt Mr. Paul Dye, 10th Degree Black Belt Mr. Bob White, 10th Degree Black Belt Mr. Lee Wedlake, 10th Degree Black Belt “The Warrior Sprit” Mr. Stephen “Sigung” LaBounty, and 10th Degree Black Belt Master of the Arts Mr. John Sepulveda. Mr. Crehan does private lessons with Mr. Downey, Mr. LaBounty and Mr. Sepulveda.  He continues to be a personal student of Mr. Sepulveda and also was a personal student of Mr. LaBounty before his untimely passing in 2020 . Mr. Crehan is also a member of the AKSC, American Kenpo Senior Council, and has completed requirements and testing to be part of the AKSC.

Mr. Crehan works as a teaching assistant at an elementary school, working with children on the autism spectrum, who have ADHD, and varying degrees of bahavioral challenges. 

The Gathering

Mr. Crehan is part of a group of three instructors who teach a quarterly class, called the “Gathering”. The Gathering brings Kenpo schools together to train and share knowledge. The Gathering was a common practice in the 60’s and 70‘s--schools would come together to train and share knowledge with no “egos” involved. With the help and guidance of Mr. LaBounty, this Gathering class is taught with schools from New England and New York.  Mr. Crehan teaches this class in conjunction with Mr. Steve Cordaro from Black Dragon Kenpo Karate (located in Centerport, Long Island) and Mr. Tim Murphy from Rockland Kenpo Karate (located in Valley Cottage, NY). 

We Enthusiastically Welcome Students with Limitations

Mr. Crehan specializes, and has extensive experience, in teaching children with autism spanning the spectrum, as well as children with varying degrees of ADHD, in wheelchairs, with disciplinary problems,  with leukemia and other forms of cancer, and most recently, a student with dysautonomia syndrome joined the Franklin Family Karate family, allowing her to only practice karate sitting in a chair. 

Community Involvement

Mr. Crehan offers a Women’s Assault Prevention Class twice yearly, and hosts The Brownies, Boy, and Girl Scouts, helping them earn merit badges. 

Family

Elizabeth, Mr. Crehan's wife, is a yoga instructor, and his 3 amazing step-daughters, Audrey, Laurel, and Annabella all take karate with Mr. Crehan, at the rank of Brown Belt. They also have a cat named Dusty, and dog named Lucky, neither of which do karate. :)

Philanthropy

Mr. Crehan and Mr. Murphy (from Rockland Kenpo Karate) run a karate tournament every year to raise money for the Royal Family Kids charity. The Royal Family Kids charity is the nation's leading network of camps and mentor clubs for children of abuse, abandonment, and neglect. 

For more info on the Royal Family Kids please go to:

http://royalfamilykids.org

You will never stop learning.  Becoming a black belt is just the beginning. Achieving a black belt is like graduating from high school. Your next achievement would be your Associates, then on to your Bachelors, Masters, and your Doctorate. It never ends--you will always keep learning, either by taking classes or by teaching.  Teaching will give you a whole other insight into Advanced Kenpo. By breaking down the moves so another student can learn, you become a greater martial artist. You will always have an endless journey in Advanced Kenpo--it would take two lifetimes to learn all that that there is to learn in Kenpo, so you will never stop learning. The journey is just beginning--you just need to take the first step.”

                                                                                                                                -Mr. Crehan

Franklin Family Karate is not affiliated with KamIV, Inc., the International Kenpo Karate Association (IKKA) or its affiliates.