A Matter of Rank & Lineage
By Rich Hale
I was recently asked to provide some private lessons and conduct a seminar at one of my student's schools. This isn't at all unusual, but what happened the day prior to the seminar sure was.
A gentleman, who I prefer not to name, stopped at the school, while I was teaching a private lesson to the owner, and said he wanted to clear something with me before showing up for Saturday's seminar. He said he couldn't find his 5th degree black belt and just wanted to check with me and make sure it was okay to wear an alternative belt he was able to find. Expecting to see a colorful, uniquely designed belt of some kind I waited for him to pull it out of his bag for examination. After all it's not unusual for anyone who's been in the martial arts for a long time to have several different belts. Sometimes they're from different systems and sometimes they have simply decided to display their rank in some kind of personal style. For example, many Kenpoists didn't like going from four stripes to a single five-inch bar, so they added a fifth stripe instead. A good friend of mine decided to reverse the colors on his 7th degree from a black belt with a red bar and stripes to a red belt with a black bar and stripes. In either case the rank itself is still clearly stated as 5th and 7th respectively.
So, imagine my surprise when he pulls a 9th degree black belt out of his bag and repeats, "I just want to make sure that it's okay with you to wear this one." I was shocked and damned near speechless. I've only known this gentleman for a few years, but he's always represented himself as a 5th degree black belt and now, all of a sudden, he's a 9th degree black belt.
When I eventually gathered my composure, I asked him who he received a 9th degree black belt from and in what system. To this he responds that he was 8th degree black belt in the Tracy system of Kenpo, but one day he called the office and they said he was no longer a member of their organization and hung up on him. He said he was quite upset and even thought about quitting the martial arts altogether. He further stated that because his students didn't want him to quit, they gave him a 9th degree black belt. To this I asked what rank his student were, who promoted him. He answered, and I quote: "Oh, they were way, way, way down there." And then he says, "But it's just a belt, it's no big deal, right?" I responded with, "No, actually it is a big deal – it's a 9th degree black belt." Not only that, but it's a 9th degree black belt in the design of Ed Parker's American Kenpo. I was thinking, how can anyone say it's just a belt?
I eventually said this, "Well, I'm not your instructor and you're not in my association, so I'm not actually in a position to tell you what you can or can't wear, but I will tell you this. When I'm honored with the presence of an extremely high ranking black belt, it's my policy to call upon them during my seminar to share their knowledge and skills. So, you need to be aware that I'll be calling on you to explain some of the more intricate principles of American Kenpo and to demonstrate and teach some of our more sophisticated techniques. Are you comfortable with this? He responded with, "Well you need to know that (for various reasons) I've suffered some memory loss, so if it's anything above Delayed Sword, I probably don't know it."
We continued our conversation a little longer and eventually he suggested that he did have a T-shirt with him and maybe he should just wear his gi bottoms and a T-shirt – to this I readily agreed. Of course later that evening I was informed that this gentleman had just become aware of some family problems that he had to take care of, and that he would not be able to attend my seminar after all.
I ask you, what are people thinking? What is it that makes people think they can simply put on a 9th or 10th degree black belt, call themselves Grand Master and get away with it? There are a number of men out there who have actually earned these belts and it's an insult to every one of them when someone like this decides to simply put one on and wear it around like it's a Halloween costume.
By the way, this isn't the first time something like this has happened to me. Not too long ago I invited a gentleman, who claimed to be a 5th degree black in American Kenpo, to stay at my home while he was visiting California. I even offered him an opportunity to take part in a seminar that Mohamad Tabatabai, Dave Crouch, and I were doing up in Fresno that weekend. Only when we started going over material for the seminar it became obvious that his knowledge of Kenpo was extremely limited. I found this surprising based on his claims of having been a long-time personal student of Si-Bok Tom Kelly. At this point I questioned him as to who had promoted him to 5th degree black belt. He gave me the name of a gentleman whom I had never met, so I asked him what rank he received directly from Mr. Kelly. He told me he received a 2nd degree black belt from Mr. Kelly, so I dropped the inquiry completely. After all if Mr. Kelly gave someone a 2nd degree black belt, that's good enough for me.
But after the seminar and pictures got posted on the Internet, I received the below e-Mail from Mr. Kelly.
Rich
What the hell is the story of (name deleted) doing teaching Kenpo? What belt does this turd claim to be and who promoted him?
It looks like he's a fifth degree black belt? I trained this turd to only purple belt.
Tom Kelly
Okay, I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I did learn something that day. Had I called Mr. Kelly when I first had doubts about this individual's knowledge of Kenpo, I could have saved myself and my friends a lot of time, trouble, and embarrassment.
I understand that people, within the Ed Parker system of American Kenpo, may have earned their rank in different ways, with different curriculums and under different circumstances, but it's becoming ridiculous. Mr. Parker created a unique belt design and ranking system for those who study "his" art of American Kenpo. And the belt configuration that Mr. Parker created represents more than just rank, it represents a lineage. Anyone wearing Mr. Parker's belt configuration is not only saying they're of that rank, but that you can trace their lineage directly back to Ed Parker himself.
Since his passing some of us continue to use this same belt configuration, and some of us have chosen to wear plain black belts, or belts of another design, but I haven't seen any of our guys wearing the red and white paneled belts of a Japanese Judo master, or the single red bar with a half dozen white stripes of a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Master. No self-respecting martial artist should ever wear a belt they personally know to be directly associated with someone else's system – especially one that would represent them as a Master of that system. I know there are various systems using similar, if not identical, belts and that's okay, but that shouldn't be used as an excuse to claim false rank and/or lineage.
I, for one, would appreciate those who have decided to become masters of their own art to design their own belt and stop diluting the integrity of ours. Wear red belts with gold stripes, or gold belts with platinum stripes, something, anything, but please stop wearing ours. Why don't they do what Mr. Parker did and create their own unique belt configuration that says, this is who "I" am and these are "my" students. Or is it really about wanting to be associated with a highly respected system, while at the same time not being held accountable to any of the standards associated with that system?
Don't get me wrong, I don't think everyone has to have studied directly with Mr. Parker to be a legitimate black belt in his system. I think there are a good number of great Kenpoist out there who have never met Mr. Parker. But they had to have studied with somebody, don't you think? It's a rare bird that can master an art as sophisticated as American Kenpo without a little help from someone who's been there and done that.
So the bottom line is this; I think we've been too tolerant and accepting of those who want to wear our rank, but don't want to earn it. I'm not asking for a witch hunt or anything, but at the same time maybe we shouldn't be so shy about asking for proof of rank and lineage when someone shows up wearing a high ranking American Kenpo black belt.
Of course they can say, who died and left you in charge, and I understand completely. And although somebody did die, nobody left me in charge and I don't want to be in charge. I just want to be one guy - among many – who are doing their best to preserve and advance the art of American Kenpo. So if someone shows up at one of my events wearing the belt of an American Kenpo Master, I think I'll ask where he got it, when he got it, and who he got it from. Not disrespectfully of course, but what's wrong with asking? When I go scuba diving they ask to see proof of my certification and the same with sky diving. Try renting an airplane without showing a pilot's license or even a car without showing a driver's license. Seems like as martial artists we're the lone hold-outs on taking everyone at their word and look where that's gotten us.
I do understand this may sound good on paper, but of course it's more easily said than done. There are perfectly legitimate black belts out there who have lost their certificates through no fault of their own. There are such things as fires, floods, tornados, hurricanes, and dogs and cats that really do eat paper. But let's say I lost the black belt certificate I got from AC Rainey, I still have his phone number. Even if he up and died on me, I can tell you Roger Thomas was there, because Roger received his black belt the same day. If we can't find Roger, I can give you at least a dozen names of students, in Alaska, who were with me when AC was our head instructor and promoted me.
There are times of course when there are absolutely no witnesses to ones promotion. When I received my black from Rich Callahan it was just him and me at his house in Colton, CA. No witnesses, pictures or any other evidence besides a piece of paper . . . and of course his shaggy old black belt which he also gave me. I guess I could have stolen the belt, but then some years later when Rich and I traveled up to Utah and promoted Bobby Lawrence to 5th black he'd probably noticed me wearing it and commenced to take it back and give me a beating instead, but that didn't happen. Bobby and Charlene can tell you that.
If I lost the certificates I got from Mr. Parker, I guess I could tell you to talk to Ed Parker Jr. After all, I expect he was the one who actually prepared the certificates anyway, so he may be able to back me up if need be. I also claim to be a black belt under Larry Tatum, but don't have a certificate to prove it. That's because I knew and studied with Mr. Parker before I met Larry and Mr. Parker signed my certificates, even when I studied at Larry's school in West Los Angeles – but I did notice, while checking out Larry's web site, that I was listed on his family tree. It's not much, but it's something.
Yes, somebody can lose their certificates, but their memory and lineage should still be relatively intact. Again I want to stress that I'm not advocating a witch hunt or even suggesting that we ask everyone wearing a black belt to prove it. And I'm definitely not saying men like Mike Pick, Frank Trejo, Huk Planas, Larry Tatum, Chuck Sullivan, Ron Chapel, Tom Kelly and many other respected masters didn't earn their rank. I'm not talking about these guys; I'm talking about people these guys have never even heard of. Honestly, how can anyone attain the rank of master in the art of American Kenpo and yet be virtually unknown and unrecognized by any of the men listed above?
The art of American Kenpo is not that old. This is evidenced by the number men & women who received their rank directly from Mr. Parker and are still teaching on a daily basis. So, if someone, unknown to you, walks in wearing a black belt in American Kenpo, ask them who they received it from and then do a little homework to verify their claims. Last time I called Mr. Pick, Mr. Trejo, Mr. Planas, Mr. Tatum, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Chapel, or Mr. Kelly, they were all still answering their phones just like anybody else. And if they claim to be one of my black belts, then call me; my phone number is 805-807-6500.
On the other hand one could say, "What's the big deal anyway? Let these guys wear anything they want, they're not hurting anybody." But that's not true. In the last few years I've been contacted, on a regular basis, by students who've studied under various instructors claiming high ranks in American Kenpo, only to discover that after years of study and training, their instructor had little or no legitimate rank in American Kenpo and that is hurting somebody.
On a recent trip to Florida I was sitting in the hotel lobby when a guy noticed my T-shirt and asked me if I studied Kenpo. I told him yes and that I was in Florida to take part in a Kenpo camp. He then asked if I studied with Ed Parker and I again said yes. He then told me that his teacher also studied with Ed Parker and told me his teacher's name. When I heard the guys name it took me back about thirty years to a day when I was at Mr. Parker's house and he received a call from the Better Business Bureau. They were calling in regard to a man who claimed to have studied directly with Mr. Parker and had attained a very high rank in American Kenpo. Mr. Parker said, I'm sorry, but I have never met the man. They said, "But he claims to have studied directly under you for many years." Mr. Parker stated, "I understand that he says he has studied with me for many years, but I find that to be highly unlikely – in that I have never met the man." Now here I was, sitting in a hotel lobby, talking to a man who's studied Kenpo for sixteen years from the same guy who's still claiming to have studied directly under Ed Parker.
Without trying to be too insulting to his instructor, I clearly told him that his teacher never actually studied directly with Ed Parker, at least not according to Mr. Parker himself. To this he had a puzzled look and said, maybe he was mistaken, maybe it was with Mr. Parker's teacher that his teacher had studied. I said, you mean Professor Chow? And he said, yes that's it Professor Chow. I then asked him how long had his teacher lived in Hawaii and with another puzzled look he said, I don’t think he did, why? I then told him that Professor Chow lived in Hawaii, as had Mr. Parker when he studied with Professor Chow, so if his teacher also studied with Professor Chow then he must have lived in Hawaii as well. Now, with an even greater look of confusion on his face, I took the opportunity to excuse myself, as it was time to meet up with the other guys and go teach our seminar.
I don't know if this gentleman followed up on his instructors claims or not. I didn't get his phone number and didn't try to keep in touch. But I did feel sorry for him. No one expects their martial arts instructor to lie to them. No one expects their martial arts instructor to exaggerate their rank, or claim a lineage they don't have, but now we know better. The question is; what are we going to do about it?
