Ju-DO or Ju-DON'T

The National Governing Bodies of Judo exist for two reasons:

Standards and Quality.

In the United States there exists only three which are recognized by the Kodokan in Japan. They are USJA, USA Judo, and the USJF. These three governing bodies exist to carry on the tradition of Judo training here in our country with the sole purpose of building students, teaching the art, and producing quality practitioners through the practice of technical training and randori, that is to say live training under pressure. The ranking standards are hard and meant to be so for the express reason of making each rank earned and not given....and certainly not meant to be purchased.

However there have been those organizations which would have you believe they are connected to the Kodokan through other means. There exist those who believe something as simple as a membership card to the Kodokan itself signifies rank or meaning with regards to being connected to the main branch of the art in Japan….these are so wrong as to not even be half-truths. Unfortunately these organizations often seem to appeal to those currently in the NGB’s who feel they are under-ranked and allow them to move up when they otherwise may not. Let me be frank here that if you are a legitimately ranked Judoka you should be proud of yourself. You earned it. You do not need to seek higher ranking simply because you feel forgotten. This happens in many martial arts across the board, sure. Yet there exist in every organization regardless of style those who feel rank is symbolic of who they are and we have often looked at several across the time I myself have been in this position. Many questionable characters have been exposed over the years by people like me for their claims, often with them beginning in a legitimate way only to seek higher and higher ranks. This finally culminated in them becoming the very thing people like me stand up to....fakes.

I think there will always exist those who come out of nowhere with ranks beyond their age or experience (those pesky standards!) and suddenly emerge as masters of the highest caliber. NGB's? Standards? Quality? Technical expertise? These folks have no time for such paltry things! And despite all the safeguards in place even Judo and BJJ are finding frauds now who have infiltrated their communities.

Should anyone ask these masters will retreat into a newly minted rank higher than the last one they held and advertised! Training? Ain't nobody got time for that!

These people often invest themselves in the types of organizations which have KODOKAN in their name and assert they aren’t held back by the Olympic or other competition style rule sets that they scream demean the art and dilute it. They state in the affirmative that Jigoro Kano meant the art to never be what it has become.  And friends, that can not be farther from the truth of the matter. Randori and competition were staples in the days of Kano and the true NGB’s worldwide recognized by the Kodokan would rather people not know they may be embellishing their claims to that just a tad bit.

Honestly it seems to be a majority of these sorts of people are afraid to walk on to the mats to randori or roll because they know they are lackluster and unimpressive in their delivery of physical techniques. But by golly, they will show you a flurry and flourish of good words, articles and the likes. These are the very people who claim to be doing it for the street. Why, the lethality of them and their ways are beyond the measure of simple mortals like you or I.

Ultimately the only claim they can muster is some link to the Kodokan through means which are at best tenuous and thin. To be frank: they have no connection. It seems in the world of the gentle way talk is cheap, demonstration is everything. It’s either…..

 

JU-DO, or JU-DON’T

By Gerald J. Greysmith

 

 

Oh, those silly standards

The United States of America Traditional Kodokan Judo (USA-TKJ) organization is headed by a man named Bruce Bethers. Bethers, the apparent founder of the organization has members who state a direct lineage and connection to the Kodokan in Japan through the USA-TKJ. Many of these same members tout that they teach Judo as Kano meant it to be taught. Members of accredited bodies recognized by the Kodokan state they never see these people at tournaments, however. The members of the USA-TKJ of course have tournaments but we never hear about them unless we seek them out. And per the standards of the NGB’s recognized by the Kodokan the requirements for any and all rank advancement requires randori, tournament competition and technical training leading to about a seven to ten year run required to obtain the black belt….the black belt that is earned and not given. The ranks in Judo as taught through the NGB’s, much like in it’s off-shoot system Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and the IBJJF often take years of sacrifice to earn and once earned are respected. Even the worst brown belt in either system is regarded as a hard-working individual capable of putting in the time and work needed to prove themselves worthy of sharing the mat with others of either community.

It is here we once again find “Kaiso” (and I use that term loosely considering his claim to that title is connected to a nonexistent Japanese man he seems to have concocted out of thin air) Bret Gordon who has in recent months decided to now focus on his Judo training. And hey, good for him. A little mat time never hurts anyone, am I right? Too bad he absolutely hates the three National Governing Bodies of Judo. 

Archived forever because I'd hate to see all that work go away.

The issue here isn’t that Gordon is claiming to teach Judo. I mean he’s been doing that ever since back almost three years ago when he turned up online claiming to have a higher rank than was possible for him to possess in the art based simply at the time on his age and time in grade. In a conversation with my predecessor almost three Summers ago now Gordon stated adamantly he was a legit Judoka, did not have to do randori or tournaments and stated vehemently that the USTKJ, an organization he is a proud member of, had differing standards that the NGB’s. Let it be known this was on the heels of him defaming and slandering a legitimate Judoka that the former Gerald Greysmith had to debunk all of the claims Gordon made in his journalistic achievement.

Also archived forever because I'd hate for all that work to go away. I mean, it was correct when he wrote it. Defamation against others is something only Gordon is allowed to do.

As it turns out Gordon has a sick and twisted view of the NGB’s and the sport aspect of Judo in general. He has mocked them, put them down and defamed them much the same way he has anyone else who ever dared to speak out against him over the years. People who were once associates of his have informed me this is typical of his nature, however. 

But when he talks about Judo he states he is focused solely on the art as Kano meant it to be. It’s all self-defense and street lethality for this young man. A young man who, as YouTuber MataNinja pointed out, can’t even perform simple throws proficiently. 

Of course it's archived forever.

But mocking the NGB's regardless of whatever problems that they have had (or even do have) that wasn't enough. These criticisms come from him and it screams hypocrisy because as of this moment I've never known him to show any evidence of being a member of any of the National Governing Bodies of the art. Sources who knew him in the days before he came under scrutiny actively stated that he never trained a day in it and had at best a handful of BJJ classes while at his former teacher's dojo.

By his own admission upon joining the USA-TKJ Gordon and his teacher were then ranked 4th and 2nd dan, but where did the Judo originate? How much training did they receive? Are there photos of them training as kyu ranks rather than dan ranks? 

No, his claim to a lineage begins with Jack Stern and ends with pictures of himself with prominent and skilled Judoka who he feels gives him some sort of credibility. All this while he touts the USTKJ as his placeholder to Kodokan prominence.

The link I mentioned. I have no qualms about the Kodokan card itself. But the use of it and how it has been presented in the past is the concern here. 

I’m sorry, but Judoka around the country have now seen him and even had a word with myself about the matter. For some reason people often think MataNinja and myself are one and the same, and while we’re not we do see things the same way. One Judoka who spoke to me while researching the Judo claims of Gordon stated he needed a stiff drink after viewing because it stressed him out to see such a poor performance.

 

The Lineage as it Stands

Using the deceased to create a link to something is old game for Gordon at this point. At one point he used William Sirbaugh to create these links to many organizations or teachers in the past and while he has removed them he kindly didn't have a choice anymore. Ed Mathna, one of EA Fuzy's students, had his Jidokwan site removed for quite a time due to using their information. Having returned to glory Gordon has removed all references to him. He has even changed the claim of Hankido being a system which Sirbaugh trained in the last time I checked. He has since replaced it with Tae Kwon Do. Thank goodness for those disclaimers of his. Things could get a might questionable without it. That leaves us with Judo, and his alleged link to the Kodokan through Jack Stern and the membership he keeps with the USA-TKJ. 

Gordon would have one believe what I say in my articles is simply lies or “half-truths” about his many claims. I hate to say it but all I have done is take his words and verify them. So far that score stands at about 0-47 and it’s about to go up again. You see Gordon claims a lineage beginning with Jack Stern. You know, “Papasan?” As it turns out Gordon and his teacher banked a lot of their beginning on that man….a man who admitted in court in 1996 that he never trained at the Kodokan nor did he have any real rank in Yudo. Did he meet people? Sure. But did he train in Japan under Kyuzo Mifune? No. How do I know? Gordon himself posted an email from the Kodokan showing that they have NO RECORD of Stern ever having been there. The picture they sent apparently has what appears to be a man circled by someone and it turns out that man may actually have been Judoka Hal Sharpe.

According to sources who actually practice Judo through an NGB or the Kodokan it is confirmed this isn't Jack Stern, but could have been instead Judoka Hal Sharpe. When a place as prestigious as the Kodokan tells you there is no record of someone your best bet is to just circle at random and hope for the best.

I mean it’s not like Gordon hasn’t made these errors before….and I say errors very lightly.

The now infamous "Sirbaugh-but-not-Sirbaugh" picture from 1972, which was actually from 1959, claimed to have been received from a relative, but was watermarked, and was actually in a Moodukkwan historical archive, that found it's way onto the original version of Gordon's Jidokwan site, with a man circled that wasn't Sirbaugh at all.

It was from here according to sources he turned around and in 2019 or 2020 obtained rank from the USTKJ, flaunted it and began teaching what he called Judo. I’d actually argue this is where the Judon’t comes into play as what he’s doing looks nothing remotely like Judo done correctly. Being as I’m not a Judoka myself (BJJ is my game) I turned to subject matter experts on the art and well, unimpressive is hardly the only thing they had to say. They also spoke about the original claim Gordon had of a 4th or 5th degree black belt, a claim he made to others who have spoken to me over the last couple of years. Regardless of that or not Gordon has a rank which he himself based on age and time in grade should not have been able to have. Why? Because there is no verification of any real Judo training pre-2019 or 2020.

By, golly though the lad had an answer for that one, too! Archived forever for your reading amusement and reference!

I want you to bear in mind before I go further that Gordon has used this claim to Judo ranking (and I'm assuming his aikijujutsu) to be able to claim a “black belt in Gracie Jiu Jitsu” which Gordon has now claimed is actually the “Gracie Self Defense Concepts” and that is where it has been ever since. Just like the old Judo ranks he used to have that story also seems to have kept changing.

 

In the first screencap Gordon was claiming a black belt in GJJ. The second one shows he has now changed that. He claims also it is "based on his experience in Judo and Japanese Jujutsu."

At the time of this writing Gordon has amended his site and I think one of the reasons for that is because an actual BJJ practitioner reached out to him months ago asking about stopping by to roll and the more that practitioner looked and the more he discovered he saw that Gordon wasn’t in his opinion being as truthful as it first appeared. This same practitioner upon researching a bit more stumbled upon yours truly and had a nice chat with me about the situation by telephone.

And then sent me the email exchange between he and Gordon. 

 

 

 

 

Quite a change in tune. According to Mr. Simmons Gordon changed that claim of his GJJ standing within a day of their communication.

I want to remind my readers that Gordon was using this link to the Kodokan (his own words) as a way to cement his standing in GJJ. My thoughts? I think we can look back to a time when about three years ago Gordon was flaunting a membership card to the Kodokan that his teacher had as proof of rank and legitimacy. There is a huge issue here: Kodokan membership cards are not proof of rank or lineage or connection. They are basically gym cards which signify one can train there while visiting or living in Japan.

The other connection they have tried to use? I mentioned earlier the USA-TKJ headed by Bethers. Gordon has for years now stated that this “NGB” is connected to the Kodokan and if you read what he says you’d swear that it was the only ticket to true Judo in town. But as with a lot of Gordon’s claims I think he made a small error and didn’t know that Bruce Bethers himself was on record some time ago and stated the complete opposite in a now-deleted thread my predecessor found way back a few years ago.

-cue dramatic music-

Now hold on a gosh-darn minute! Gordon has stated over and over again ad nauseum that the USTKJ is one of his links to the Kodokan in Japan. If that's the case then why is the president of the organization itself stating right here publicly that it has no connection to the Kodokan Institute? 

So what's the connection then? Well as I stated before that Gordon has been on record that his teacher is a member of the Kodokan. Let's examine one thing before we close about Kodokan membership cards.

Kodokan membership cards can be purchased online for 8000 yen. They are basically cards that allow you to attend classes at the Kodokan. But in order to be recognized as having a link to the Kodokan you need something more: you have to have your rank recognized directly by the Kodokan through one of the NGB's of your home country. For this we turn to the USJF who gives excellent direction on how to do this.

So, the USTKJ by admission of it's president has no link to the Kodokan, and a membership card only allows one to train at the Kodokan, then the only way Gordon or any of his associates can actually have a link to the Kodokan itself is to get their ranks recognized through an NGB and submit it to the Kodokan Board here for review....sounds complicated but legitimate. 

Doesn't it?

According to a representative I spoke to with the USJF there exists a standard to meet in order to have your rank and recognition recognized by the Kodokan in Japan.

- You have to have a Kodokan Membership.

- Your rank must be recognized by an NGB (in the USA there are three.) 

- You must train at the Kodokan yearly OR train at an affiliated school that is recognized by an NGB in your home country that can submit your rank to the Kodokan. This usually requires a coach to have had their ranks recognized by the Kodokan.

- Submit your paperwork on time in grade, competition and ranking to the Kodokan that is recognized by the NGB of your country.

- Once submitted if approved you are recognized at the rank of Shodan. Very seldom does the Kodokan recognize you past that rank. So yes if you are a Yondan in USJA for example you will be only recognized as Shodan by the Kodokan itself. You will then be required to move up in rank the same way you would through an NGB as it requires time in grade, training time, etc.

Currently the only requirement met on Gordon's end is met by his teacher Steven Hatfield who has a membership card with the Kodokan. However at the time of this writing neither man has presented a rank recognized by the NGB's of the United States nor shown they are connected to someone who meets those above-mentioned pre-requisites. Unforutantely USA-TKJ is not recognized by the Kodokan and even the president Mr. Bethers has admitted it has no connection as you can see (and will probably again.)

From Gordon's own website.

I told you that you'd see this again.

How Does This Relate to Past Claims?

With the past showing that Gordon has apparently lied about so much already with regards to Jidokwan, Hankido, and Aikijujutsu this misrepresentation of his Judo wouldn't be far off the mark for him. Having recently removed William Sirbaugh from his Jidokwan history did him no favors but instead people watching have stated it appears that much more suspicious. These are people who ALSO have a link to Korea and are taking notes. Believe me when I say many of them are questioning how he has one.

Maybe with regards to Judo he’s legit despite the poor performances myself and others have seen in his Judo videos. None of his previous claims ever seemed to add up, but of course a lot of what the lad has said over the years never has either. But this is far from over I suspect. Maybe he’s legit, and maybe he can prove it with a flash of an NGB certificate he has hidden in his folder? But I’ve yet to see him get on the mat with anyone of his claimed rank in the art of the gentle way, especially the Judoka he has called a fake before all of this. A Judoka whose first through third dan ranks are verified by all three NGBs. This same Judoka was also promoted to 4th dan by a USJA Master Certified Rank Examiner (MCRE) and is enjoying success while Gordon seems to continue to put out unverifiable information. Looking into the matter of their Kodokan link enabled me to verify that while neither Gordon or his associates can verify a link to the Kodokan through rigorous requirements, Barron Shepherd has indeed done so. 

Of course if not for Gordon's bumbling attempts to bring harm on Shepherd's reputation then I would not have had the chance to ALSO confirm through representatives I spoke to in the NGB's myself that Shepherd is legitimately ranked, can meet all the above-mentioned requirements, and Gordon focused solely on expired credentials Shepherd was in the process of renewing in 2020. Think hard for a moment and realize something, dear reader: if Bret Gordon would defame Mr. Shepherd in such a way who else would he do it to? What other people could he decide to slander as well should they rub him the wrong way as Shepherd did when he simply stated years ago Kodokan membership cards are not proof of rank? These same representatives stated they were appalled at the level of alleged fraud they were seeing here and mentioned it should be considered criminal to pass themselves off as what Gordon has claimed without meeting the standards set forth by the Kodokan itself.

I guess we may never know.

I sit here and recall what he told Greg almost three years ago: “The USATKJ has a direct lineage to Kano through the Kodokan and with it standards more in line with the Kodokan.” I want to add that witnesses have come forth who heard Gordon claim during that time to be at least a 4th and/or 5th dan with a direct line to the Kodokan through the USA-TKJ.

- cue the theme from Unsolved Mysteries here - 

At this time neither Gordon nor his teacher have presented anything to show they have any legitimate connection to the Kodokan. Here in the USA they would have to begin with the NGB's Gordon loves so much. And since the folks from the USJF and the USJA I spoke to were nice enough to look up Shepherd and a few others for me who all turned out legitimate I had them do the same for Gordon and his sensei. What I got told was nope, not a record in sight. To make it clear I could care less if they train with the USA-TKJ but a link to the Kodokan, a true one at that requires more than flashing about a lineage to Jack Stern and a membership card you can purchase online for 8000 yen. And seeing as Gordon was never a member it seems by what right does he have to criticize the NGB's at all? Is it possible the association to Stern, banned for life from all three of the organizations after all, kept them from being able to get ranked? At this point if he continues to claim such a link I'd argue he isn't doing Judo....he's doing Ju-DON'T.