The Fable of the Sports Karate Museum - How Gary Lee Tried to Steal the Legacy of Sam Lonewolf

When one thinks of museums often images of buildings containing items with a distinct link to the past come forward into our minds. Museums serve as a way to contain and preserve the legacy and culture of histories which were long ago written. From the Smithsonian, to the famed art museums of France, even video games have now been given a place in their own museum in North America. 

But then we have places that seem to not be a museum at all. More like a dedicated "man-cave" containing a bunch of memorabilia which may or may not have been acquired through the most honorable of means...

The Fable of the Sports Karate Museum - 

How Gary Lee Tried to Steal the Legacy of Sam Lonewolf

by

Gerald J. Greysmith

I think one thing that makes this so hard to write about is the fact that Gary Lee has a brilliant concept when you're on the outside looking in. A museum (of sorts) housing memorabilia from the sports karate world that belonged to the actual legendary competitors themselves. Imagine being a fan of this bygone era and seeing gloves, trophies, uniforms or shorts that belonged to the likes of Bill Wallace, Joe Louis, Bob Wall, Chuck Norris, Pat Johnson, maybe some movie props....who knows? He may have the mythical uncut version of The Perfect Weapon on 8mm somewhere in there.

And don't say you wouldn't pay to see that.

Admit it! You know this would be at least a cool idea to have these things all in one place! If the ninja community can have one surely fans of tournament style martial arts both Korean and Japanese can have theirs as well.

But the thing is it seems this has been in what appears to be a planning phase....for the last decade or more. It doesn't seem to me that Gary Lee is even close to realizing his dream. Ever since 2018 Lee has had a GoFundMe up and has only managed to raise what appears to be a fraction of the cost to complete the, ahem, construction of this museum.

Floor plan for the Sports Karate Museum

So it seems Gary has a worthwhile endeavor in his life ahead of him. One it would seem quite worth pursuing, right? I would be hard-pressed to agree on this except for the matter of WHY we came here today....and it wasn't because of the museum at all. 

No, Gary Lee stole something and tried to cover it up.

Sam Lonewolf was known in the Kenpo community and it seems Mr. Lee tried to insert his way into the legacy without realizing he had stepped on a proverbial land mind. The land mine had a timer, however. And it would take a few years for it to go off. 

But when it did finally blow it made a mess of epic proportions.

How This Began

Gary Lee had a dream. A very simple one. He would comb the history of Sports Karate by obtaining items of historical accuracy as they related to the "good old days" of martial arts, bring them to one place, and from there place them into the view of the general public.

This is, however, where things get dicey. There's no easy way to put this. Lee thieved from Lonewolf's family items that had nothing....NOTHING....to do with him. These items were the property of Samuel Lonewolf.

Samuel Joseph Lonewolf

Mr. Lonewolf was quite clear about his lineage passing directly into the hands of those he chose that he knew were more than capable to use it, carry it, and move it ahead. In an email dated November 16th, 2010, Lonewolf laid out his plans and wishes prior to his passing as he was in bad health. His systemwas left to two people, and people he knew and trusted were notified of his wishes.

Email in author's possession, shown here to verify dates. Names have been redacted for privacy reasons at request of those involved.

Okay, so we have an email serving to show who would receive it, carry it, so on and so on....what's the issue? Well Lee it seems had an agenda. 

He actually went to the grieving widow of Lonewolf sometime either during or after the funeral and claimed to know him. All the while he was asking for things that he had no right to. 

And of course it would take a few years but....well, Gary caught the ire of some very close relatives.

His daughter, for one.

In an email sent January 2nd, 2022, it reads:

"Mr. Lee, I am Samantha, Samuel J. Lonewolf is my father. I have been informed that you have claimed to have inherited my father's martial arts system in his will. This is absolute nonsense, my father left no will. He had already appointed who he wanted and how we should do things moving forward. He made this known among several of his black belts and fellow instructors....your name appears nowhere on that list. I have also been told that you have some items that you showed up and asked for. My father's gi and his belt. That sir, should have gone to his children or grandchildren. In other words his FAMILY!  Definitely not you!  You showed up during a time of mourning and grief and took advantage of my father's widow. 

You are to cease and desist with your claims of any type of inheritance from my father. He left his system to only two people, myself and his long time student and black belt. I highly doubt that you have even met my father and that you are just someone who my dad just sent a certificate to in the mail as a courtesy or sign of respect. However, let me advise you that my father was nobody's fool. He prepared for such nonsense and left specific instructions to his black belts and those he considered friends, he obviously did not consider you a trusted source or he would have included you."

Interesting. Surely you already know that Gary Lee immediately took all reference to this down and apologized, thereby rectifying the situation....right?

No. No he didn't. As of January 4th, Mr. Lonewolf's daughter, now more irate, sent a follow-up email. In this she laid out details to him that were concrete and, well, provable. You know, that pesky thing called evidence? Yeah well she had a lot of it. She was, after all, the daughter of the man who's legacy was now in the hands of someone she never knew.

It was at this point it seems Gary decided to answer. Beginning January 5th, 2022:

The links in question take us to a Facebook post which show Gary Lee as the proud recipient of a 10th Dan from Sam Lonewolf himself. This certificate is still up and viewable at the time of this article's publication.

The aforementioned certificate which has absolutely no value per the family of Lonewolf and mountains of evidence to circumvent the claims he has made.

So how did he come to claim this? Well I'll cut through the tape and get to that now. As it turns out Lee actually appeared sometime around the funeral for Lonewolf and asked his widow, still grieving, to give him some memorabilia. The reason? To lay claim to his lineage for himself. Forensic programs reveal this certificate listed above to be a fake and also...well, you'll see why as you read along.

The email above from Samantha Lonewolf to Gary Lee, from January 7th, 2022 reads:

"I have no interest in dealing with another stranger to my family. You had no business showing up at my father's home. You didn't even know who his wife was. If you indeed trained with my father then what was the first self defense technique called in his system and what was it used against? I don't answer to you but you do answer to me. The question is a simple one. If you sat in one class with my father you would know It."

Lee's response was quite quick actually.

And Samantha? As you can see from her reply she was having none of it.

Gary Lee ponders his next email.

Gary was now fumbling bad. He had even invoked the name of the great and venerable Donald Miskel. Personally I'd love to have seen him go for broke and drag Frank Dux into this nonsense for all the good it would have done him. But we aren't even done yet. Because now we see Lee steer the conversation to something about inventory for his museum.

Well, from this point the name of Donald Miskel was invoked....and he came running in to save the day it appears for our friend Gary Lee. 

I could write several articles on Miskel, but this is not the day for that. Instead enjoy a photo of him playing "The Floor is Lava."

In emails dated January 7th, 2022 and going through January 8th, 2022 Gary reached out to someone to try and calm Samantha.

On Fri, Jan 7, 2022 at 8:21 PM Donn Miskel <blacklotusmaa@yahoo.com> wrote:

Hello, Ms. Lonewolf. My name is Dr. Donald Miskel. I’m the head of the IFAA Black Dragon Fighting Society and the Senior Grandmaster of the Black Lotus combative systems. I was a friend and associate of your father.
Gary Lee forwarded the correspondence between the two of you.
I can’t speak on the inheritance of his organization or the items that he has in his museum but I do know about the last certificates that he gave to Professor Lee. I have two of them also. I believe that I counter signed the one for Professor Lee.
Your father and I worked out together a few times but we corresponded over several years. I saw him last in September or October of 2012 when my wife and I were in Houston for a martial art event. Dr. Lawrence Day was the head of the Black Dragons then. He passed in December of 2012. I drove from Chicago to Kentucky in the middle of an ice storm to the funeral. Your father was supposed to meet me there to do the grave side service. That never happened.
Again I have no actual knowledge of the passing on of your father’s system but I do know that Professor Lee and your father had become pretty close. I believe he took Garret, Professor Lee’s son as his godson.
Your dad was a member in good standing in both the Black Dragons and my Black Lotus organization and we on occasion cross ranked students in our organizations. I thought the world of your father. He was definitely one of a kind. Please, if there is anything I can do to clear the waters between you and Gary Lee please let me know.
Blessings to you and wishing you a happy and a prosperous New Year.
Rev. Dr. Donald Miskel

Sent from my iPhone

On Fri, Jan 7, 2022 at 8:21 PM Donn Miskel <blacklotusmaa@yahoo.com> wrote:

Hello, Ms. Lonewolf. My name is Dr. Donald Miskel. I’m the head of the IFAA Black Dragon Fighting Society and the Senior Grandmaster of the Black Lotus combative systems. I was a friend and associate of your father.
Gary Lee forwarded the correspondence between the two of you.
I can’t speak on the inheritance of his organization or the items that he has in his museum but I do know about the last certificates that he gave to Professor Lee. I have two of them also. I believe that I counter signed the one for Professor Lee.
Your father and I worked out together a few times but we corresponded over several years. I saw him last in September or October of 2012 when my wife and I were in Houston for a martial art event. Dr. Lawrence Day was the head of the Black Dragons then. He passed in December of 2012. I drove from Chicago to Kentucky in the middle of an ice storm to the funeral. Your father was supposed to meet me there to do the grave side service. That never happened.
Again I have no actual knowledge of the passing on of your father’s system but I do know that Professor Lee and your father had become pretty close. I believe he took Garret, Professor Lee’s son as his godson.
Your dad was a member in good standing in both the Black Dragons and my Black Lotus organization and we on occasion cross ranked students in our organizations. I thought the world of your father. He was definitely one of a kind. Please, if there is anything I can do to clear the waters between you and Gary Lee please let me know.
Blessings to you and wishing you a happy and a prosperous New Year.
Rev. Dr. Donald Miskel

Sent from my iPhone

roof. Certificates, pictures with her father, anything. 

Then you shouldnt mind providing me with photos of said certificates from my father? Pictures of my father or with my father. I know neither you or Lee were around or ever came around. The entire family can vouch for that. 

 

As if making an order on Wish what she got wasn't proof. Instead Miskel sent a certificate eerily similar to the one Gary Lee was parading about. It, too, failed in the photo forensic programs to be substantiated.

On Sat, Jan 8, 2022 at 7:41 PM Donn Miskel <blacklotusmaa@yahoo.com> wrote:

One of the two certificates I have from your father. This is displayed on one of my dojo walls. The other is in a portfolio and not readily available. I claim no actual rank from your father. The certificate was a cross ranking in our systems. I’m not sure why you’re so hostile. I claim only a friendship with your father. Most of that was long distance since we lived so far apart. I have never been to your father’s home or dojo. I live in Chicago and I’m a first generation student of John Keehan the creator of the BDFS. I’ve been involved in the martial arts for over sixty years. Other than a kindred spirit and a sharing of spiritual values and philosophy I gain nothing from claiming affiliation with your father. Since I don’t care for any form of confrontation from any of the family I’ll end this communication. I contacted you only as a courtesy hoping to verify the relationship between Prof. Lee and your dad. Apparently I haven’t accomplished that and since you seem to be offended by my efforts I’ll relinquish that effort. 

 

Uh-oh....he has a certificate as well....and signed by....

....Sam Lonewolf....

See here I want to interject that when dealing with liars on this level they will skirt the issue about proof and simply start tossing blame on those who question them.

On Sat, Jan 8, 2022 at 10:30 AM Donn Miskel <blacklotusmaa@yahoo.com> wrote:

She seems to be bitter and angry. Nothing either of us will say or do will satisfy her. Actually I see a lot of her father in her. All we can do is pray that she finds her way. 

Sent from my iPhone

See what I mean? I think he intended to send this ONLY to Gary Lee but somehow he sent it to Samantha. 

On Sat, Jan 8, 2022 at 1:34 AM Donn Miskel <blacklotusmaa@yahoo.com> wrote:

I won’t argue with you. I’m sorry if you find my intentions insulting. They certainly weren’t meant that way. I have no agenda other than trying to make peace between a friend and the daughter of a former friend. I thought the world of your father. We we’re supposed to get together when I was in Houston in 2012 but it didn’t happen. The next thing I heard he had passed. I regret not having a chance to speak to him before he passed. I won’t try to contact you again but you’re welcome to reach out if you care to talk. If not I pray blessings upon you. 

Sent from my iPhone

Seems throughout the exchange Miskel was taking advantage of the fact that he and Gary outnumbered Samantha but also the fact I believe they were banking she was a female, upset, and they would attempt to make her feel stupid. Sadly for them that wasn't the case.

From the email above:

"My father had is fill of the black dragon bunch AND MADE IT KNOWN! The fact that you assume that you some how are more aware of my father than his own family is insulting. We are not fools. I do not care to hear another word from people who obviously have very little to no knowledge about my father!"

So with Miskel's involvment clearly not helping in any kind of real way, Gary Lee finally began to have to own up to this issue at last. In a series of emails from January 9th, 2022 Samantha began....

From: Samantha Lonewolf <REDACTED>
Date: Sun, Jan 9, 2022 at 3:56 PM
Subject: Re:
To: Gary Lee <professorgarylee@gmail.com>

Mr. Lee, I deal with issues regarding my family NOT YOU! You had no relationship to my father. Like that Miskel gentleman you obviously never actually trained with or knew him. My father had nothing to do with you. A certificate that may or may not have been sent doesn't translate to having trained with or under my dad. IS THIS CLEAR! You obviously don't know what my father taught. So what good is a certificate of rank in a system that you don't even know!

Gary Lee:

On Sun, Jan 9, 2022 at 2:05 PM Gary Lee <professorgarylee@gmail.com> wrote:

Ok , One of the reasons Dr. Miskal contacted you , he received a couple of those certificates also , and Sam said they were good friends and they go back many years  p.

I never Questioned that history also digging in some material from many years ago.

Sam also gave my wife her 7th in the same certificate ,Randy McFarland  and Dr. Patrick Price he promoted Randy to 5th Dan with the same certification and Dr. Price to his 7th 

At the Back Alley Bash  back in 2006 ,so Dr. Miskal , my Wife , my Son and Randy, Dr. price   received those so called fake certificates  you say , we never questioned them until now. 

Do I contact these people and Tell these certificates were fake and Questioned Mr. Allen Little Sun and his signature too , I will if that is what you want.

I never called Sam unless I missed his calls , he always called me and I would listen to him talk about what he wanted.

I would deal with his embellishments,May he Rest In Peace , as your wish and the respect you ask, I will not mention him ever again and remove his memory from the relics collected.

Thank You , Aloha 

And here is where Miskel seems to have bowed out from the situation. I would gamble getting on Samantha's bad side was akin to grabbing a rabid Tazmanian Devil out of a bush while it was sleeping only to be surprised it ate your hands off. Samantha then sent this on to Gary Lee and Donald Miskel as a kind of warning, demand, and ultimatum:

From: Samantha Lonewolf 
Date: Sun, Jan 9, 2022 at 9:23 AM
Subject: Re: From Rev. Donald Miskel
To: Donn Miskel <blacklotusmaa@yahoo.com>

Mr. Lee is to cease and desist and remove any claims of having a relationship with my father. He did not. My father was not talking to him, he even quit taking his calls. He did not want to be bothered by Mr. Lee. Mr Lee was never around not once nor did my dad ever visit him. A lie, is a lie, is a lie, there is no white washing it. 

I rightly don't care that you might be a reverend. Butting in and trying to convince me that I don't know what went on with my father or who his trusted friends were is insulting to say the least. This is the very reason my father had also had his fill of the Black dragon group. Don't contact me again with any more of your nonsense.

Gary Lee, you're up:

On Sun, Jan 9, 2022 at 6:14 PM Gary Lee <professorgarylee@gmail.com> wrote:

Samantha 

I did have a special relationship with Sam , so did Dr. Miskel  even though it was distant , he never said anything negative  to me as you have written.

I have talked to Dr. Price , Garett , Tammy and Randy McFarland and they will destroy the Certificates that Sam gave them also at the Back Alley Bash in 2006.

I will destroy mined too , that memory will be gone. 

What Dr. Miskal does with his that is up to him , I will no longer recognized any Hawaiians that who asked about Sam , I will not talk of him or his memory. 

Ok, As of Monday January 10th , all his memory , material will be removed that was displayed  and destroyed and there will be no memory to what I have done to keep his involvement with any History I have collected since 2006  to be in existence , that is want you want , it is done , I am deeply sorry you feel this way , however I respect your feelings.

I wish you only the best in your Endeavors and   his memory will be deep in my mind for he was a influenced to what I have done for the past.

Aloha 

Professor Lee

Now then, it would seem all will be put right....right? Well, no. Not exactly. You see while Lee stated by January 10th, 2022 all notations, memorabilia, links and whatnot to connect his crippled claim to Lonewolf would be erased....

....they still remain up today.

You can still read his amazing claims to be the true and only inheritor of Sam Lonewolf's system here, here, and here. Heck, Gary has even been on record on another fraud's blog claiming this as well. It goes without saying that at this point the truth has to be made known because Lee isn't going to tell it. And even when faced with this information and evidence to the contrary and his constant changing of the story in his exchanges with Samantha I doubt he will remove these claims unless the truth is just placed out there for all to see.

The Legacy of Sam Lonewolf as it Stands Today

As it turns out and as has been presented before Mr. Sam Lonewolf was very explicit in how he wanted his system preserved, and also who would be responsible for doing just that. You see Sam Lonewolf was very careful and wanted to ensure his family wouldn't be bothered at a funeral or another event by someone claiming to be his long-lost inheritor. 

That's right, Sam had essentially years prior ensured that the legacy he created would be carried onward by the correct people and that is the FINAL word. 

I think to say that at no time was Gary Lee EVER the inheritor of any system belonging to the Lonewolf family. I want to conclude this article by saying that Gary's own statements are damning enough. But to think that he would visit a grieving widow, and enlist the help of the Black Dragon Fighting Society's own Don Miskell is a farce in an of itself. He and those whom he represent I believe put Gary Lee up to this stunt in the hopes no one would ever look into the matter and get this far. Lee isn't even listed in the registry of black belts under Lonewolf and I have acquired those records in the event he wishes to state my article is not researched or provable. . At NO TIME was Gary Lee, Don Miskell or any other member currently in the ranks of the BDFS showing up on this listing from Sam Lonewolf himself. You can see from the emails above Miskell himself admitting at last that he never even met Lonewolf. 

So how in the hell did any of these folks seem to latch onto a legacy that they have no personal stake in? Simple....lies. Lies, lies and more lies. So with that said anyone whom is not on the rolls left behind by Lonewolf claiming to give ranks or hold ranks stemming from his lineage are fakes and frauds. Period.

I want to wish personally to the Lonewolf family my condolences on the loss of Sam. I never knew him but everyone seemed to think and speak so highly of him...that is those who truly knew him. It was a hard loss to endure of that I'm sure. But I hope putting this nonsense perpetuated by a liar with a GoFundMe to rest will help in some larger way. 

As for his certificate which he claimed was given to him by Sam Lonewolf, lest you forget about that part, I believe we can settle that with two separate things.

For one, let us view the certificates issued by Lonewolf himself. Using some handy-dandy photo forensic programs I own, as well as some technical know-how we can literally strip away piece by piece what is actually most wrong with this "evidence." I want to draw the reader's attention to the three chops placed on this certificate.

The inversions on the chops show these were added through photoshop-like means. Additionally the changes in the whites, blacks and colors indicate that this certificate has been altered through the use of photoshop. As a matter of fact the forensic app I used tells me that there were a multitude of programs used to fake this document. And finally I want to call out the date of September 4th, 2006. According to family members of Sam Lonewolf neither he nor his family were in Palestine, Texas during that time and could not, nor would have ever, awarded Gary Lee this certificate because he never met Lonewolf.

Two such programs exist on my own phone alone and are free in the Google store.  

Compare that certificate to an original (and legitimate) one I obtained from one of Lonewolf's blackbelts who graciously allowed me to show it here in it's inverted state. (Name was redacted by request.)

Upon inverting this certificate one finds that the colors match up as they should and additionally my forensic programs do not show any alterations of any sort. Again I point to the chops on Lee's certificate....the red outlines mean they were inserted AFTER the editing was completed on the text.

Ah, but that isn't all I have. I add this below to our growing pile of evidence as well. In an email dated April 25th, 2022, Samantha Lonewolf herself wrote to me a final time with her blessing to give this message to all who want to know the truth.

Samantha Lonewolf

I am sending you this email in regards to your article draft which was forwarded to me. I don’t want there to be any misunderstanding, these two gentlemen Gary Lee and Don Miskel, tried to take advantage of the passing of my father, Sam Lonewolf to bolster their own agendas. To insert themselves into a history that they had zero part in. I asked both these men to cease and desist with their nonsense and out and out fabrications. I also asked for items to be returned to the family. Items that should belong to my father’s children and grandchildren now sit in Mr. Lee’s “man cave”. Not somewhere in a museum like he told my father’s widow.

Mr. Lee showed up at my father’s home just days after he passed and took advantage of a grieving widow and absconded with items that he wasn’t entitled to in any way shape or form.  After I questioned him about his actions, he attempted to justify going to my father’s home by saying it was at the behest of a Don Miskel.  Mr. Miskel had never met my father though he tried to claim that he had. Mr. Miskel admits in his email that he did not meet my dad. So how does a man who never met my father come to the conclusion they need to send someone to try and get their hands on items that don’t belong to them. This is tantamount to grave robbing.   

I have forwarded you the emails regarding my conversations with both Mr Lee and Mr Miskel. Mr. Lee was unable to answer specific questions about knowing or training with my father. He posts pictures of a certificate supposedly from my father on his many social media pages. This certificate appears to have been forged and or photo shopped. Either fabricated by Lee himself or someone associated with Lee. He has been made aware that this certificate is fake yet vehemently denies it and claimed multiple times in his email that it was given to him personally by my father. He has repeatedly posted this certificate to bolster his claims and spoke highly of receiving it at a function in 2006. When asked for pictures of this being awarded to him. He could not provide any.  In addition, I asked him rather simple questions that he should have known immediately if he had in fact had taken a single class from my father. He was unable to answer the simplest of questions. These two “men” couldn’t get me to kowtow to them. As indicated in the emails from Mr. Miskel himself, referred to me as angry and bitter simply because I wouldn’t let two geriatric male chauvinists, who think women should keep quiet and stay in the kitchen, push me around.

Lastly Mr. Lee’s claim to have inherited my father’s system in a will is a complete and utter fabrication, a bold faced lie perpetuated by him along with his fabricated photoshopped certificate. My father left no will, a matter easily checked with the state probate office. Both of these gentlemen are liars and know full well they have zero claim to anything regarding my father. Neither of these gentlemen are on my father's list of blackbelts. Mr. Miskel even admitted that he had never met my father despite originally claiming that he did in his own emails. 

My father left specific instructions as to who would be left in care of his system. My father had a list of his own personal black belts and it is a matter of record. You have the list. You see who is on it and who isn't. That list, as far as the family is concerned, is written in stone; it will not be changed or amended by anyone on that list. To ensure this and due to this incident, the family has put one person in charge of my father's system, the one person my father trusted. 

Sincerely,

Samantha Lonewolf

And that, ladies and gentlemen is that. At this point Gary Lee, Don Miskel and the rest of the gang have no legitimate claim to the lineage of Sam Lonewolf. Not only did Gary Lee not inherit this system, but even Miskel himself was caught in a giant lie. Miskel claims in emails to Samantha that he met Lonewolf in 2012 but after being challenged by Samantha about it he admitted in the follow up that he never did. This alone shows his own certificate he sent as "evidence" to be fraudulent. I guess it was a slip up by such a revered "reverend."

Thanks to Samantha's help this matter has been made final. So what does this mean? Well maybe it means people will be a little more frugal in donating any kind of funds to the Sports Karate Museum. Mayhaps people will also be a little more cautious around Lee, Miskel and any of their associates. It does serve to show just another lie on what is basically one giant mountain of lies. 

I sift through it all so you don't have to.

Whatever it bodes, however, it won't be easy to overcome the outright embellishments told by these men under the assumption that Samantha has so eloquently stated: to claim a lineage which they have no claim to whatsoever. Maybe Lee, who is advancing in years himself is attempting to remain relevant in the minds of those who knew him best. However I challenge everyone reading to not only look at the claims he made with being the alleged inheritor of Lonewolf, but to also question each and every single claim he has made across his career....a career now left much more tarnished now by the fact that he has been caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar. 

That's the thing about frauds in the martial arts. Eventually someone is going to look into them. And when they do the truth provides the evidence to bear it all out. And more often than not the stories they spin suddenly just stop when confronted with that all-powerful force known as the truth.

KEEEEE-YAAAAAAW!