Category: Associations

American Jidokwan Familial Disputes

10/15/2020

Author: Bret Gordon

As President of the American Jidokwan Association (official website), I have been entirely forthcoming about our organization's history. Neither I or my teacher, Hatfield sensei, were there when the organization was created and therefore there are things we simply don't know. What is detailed on the history section of our website linked above is the most accurate presentation we are able to put forth about events that predate our involvement, and even though this contradicts earlier versions that we have published we believe it is in everyone's best interest to publicize correct information. I will say that at no point have we deliberately misrepresented or spread falsehoods about the American Jidokwan Association's history.

One thing we have been clear about is that we are not the only ones with a claim to the "American Jidokwan" name. To date, I know of at least 6 different schools or organizations that use the name, some of which have no connection to the rest. These groups are:

Ernest Lieb, American Jidokwan 1965 (Switched the name to American Karate Systems 1973)
Robert Moore/Curtis Herrington, American Jidokwan 1968 (Used interchangeably with Ohio Jidokwan)
Ernest Al Fuzy, American Jidokwan Karate 1995
William Sirbaugh, American Jidokwan Taekwondo 1995
Thomas Henzey, American Jidokwan Federation (date unknown)
Herb McGuire, American Jidokwan Martial Arts (date unknown)

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SafeSport Investigation Results

9/28/2020

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Author: Bret Gordon

Thanks to the trolls that continue to plague us, the US Center for SafeSport contacted both myself and Hatfield sensei with a formal investigation into the matter surrounding Patrick Justice after several people made anonymous complaints. SafeSport is the leading organization in the fight against sexual abuse and misconduct in youth sports, and is established by federal law with the jurisdiction to investigate claims of those matters. For those who are unaware, the summary of the situation is that:

In 2004, Patrick Justice was convicted of sexual battery. However, this conviction was kept hidden from both myself and Hatfield sensei, allowing Patrick to be installed as President of the American Jidokwan Association in 2011. In 2017, we became aware of Patrick's prior conviction and demanded he resign his position immediately, and I replaced him as President on October 3, 2017. Two years later, I registered the American Jidokwan Association with USA Taekwondo which required that we become SafeSport certified, which was completed on November 19, 2019.

However, our detractors are so determined to cause us harm that they reported us to SafeSport for failing to report Patrick's conviction and prior affiliation. Why they felt we had an obligation to report an incident that occurred two years prior to us joining Safesport (where the actual conviction was 15 years prior) in the first place is beyond me, and the investigator from SafeSport echoed my sentiments.

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What Is A Diploma Mill?

8/20/2020

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Author: Bret Gordon

After our recent announcement that the US Association of Martial Arts will no longer be offering certification services to our members (click here), our detractors have tried to spin this as an admission that the USAMA was a diploma mill and now we have seen the error of our ways. This could not be farther from the truth, but it does bring up a rather interesting discussion that I'd like to expand upon.

Unfortunately, like the term "fraud," the concept of a diploma mill gets thrown around the martial arts community so often that it has lost all meaning. It is most often used to describe a school or organization that doesn't live up to the standards of the accuser. What the accuser doesn't take into account is that quality is subjective, and there are absolutely different levels to this. A degree from Harvard is worth more than one from your local community college. Both are still valid.

In contrast, a diploma or rank mill merely sells rank with bare minimum requirements (often simply a successful payment). They offer meaningless pieces of paper in exchange for a fee without any consideration. While I will admit there are plenty of schools who issue ranks merely based on attendance, I still wouldn't call them diploma mills. Just because they do not live up to my standards does not mean they are fake or fraudulent. Everyone's training goals are different, and we need to take that into account when judging others. Where it becomes a problem is when the issuing authority, whether that's the instructor or an organization, is dishonest about what is being offered such as saying you teach self defense but it's really cardio kickboxing, or an organization recognizing a rank/title you already hold but you present it as the source of your credentials. An organization acknowledging and recognizing something that has already been legitimately earned is not the same as an organization selling you a piece of paper no questions asked.

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USAMA Membership Process

8/17/2020

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Author: Bret Gordon

I am both honored and humbled at the amount of inquiries we've received to join the US Association of Martial Arts over the last few days as a result of the recent attention by our detractors. There is a silver lining in everything I guess. Rather than typing largely the same response in numerous emails, I thought it would be best to write this article detailing the entire membership process that I can then link new inquiries to.

The absolute first step in the membership process is to fill out the form on the "Join USAMA --> Individual Membership" page of this website (click here). After that, you will be contacted by either myself or one of our officers to begin the application process.

Membership into the US Association of Martial Arts is for instructors, and therefore you must hold a minimum of Dan grade ranking or equivalent in your style. Yellow belts should not be joining an organization independently of their instructor. After filling out the form above, you will be asked to supply a series of documents:

Proof of rank
- This must be a physical certificate (scanned copy will suffice) and no digital diplomas are accepted. We then contact the issuing authority for verification, as well as look into their authority to issue such credentials in the first place. If they cannot be contacted, as often happens with an in-school certification that later shuts down or the instructor passes away, the prospective member may still join our organization but there will be no rank recognition offered.
Copy of SafeSport certification
- All new members as of August 14, 2020, must complete the online training offered by the US Center for SafeSport on sexual abuse. There are no exceptions. Course can be found here.
Valid government-issued photo ID

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The USAMA Supports The Joyful Heart Foundation

8/17/2020

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Author: Bret Gordon

As a professional organization committed to the martial virtues of honor, integrity and respect, the US Association of Martial Arts firmly stands against sexual abuse in all forms.

Therefore as part of the fight against sexual abuse in the martial arts, in addition to now requiring SafeSport certification for all new members and encouraging current members to obtain it, we proudly have donated to and pledge support for the Joyful Heart Foundation (click here), a leading national organization that aims to transform society’s response to sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse, support survivors’ healing, and end this violence forever.

The Joyful Heart Foundation was founded by Law & Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay (shown above) in 2004. They carry out their mission through an integrated program portfolio of education and advocacy. We also encourage all members and supporters of the US Association of Martial Arts to donate and support the Joyful Heart Foundation as they work to combat sexual abuse through such projects as ending the backlog of unprocessed rape kits (click here) and other impactful programs.

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PSA: Patrick Justice (Part 2)

8/17/2020

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Author: Bret Gordon

Following our recent public service announcement (click here) regarding former president of the American Jidokwan Association, Patrick Justice, and the situation that has unfolded surrounding it, Mr. Justice has reached out to us and voluntarily provided the following statement to be posted on his behalf. Included here is the handwritten statement provided by Mr. Justice, and a transcript below:

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Academic Degrees In Martial Arts

8/15/2020

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Author: Bret Gordon

Among the sea of inflated ranks and titles flooding the martial arts today is the use of academic titles and degrees issued by various organizations. Nothing more than an honorary recognition, as martial arts degrees are not accredited in the United States, these degrees are a cool novelty but otherwise meaningless. While our Asian counterparts have the opportunity to study the arts as their major in college, I assume working towards a career as an instructor, the idea hasn't really caught on here.

To my knowledge, the only legitimate academic degree available in martial arts offered in the United States is through the University of Bridgeport (click here) with their B.A. in Martial Arts Studies program. In addition, as they are Olympic sports, some colleges offer scholarships for sport Taekwondo and Judo, but do not offer degree programs for these arts. Everything else you see in the martial arts with regards to "academic" degrees ranges from conversation pieces to outright misrepresentation. The difference, in my opinion, comes down to how such piece of paper was obtained and how it is used. Is it something you were ceremonially awarded, or something you consciously applied and paid for? Is it a footnote in your resume along with other honorary awards or are you calling yourself "Doctor?" Unlike martial arts certifications, there actually is a universally accepted standard when it comes to academic degrees. So like anything else, the legitimacy of having such all comes down to what you claim.

That said, I do not think any serious martial artist takes these degrees as anything more than what they are. When I read about someone having one or see it on their wall, I say "cool" and move on. My own teacher has one in fact. However, as any sane person does, he calls it what it is: something nice given to him by someone as a gesture of respect. In today's world, acknowledging respect is something we need to do more of and encourage.

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What Is A Martial Arts Fraud?

8/13/2020

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Author: Bret Gordon

The most insulting thing you can say to a martial artist is that they are a fraud. It's right up there with being a pedophile, rapist or other vile criminal. Where martial artists pride themselves on upholding the virtues of honor, integrity and respect, the accusation that one is a liar, a conman or otherwise dishonorable is a blow that many never recover from. Unfortunately, the words "fraud" and "fake" get thrown around way too much in the martial arts community, almost to the point where they don't mean anything other than the accused belongs to a different group than the accuser. When we break it down, the actual definition of a fraud is:

So we can see very clearly what a fraud is and isn't. A fraud is someone trying to deceive others. Therefore, everyone who throws around the word "fraud" simply because the other person does not meet their standards, either in their skillsets or in their affiliations, is simply wrong. There is a difference between being a low-quality martial artist and being a fraud and since quality is subjective to begin with, everyone is entitled to their opinion. But let's explore this world of fraudulent martial artists even further, shall we?

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Obsession Isn't Healthy, Boys

7/30/2020

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Author: Bret Gordon

Most of my readers are aware of the ongoing harassment both my instructor and I have been subjected to by the Facebook hate group, BSMA, run by Don Roley and his goonies. What started as a dispute over some paperwork that we refused to show them, because what gives them the audacity to demand anything, has turned into a public charade that's nothing less than stalking. For those of you who don't know, and for the first time ever, let me give a play-by-play of how we ended up here.

Let me apologize now for the length of this article, but it's time the world got to see exactly what we're dealing with... Because I'll be honest. Nothing is more frustrating than venting about these bullies only to be met with the sentiment "just let it go" from those who have never been attacked like this. There's only so many times a chihuahua can nip at your heels before you turn around and kick the chihuahua. So this is me, punting the yappy little animal that is BSMA across my now barren field of....

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The Myth Of National Governing Bodies

7/22/2020

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Author: Bret Gordon

The need to belong to something bigger than yourself is one that drives most people, but it's still amazing to me how many martial artists simply toe the line. Why what organization you paid for your certificate matters more than your ability to execute the art is mind boggling to me, and one of the most recent myths that has come to prominence is that if you do not belong to a National Governing Body, then you are somehow illegitimate or at least inferior. In Taekwondo, the national governing body is USA Taekwondo, an extension of World Taekwondo (it should be noted that only Kukkiwon rank is accepted by WT for international/Olympic competition, so the judgment extends to those who don't belong to the Kukkiwon). For Judo, there are actually three: USA Judo, US Judo Association and US Judo Federation.

The problem with that argument is that the NGBs serve only one purpose: to further the sport in this country as an extension of the Olympics. Yes, I said sport... Not martial art. No other martial art has a national governing body, because their existence is meant to regulate the sport. They are part of the umbrella system that every sport recognized by the IOC has, and are separate from the actual arts they represent. There's nothing wrong with belonging to them, especially if sport is your focus, but they are far from having any real authority or influence in governing anything related to the traditional arts these sport versions are derived from.