"Kenton, I Doubt Your Stuff Works For Anyone But You.
Prove Me Wrong By Debating Me Only!"
by Kenton Knepper

Seems every now and then I get an invite from a friend to join a group and argue for my work to a group of newbie doubters. The debate usually comes from someone who has read a work or part of a work of mine, and, without trying to perform it, wants to argue about its practicality. Usually this is followed by a comment that they have never seen anyone but me perform it, or that it cannot be found on youtube or the like.

Don't laugh. I get this too often.

Here is my response concerning why I don't enter into such arguments or get in chat groups generally, and about the only debate I will make concerning whether or not my teachings work.

With 1000+ emails a day to sift through, not to mention FB and all, I can't really get too into additional groups, as mostly they want to debate what I know works. Some doubt my work as they sit around thinking about it. I can't even say what I just wrote without causing a fight, so I stay off the groups generally.

That said, Kolossal Killer used to be called "a pipe dream" and "unworkable". So was "Completely Cold", "Wonder Words" and "S.A.R." It's now a very old story. Some people use these works as their sole money makers and others think "Only Kenton can do it" because they think intellectual arguments are easier than trying material out. Through the years I have had stage hypnotists write me to say that they use Kentonism almost exclusively in their hyp acts, or as part of their warm up. I used it when we did hypnosis training. Some of it was filmed but needless to say, as this is some of my inner work, I did not put the video up on youtube or anywhere on that sort of thing. That would not have been fair to the hypnosis attendees who now use Kentonism in their
professional acts. Still, all I taught them was what I had written already in Kentonism after I performing it.

For serious doubters of Kentonism I released "Signs of Influence" so any person too concerned or afraid of Kentonism could ease into that and have more surefire work, until they no longer wanted or needed to have those tools and could go straight into Pure Kentonism if they wished.

Justin Tranz (Las Vegas, Playboy Channel, New York hypnosis performer) can vouch for Kentonism and some of my hyp methods as he has used them. Keith Barry on TV and in his Vegas stage show last time also used some of my Kentonism work in the hypnosis segments of his stage act. But these are working guys.

Those who doubt Kentonism for instance are out $35 if they actually bought my teaching in print, but the facts are those who did not doubt have made a fair amount of money with what I have taught in Kentonism and related booklets.

The doubters tend to believe certain TV performers use NLP (when they use my dual and multiple realities among other tools I popularized or created) while having severe doubts about my methods while these are being used on such doubters to get them to believe a performer is using NLP when they are not.

There is little reason for pros to tip what they are using to make a good living to try and convince someone who doubts the methods they are using. I care because I am passionate about what I teach and I do not teach what I have not done, and had success teaching others to do. So I care, but most pros won't tout what they are doing of mine that doubters doubt...because...well, why should they work hard to convince them to take a cut out of their market?

My work is for those who are willing to do, not just sit back and think about doing things. Sometimes I challenge people to do more than what has previously been done. That's why my work has usually broken new ground instead of teaching the same old thing again. It's why what I have given to mentalism, hypnosis and magic is ground breaking and then eventually rehashed and resold for more money by others...because what I
teach is not what is usual or expected.

In other words, my work may occasionally challenge those who imagine that the obvious or usual is what must be constantly repeated. That of course would get no one anywhere new at all.

In time, all I have done that was controversial has become considered the new standard, and ultimately deemed "standard" and even "obvious". For a time though, my teaching are usually hotly debated and met with scorn until the cynics see someone on TV perform my ideas. Then they decide that they knew all along how good it was. For those who doubt because they do not see enough of my work on youtube, all I can say is that their criticism might be better reserved for all that they do see on youtube...there is so much sold via youtube that is entirely impractical in real life performance situation!

Ah, but that debate is for another time...

This is why I write and talk one on one to people, but don't find the need to get into pointless debates in chat groups. People get it now, will get it later, or will never perform anything that doesn't work obviously and in the usual manner. My words on such things are not likely to convince them to open their minds in either case.

But please do say to doubters and critics that they should ask the working pros to find out more about my work. Advise any criticism to be directed towards working pros, not supposed Internet experts or mere intellectual ponderers. Speaking from personal experience, the latter approach never works.

I mean not to attack or harm anyone in any way. It is simply unwise to argue with those who want to intellectually debate things which they are afraid to try out even in rehearsal, let alone in more than one or two real shows.

The number of pros and amateurs who are using my work successfully speaks volumes for those willing to listen.

But if someone is still in doubt, tell them to buy all the tricks they see on youtube. After spending a hundred grand they'll figure out that those things are what are the impractical pipe dreams and my work will suddenly be grasped as the sensible alternative.

I can safely predict this as I have seen it happen too many times not to bet on that prediction.

Kenton