Author: Bret Gordon
For anyone who has been following the ongoing saga of internet drama stemming from the Facebook hate group BSMA against myself and my instructor, Steven Hatfield, what I'm about to write about will be of no shock to you. Those who aren't familiar with the situation should check out the following articles before continuing:
"Obsession Isn't Healthy, Boys" detailing the timeline of harassment from members of BSMA
"The Hypocrisy Of The Internet" detailing the events surrounding Dale Dugas and his faux challenge
Since the beginning of Dale's challenge, he has asserted that he was going to fight both myself and my instructor. I even offered him the opportunity to visit us both at the same time when Hatfield sensei was here (August 28th to September 4th). Now, after we went back and forth for awhile I then met Dale's demands to simply name a time and place instead of "pushing it back" three weeks until Hatfield sensei was here, because "a real man just fights and doesn't postpone," is what I kept hearing. Of course after naming such, Dale failed to show up not once but twice. I won't go into too much detail, as this has all been documented in the article above, but anyone with any measurable critical thinking ability could figure out that Dale had no intention of showing up and was simply blowing smoke as usual.
Just in case he was crazy enough to actually show up on a random night of the week, I then stated that if Dale (or anyone from BSMA) did not show up at an agreed upon time, he would be trespassing. This is simply because I run youth classes, and I don't think any reasonable adult believes any children should be exposed to this nonsense. This was on August 10th (the dates will become important shortly). Even still, he asserted he would see both me and Hatfield sensei "in three weeks" regardless of that statement about trespassing so it was clear he had no issue with it and would still grace us with his presence.
But then, something miraculous happened. He disappeared! Dale went from making videos nearly every day for over a week talking about how he was going to cripple both of us, right up until August 19th when he just stopped. He went silent without a trace of him on BSMA, and certainly no mention of seeing us soon. Maybe he was busy training, preparing himself for the 1970s no-holds-barred "open combat" kung fu death match we were about to engage in? Only one way to find out, right?
"Obsession Isn't Healthy, Boys" detailing the timeline of harassment from members of BSMA
"The Hypocrisy Of The Internet" detailing the events surrounding Dale Dugas and his faux challenge
Since the beginning of Dale's challenge, he has asserted that he was going to fight both myself and my instructor. I even offered him the opportunity to visit us both at the same time when Hatfield sensei was here (August 28th to September 4th). Now, after we went back and forth for awhile I then met Dale's demands to simply name a time and place instead of "pushing it back" three weeks until Hatfield sensei was here, because "a real man just fights and doesn't postpone," is what I kept hearing. Of course after naming such, Dale failed to show up not once but twice. I won't go into too much detail, as this has all been documented in the article above, but anyone with any measurable critical thinking ability could figure out that Dale had no intention of showing up and was simply blowing smoke as usual.
Just in case he was crazy enough to actually show up on a random night of the week, I then stated that if Dale (or anyone from BSMA) did not show up at an agreed upon time, he would be trespassing. This is simply because I run youth classes, and I don't think any reasonable adult believes any children should be exposed to this nonsense. This was on August 10th (the dates will become important shortly). Even still, he asserted he would see both me and Hatfield sensei "in three weeks" regardless of that statement about trespassing so it was clear he had no issue with it and would still grace us with his presence.
But then, something miraculous happened. He disappeared! Dale went from making videos nearly every day for over a week talking about how he was going to cripple both of us, right up until August 19th when he just stopped. He went silent without a trace of him on BSMA, and certainly no mention of seeing us soon. Maybe he was busy training, preparing himself for the 1970s no-holds-barred "open combat" kung fu death match we were about to engage in? Only one way to find out, right?
Now, why was Hatfield sensei coming down here to begin with? Every year, we try to host an annual Taikai where I bring in several instructors to share their art with my students (and bring theirs if they wish). This event is free and open to the public, but generally it's just our group. It's no secret that I don't have a large school, with about a dozen active students on the roster. But I can tell you, the mat was packed! The entire purpose of the event is to shed all egos and step on the floor, training with whoever is willing to share. Rank and title mean nothing, and everyone trains with everyone.
Taikai 8/30/2020
Of course, as this was "three weeks" from the initial conversation with Dale, everyone assumed he would show up at this event. It's not like the event was a secret, and was promoted on social media for months. In fact, I had several people calling and texting throughout the day who were familiar with the drama asking if he had shown up. As the day went on, it became more obvious he wouldn't show. It was truly a bummer... To host an event where everyone was learning and training without being interrupted for internet nonsense.
Training 9/3/2020 - No Dale... Not surprisingly, the trolls over at BSMA tried to say the event was not advertised properly and therefore no one knew about it. Besides this being an outright lie, as is their norm, Dale had previously mentioned that he knew we trained on Thursday nights, so maybe he would show up the following Thursday considering Hatfield sensei was still here?
That's a negative, ghost rider. The entire week Hatfield sensei was here came and went without a hiccup, and surprisingly without a single word from Dale since August 19th.
Now, in fairness his admitted alter ego "Gerald Greysmith" claimed to have pancreatic cancer and it looks like the acupuncture clinic Dale works at is going under, so perhaps he had more important things to attend to...
That's a negative, ghost rider. The entire week Hatfield sensei was here came and went without a hiccup, and surprisingly without a single word from Dale since August 19th.
Now, in fairness his admitted alter ego "Gerald Greysmith" claimed to have pancreatic cancer and it looks like the acupuncture clinic Dale works at is going under, so perhaps he had more important things to attend to...
That is, of course, until Dale was certain Hatfield sensei was back in Ohio safely. After remaining silent for weeks, on September 7th he finally appeared with a video mainly addressing a guy named David Richardson, who Dale also challenged (I'm sensing a pattern), but ironically mentioning myself and Hatfield sensei in the video as "cowards" who would "pay for what we've done." I'm pretty sure if you look up the definition of a coward, it would include something about hiding under a rock while the person you've insulted for weeks is actually in the same state as you and then magically reappearing when he's 1,000 miles away, but that's besides the point.
I'd be mad too... The sad truth is that nothing will ever come from this. The echo chamber of BSMA will continue spinning the lie that we backed out of the challenge by Dale, while the rest of the world sees them for what they truly are.
Fortunately, my ego is not so fragile as to be shaken by those who hide behind fake profiles and beat their chest on the internet without even so much as having been in the same room as me. Throughout all of their failed attempts of declaring us "frauds," and everything else they've done in an effort to smear our reputation, we are still here. We are still teaching, traveling and sharing. Our very existence is the bane of theirs, and success truly is the best revenge. So BSMA, keep yapping like the chihuahuas you are, the big dogs have better things to do.
Fortunately, my ego is not so fragile as to be shaken by those who hide behind fake profiles and beat their chest on the internet without even so much as having been in the same room as me. Throughout all of their failed attempts of declaring us "frauds," and everything else they've done in an effort to smear our reputation, we are still here. We are still teaching, traveling and sharing. Our very existence is the bane of theirs, and success truly is the best revenge. So BSMA, keep yapping like the chihuahuas you are, the big dogs have better things to do.
