This has been going on all week and a lot of people, including members at the dojo, have asked my opinion on it.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2664168/Kung-Mystery-martial-arts-professor-handed-MBE-no-ones-heard-him.html
It's not the first time we've seen this happen and probably won't be the last, it's just unusual for someone this delusional to get as far as getting an award like the MBE before it triggered off the debate - and now with the internet he has nowehere to hide.
Like it says in the post, if Ticky Donovan OBE himself has not reached 10th dan and has never met or heard of this character, what does that tell you.
Anyone can set up their own association and make themselves a 10th dan - after all, where did the Sokes, Grandmasters, and 10th dans all come from in the first place. There is also a "Soke Council" of false Soke run by a weird guy called Gary who contacts people and invites them to join (yes I did get a spam email from him about it)
The 2 main problems are ego and money - these idiots want to be seen as some kind of high grade Soke, master, grandmaster, etc, and want to make money from huge associations with memberships and annual fees. Though to be fair, this idiot seems to just be delusional, possibly with mental health issues. He has a lot of qualifications from people and places that don't exist.
In contrast check out the site of Mick Randall:
www.shoto.org/?q=node/14
he has been in Shotokan for 40 years, started under Master Kanazawa himself, was one of the first people in the UK to get to black belt, and still is "only" a 9th dan, which is recognised as the highest Shotokan grade in Europe. Very few Hanshis, let alone 10th dans are outside the JKA in Japan, and none are in the UK. The last 2 were Kanazawa and Enoeda themselves. No UK born Karate sensei has ever been awarded 10th dan by the JKA.
The same thing happens in other arts, not just karate, it's just in karate it's easier to find out if someone like this is false.
In the Bujinkan Soke Hatsumi is The Grandmaster and hands out the grades after 5th dan. When so many people got to 10th dan so young he invented 5 more grades. Though not intended to be dan grades, people refer to them as such and you now have people with 15th Dan in Ninjutsu. A legitimate grade, but pointless outside of it's on organisation.
And if you are a ninja would you want people to know you are a ninja? Do you have a website with a pic of your face and name, where you dojo is, what you train in, where to find it - and also things like who you are married to, who all your friends are, where you work, where you went to school, and loads of pics and vids of you training or otherwise? Coz if you do, you're not a NINJA.
Bruce Lee warned people against getting caught in the "classical mess" of any one martial art and to train in as many arts as possible to build your own system OF TRAINING, by which he didn't mean YOUR OWN ART. We do now, of course, have people giving out black belts in JKD.
Gracie Jiu Jitsu is the most recent REAL new martial art in the world, founded by Grandmaster Helio, now led by the son Grandmaster Rorion, red belt 9th dan. Obviously the Gracie Committee, made up of senior family members all practicing and teaching the art, could and maybe will, promote Rorion to 10th dan one day. At that time it will be richly deserved and nobody will question it.
Which brings us to "Brazilian JJ", as they are not certified and qualified by the Gracies, where do their belts comes from, who certified them to teach, and how were the first BJJ teachers get their grades as they never got as far as Black Belt under the Gracies.
We all take the piss out of Krav Maga, and rightfully so, but a lot of them are claiming high ranks and giving out grades, including black belts, and a licence to teach. There was a French guy called Doueib (pronounced dweeb ironically) who as early as 1998 was supposedly a 5th dan in an art that doesn't really exist. So who graded him to 5th dan and what was their grade supposed to be, and where did that come from?
What is the belt you wear in class supposed to be when you are not in class?
Do you have a "certificate" of your rank? If so what for? What does it mean outside of class?
So turn up, train, enjoy it, take away your skill and use it only when needed.
Don't let your ego have you seek recognition you haven't really earnt.
And remember, the black belt only covers the first 2 inches of your ass - covering the rest is up to you.
