Author: Bret Gordon
Jim Endrizzi It's amazing how people's loyalties can change on a dime, and when there's any sort of negative attention they would rather change their story and jump on the bandwagon than stand by their words and actions. Let me apologize now, because this will be long...
On January 1st, we were contacted by Jim Endrizzi who was a student of Curtis Herrington, founder of the Ohio Jidokwan Karate Association. He reached out to us to settle a dispute between our organization, the American Jidokwan Association, and Ed Mathna, a representative of E.A. Fuzy's American Jidokwan Karate. By the end of that first conversation, Endrizzi said that he was happy to support anyone promoting true Jidokwan, and that he would gladly provide us with some historical information to help us tie up loose ends in our history, which we have admitted that we simply don't know everything that happened prior to our involvement in the martial arts so any help with that would be welcome. But it doesn't stop there...
After talking back and forth for almost a week, he decided to publicly support our organization and took steps to introduce us to his students and associates who still remained Ohio Jidokwan Karate after splitting from Fuzy's group:
On January 1st, we were contacted by Jim Endrizzi who was a student of Curtis Herrington, founder of the Ohio Jidokwan Karate Association. He reached out to us to settle a dispute between our organization, the American Jidokwan Association, and Ed Mathna, a representative of E.A. Fuzy's American Jidokwan Karate. By the end of that first conversation, Endrizzi said that he was happy to support anyone promoting true Jidokwan, and that he would gladly provide us with some historical information to help us tie up loose ends in our history, which we have admitted that we simply don't know everything that happened prior to our involvement in the martial arts so any help with that would be welcome. But it doesn't stop there...
After talking back and forth for almost a week, he decided to publicly support our organization and took steps to introduce us to his students and associates who still remained Ohio Jidokwan Karate after splitting from Fuzy's group:
Through Endrizzi, we were connected with Carrie Herrington (daughter of Curtis Herrington). Not only did he introduce us, he suggested Carrie actually join Hatfield sensei's school to further her training. Now, like any two martial artists when they first get to know each other they start running down the list of potential mutual contacts... And to our surprise, not only did she remember Hatfield sensei's father William Sirbaugh as a student of Curtis Herrington, he was "a very familiar name" in her house!
What was great to see was that when Endrizzi made the above post, and some of our detractors started jumping on to state that Sirbaugh had no relation to Herrington, she jumped on to immediately correct them and did so multiple times in the thread.
What was great to see was that when Endrizzi made the above post, and some of our detractors started jumping on to state that Sirbaugh had no relation to Herrington, she jumped on to immediately correct them and did so multiple times in the thread.
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Further showing their support, Endrizzi asked if we would be willing to write the "whole history" since Fuzy's people were cherry picking what information to make public, and provided us with information to put on our website. Not only that, he made it seem like he was ready to go to war with the trolls for us. Finally, someone willing to stand up to the cyberbullying, stalking and harassment we've been dealing with for two years now instead of telling us to just ignore it...
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These screenshots with Jim and Carrie are just the tip of the iceberg of support they were offering us and conversations we had about how to best address our detractors. There are numerous other conversations and messages, but of course, like so many others, once the spotlight was put on them they decided to change their stories. The trolls and cyber-stalkers at BSMA, whom I have nicknamed my personal press corps since it seems I can't share any video or blog without it being reposted there within the first few hours, saw that I was now listing both Jim and Carrie on our website as offering their support. So, as is par for the course, they began digging into their personal lives to either discredit them as well or convince them to withdraw their support.
Both Jim and Carrie have prior records and arrests. To be honest, I don't know many people who don't have at least a traffic infraction on their record. Unless it is some heinously violent crime or involves the abuse of children, we usually don't turn people away for misdemeanors and petty offenses. This is a fact the trolls love to cling onto, that our affiliates are all "criminals" as if they are saints who have never made a mistake in their lives. But apparently, the hinting of such on their forum was enough to get Carrie and Jim to back peddle. Now Jim says he does not know Hatfield sensei, "bad or good," and instead of saying how familiar with Sirbaugh Carrie is, now she just "thinks she heard of him." If there was a way to accurately describe a full-bodied eye roll...
Both Jim and Carrie have prior records and arrests. To be honest, I don't know many people who don't have at least a traffic infraction on their record. Unless it is some heinously violent crime or involves the abuse of children, we usually don't turn people away for misdemeanors and petty offenses. This is a fact the trolls love to cling onto, that our affiliates are all "criminals" as if they are saints who have never made a mistake in their lives. But apparently, the hinting of such on their forum was enough to get Carrie and Jim to back peddle. Now Jim says he does not know Hatfield sensei, "bad or good," and instead of saying how familiar with Sirbaugh Carrie is, now she just "thinks she heard of him." If there was a way to accurately describe a full-bodied eye roll...
Now as requested, we did remove Jim and Carrie from our website, and apparently Carrie is pretty pissed at Jim for getting her involved in this drama in the first place. Rumor has it she threatened to have him demoted because of it, but that's just a rumor.
Judging by Jim's response in the text screenshot here, I'd say something fairly serious was definitely said. I guess they have issues to work out...
Judging by Jim's response in the text screenshot here, I'd say something fairly serious was definitely said. I guess they have issues to work out...
Charles "Buddy" Brown is next on our list of dishonorable mentions who says one thing to us and another when it's the cool thing to do. In the screenshot below, I asked him some very specific questions that cannot be misinterpreted or misunderstood. For clarity, I'll include the transcript of the screenshot as well...
Me: Good afternoon sir. It was a pleasure speaking with you earlier. I am going to be writing a rebuttal to their article about American Jidokwan, and I'd like to clarify some things we just discussed, and post a screenshot of this conversation if you're ok with it.
CB: Yes I'm okay with it go right ahead.
Me: Thank you sir. So first, was E.A. Fuzy the only founder of American Jidokwan?
CB: No the people that we came through was Robert m Moore and Curtis Harrington [sic]
Me: And you said that you knew or knew of Hatfield sensei's father, William Sirbaugh, through American Jidokwan?
CB: That's correct
Me: So if he was around back then, why would someone else under Fuzy say they didn't know him?
CB: Because he was not training here in the Cleveland. What I knew about him came from my first instructor Tom benich.
Me: And Fuzy knew and worked with Sirbaugh too, correct?
CB: That's what I was told however most of Master fuses [sic] training came from Robert Moore and Curtis Harrington. [sic]
CB: Yes I'm okay with it go right ahead.
Me: Thank you sir. So first, was E.A. Fuzy the only founder of American Jidokwan?
CB: No the people that we came through was Robert m Moore and Curtis Harrington [sic]
Me: And you said that you knew or knew of Hatfield sensei's father, William Sirbaugh, through American Jidokwan?
CB: That's correct
Me: So if he was around back then, why would someone else under Fuzy say they didn't know him?
CB: Because he was not training here in the Cleveland. What I knew about him came from my first instructor Tom benich.
Me: And Fuzy knew and worked with Sirbaugh too, correct?
CB: That's what I was told however most of Master fuses [sic] training came from Robert Moore and Curtis Harrington. [sic]
Now, I don't understand how any of that could be misinterpreted, but Buddy claims we have twisted his words and has since taken extensive efforts to discredit Hatfield sensei and I (though whenever we get him on the phone, he is nothing but polite, and makes sure to let us know he would never do such a thing). It's funny how people will talk with their chest puffed out behind your back, or behind a keyboard, but when they are actually dealing with you directly on the phone or in person they are polite as can be...
It has been suggested that we somehow coerced Jim and Carrie into offering support for us. From the beginning, and even after Jim asked us to remove him from our website due to this drama, he praised the accuracy of the information we were putting out and even offered to speak to our attorney to help in the civil suit in progress.
Now perhaps Jim and Carrie were using us for information and feigned support all along, but I'd like to give them the benefit of the doubt that they're not manipulative masterminds and were simply spooked by the thought of having the trolls come after them even a fraction of what we've been dealing with. That seems to be a fairly common response, but my question is when is it enough? The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
So why write this article in the first place? Jim, Carrie and Charles may have since publicly withdrawn their support, but I will not have it said that we manipulated or coerced them to provide us with information. The simple truth is that both Charles and Carrie confirmed William Sirbaugh's involvement in the Ohio Jidokwan scene on multiple occasions, and Jim offered to support us and assist in writing the true history that Fuzy left out. Anything said to contrary since their targeting by BSMA can only be taken as a sign of desperation not to become targets of the same cyber stalking and harrassment we've received.
While it would've been nice to put an end to the drama between the multiple American Jidokwan factions, the truth is that we do not need their support. The success and growth of our organization has nothing to do with its founder, William Sirbaugh, and any mention of him and his prior training is simply to answer the question "Who did you train with?" He started the organization, which admittedly during his lifetime may have been a backyard system with a handful of students, but it is in our hands now. The growth of our American Jidokwan Association is due to the quality of training both Hatfield sensei and I provide, as well as the connection to the World Taekwondo Jidokwan Federation, which is the only source in the world for true and legitimate Jidokwan. While Jim Endrizzi and the rest of Fuzy's bunch are busy trying to live in the past and find any way to remain relevant, we are promoting the art and expanding our network of Jidokwan practitioners. The future is now...
Now perhaps Jim and Carrie were using us for information and feigned support all along, but I'd like to give them the benefit of the doubt that they're not manipulative masterminds and were simply spooked by the thought of having the trolls come after them even a fraction of what we've been dealing with. That seems to be a fairly common response, but my question is when is it enough? The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
So why write this article in the first place? Jim, Carrie and Charles may have since publicly withdrawn their support, but I will not have it said that we manipulated or coerced them to provide us with information. The simple truth is that both Charles and Carrie confirmed William Sirbaugh's involvement in the Ohio Jidokwan scene on multiple occasions, and Jim offered to support us and assist in writing the true history that Fuzy left out. Anything said to contrary since their targeting by BSMA can only be taken as a sign of desperation not to become targets of the same cyber stalking and harrassment we've received.
While it would've been nice to put an end to the drama between the multiple American Jidokwan factions, the truth is that we do not need their support. The success and growth of our organization has nothing to do with its founder, William Sirbaugh, and any mention of him and his prior training is simply to answer the question "Who did you train with?" He started the organization, which admittedly during his lifetime may have been a backyard system with a handful of students, but it is in our hands now. The growth of our American Jidokwan Association is due to the quality of training both Hatfield sensei and I provide, as well as the connection to the World Taekwondo Jidokwan Federation, which is the only source in the world for true and legitimate Jidokwan. While Jim Endrizzi and the rest of Fuzy's bunch are busy trying to live in the past and find any way to remain relevant, we are promoting the art and expanding our network of Jidokwan practitioners. The future is now...
P.S. - I've largely been ignoring the onslaught of attacks by our detractors over the past year, and for those who read my "Year In Review" article (click here), you'd know 2021 was full of new opportunities and connections. Life is too short to allow myself to be consumed by such regular negativity. Since this article largely affects the American Jidokwan Association, however, I figured I would address one of the other false claims about it while I'm at it.
We recently put out that we were splitting the organization into two divisions, Jidokwan Taekwondo and American Jidokwan Tang Soo Do, and have identified AJTSD as the art founded by William Sirbaugh. Immediately, chatter erupted stating we were again trying to rewrite history since that name was "never used before" and we claimed that Sirbaugh founded the AJA and "American Jidokwan Taekwondo." Now, as long as I have been President we have used both Taekwondo and Tang Soo Do to describe our art as you can see from this announcement of our new patches from February 2018, but let me clarify for those of subpar reading comprehension abilities.
William Sirbaugh founded the American Jidokwan Association that is now overseen by myself and Steven Hatfield, yet we are not the only organization to use this name. Towards the end of his teaching career, he was referring to art as "American Jidokwan Taekwondo" and that is what was inherited by Steven Hatfield. A former officer of the AJA who has since been excommunicated rebranded the art as "American Jidokwan Tang Soo Do." However, it is still the same system. It is the continuation of Sirbaugh's legacy, which is why we refer to him as the founder of American Jidokwan Tang Soo Do, even though he did not coin the name (much in the way that Chun Sang Sup is referred to as the founder of Jidokwan Taekwondo when during his lifetime it was actually known as Yun Moo Kwan Kong Soo Do). In addition, any adjustments or changes I make to the art as President do not change the fact it was created by Sirbaugh.
I must make this abundantly clear. We are not Fuzy's American Jidokwan Karate, and we want nothing to do with it or his legacy. Any mention of him, Curtis Herrington or Robert Moore is simply a historical anecdote of William Sirbaugh's training, but has nothing to do with our organization as it stands today.
We recently put out that we were splitting the organization into two divisions, Jidokwan Taekwondo and American Jidokwan Tang Soo Do, and have identified AJTSD as the art founded by William Sirbaugh. Immediately, chatter erupted stating we were again trying to rewrite history since that name was "never used before" and we claimed that Sirbaugh founded the AJA and "American Jidokwan Taekwondo." Now, as long as I have been President we have used both Taekwondo and Tang Soo Do to describe our art as you can see from this announcement of our new patches from February 2018, but let me clarify for those of subpar reading comprehension abilities.
William Sirbaugh founded the American Jidokwan Association that is now overseen by myself and Steven Hatfield, yet we are not the only organization to use this name. Towards the end of his teaching career, he was referring to art as "American Jidokwan Taekwondo" and that is what was inherited by Steven Hatfield. A former officer of the AJA who has since been excommunicated rebranded the art as "American Jidokwan Tang Soo Do." However, it is still the same system. It is the continuation of Sirbaugh's legacy, which is why we refer to him as the founder of American Jidokwan Tang Soo Do, even though he did not coin the name (much in the way that Chun Sang Sup is referred to as the founder of Jidokwan Taekwondo when during his lifetime it was actually known as Yun Moo Kwan Kong Soo Do). In addition, any adjustments or changes I make to the art as President do not change the fact it was created by Sirbaugh.
I must make this abundantly clear. We are not Fuzy's American Jidokwan Karate, and we want nothing to do with it or his legacy. Any mention of him, Curtis Herrington or Robert Moore is simply a historical anecdote of William Sirbaugh's training, but has nothing to do with our organization as it stands today.
Fuzy's "KTA" Certificate P.S.S. - On the website for Fuzy's American Jidokwan Karate, there is a certificate supposedly from the Korea Taekwondo Association recognizing his rank and therefore proving they have a connection to Korea, since I am sure they were feeling the pressure from our group becoming official representatives of the Jidokwan World Headquarters in Korea. Now, the certificate they posted looks nothing like official, verified KTA documents displayed below.
While I am not sure what the difference is between the two KTA certifications and why they are completely different templates, they both have the official Korea Taekwondo Association logo and seal, and the same signature, which Fuzy's certificate from the same time period displays none of. I will let you decide what that means...
While I am not sure what the difference is between the two KTA certifications and why they are completely different templates, they both have the official Korea Taekwondo Association logo and seal, and the same signature, which Fuzy's certificate from the same time period displays none of. I will let you decide what that means...
 KTA 1973 |  KTA 1972 |
