I abhor Bret Gordon for what he did to my instructors, calling them frauds online and then harassing my student and his daughter. Not long ago Gordon wrote that there were "GAPPING HOLES" in my Judo back ground. You can read what he wrote here; https://bretgordon.weebly.com/blog/pot-meet-kettle-barron-shepherd-part-2#/
Gordon, is in my mind, at the most, nothing more than a junior black belt, a rank earned under the age of seventeen. Making up his own martial arts system at the age of 16 based on this? Let's get real for a second.....at all of five foot five inches short and somewhere between 290 and 300 lbs, Gordon is a legend in his own mind.
I think that it's important to see what standards and requirements Gordon actually meets, adheres to or follows (if any).
And we will also look into what Gordon so proudly refers to in his own articles as is his "TOTAL TIME TRAINING IN VARIOUS MARTIAL ARTS" and compare it to my time and training in just judo toward the end of the article.
According to Bret Gordon’s own website located at https://www.ocoeemartialarts.com/our-team.html#/
. It is stated that he is an “7th Degree Black Belt and a internationally
certified master instructor with more than 25 years of martial arts experience
in various styles.”
Firstly, 25 years isn’t enough years to even qualify him for a 7th degree bb in a jidokwan system or any Korean or Japanese system.
Also, Gordon is 32 or 33 years old. According to the different Korean head quarters one has to be at least 45 years old. This is the MINIMUM age for a 7th degree blackbelt. Even questionable martial arts organizations who operate more like rank mills in the US have a minimum age requirement of 40 plus to qualify for a 7th degree Black belt.
TAE KWON DO
In another post that Gordon entitled “My taekwondo journey” located here at https://www.ustraditionaltaekwondo.com/blog/my-taekwondo-journey#/ Gordon writes that he received his poom rank, a junior Black belt rank at age 8 in 2000. According to Gordon's own article he was allowed to convert junior black belt rank to a 2nd degree in 2012. Gordon even shows his Kukkiwon certificate. I believe this is a legitimate rank that was indeed based on his junior rank.
AMERICAN JIDOKWAN
In his article Gordon goes on to write that in 2014, just two years after his taekwondo 2nd degree blackbelt, he was tested for a 4th Dan in "American Jidokwan Taekwondo". He says this promotion was based on his "TOTAL TIME" training and in recognition of his experience in other arts.
By American Jidokwan standards it takes 3 years to go from 2nd to 3rd degree black belt and 4 years from 3rd to 4th degree BB, that is a total time of 7 years from 2nd to 4th. Gordon wrote that he was promoted from a 2nd degree black belt in taekwondo to a 4th degree in just 2 years.
My other question here is does a taekwondo rank transfer to
a rank in American Jidokwan?
According to several American Jidokwan high ranking instructors, AJDK does not transfer ranks from ANY Martial arts style. This falls in line with what Korean organizations require (more on the Korean orgs later). Everyone regardless of training starts in the American Jidokwan system as a white belt. If they are good, they can accelerate through the kyu ranks.
By Gordon's own comparison of total time he falls short of the total time required for a 4th dan by AJDK standards.
KOREAN JIDOKWAN
My last question regarding Gordon 2 to 4th promotion is: Would Gordon’s second degree black belt in TKD be transferred or reciprocate to a Korean jidokwan black belt or of any rank lower or higher?
From
Korean reps in Korea it was explained in the following manner;
Taekwondo, Hapikido, Moo do kwan, Tangsoodo, Jidokwan etc are not the same, they are different, diverse and wholly apart from one another. This flies in the face of Gordon’s rhetoric that his "vast experience and years in other arts" transfers or reciprocates to other Korean styles.
Gordon then states that a mere three years later, in 2017
that he was promoted to the rank of 5th Dan directly from Korea. He then goes
on to say that since 2018 he has received 6th and 7th Dan promotions have also
come directly from the Jidokwan Headquarters in Korea.
According to official Korean records of the World Taekwondo Jidokwan federation he was promoted to 5th in 2018. The record shows a second promotion in 2024 to 7th.
According to Gordon’s “My Taekwondo Journey’ blog posts, at the bottom, in his edit, he posts his rank time table and lays out several certificates. Gordon’s TOTAL TIME from 2nd degree in 2012 to 7th degree in 2024 was twelve years.
The Korean kwans requirement of total time from 2nd degree to 7th is 24 years, MINIMUM.
Also it should be mentioned that according some Korean orgs requirements it takes 6 to 10 years to go from 5th to 6th and another 7 to 10 years from 6th to 7th. Gordon went from 5th to 7th in only 6 years according to his “edit”. Also the year he was promoted to seventh dan rank meets the bare minimum requirement for a 5th.
Going on the fact that Bret Gordon did receive a 2nd Dan in 2012, which I believe is legitimate, at the earliest he would have only been eligible for a 5th Dan by 2024. He could make 6th Dan in 2030 and 7th in 2036. Again, keep in mind that this is the MINIMUM amount of years it would take. I am sticking to the "TOTAL TIME” as Gordon describes it in his article and waivered the minimum age requirement of 45.
In Korea, the Koreans, who live the Taekwondo life EVERY DAY, training three times a day, attending Korean Taekwondo in school, after school, and in Taekwondo University PE programs don't even move up in ranks that fast.
Another way to help figure actual time requirements and compare to Gordon's total time in training, is that in
Korean Arts (and most arts) a good rule of thumb to follow is:
Shodan - 5-10 years
Shodan to Nidan - 3 to 4 years (2nd dan)
Nidan to Sandan - 4 to 5 years (3rd dan)
Sandan to 4th
dan - 5 to 6 years
4th dan
to 5th dan - 6 to 7 years
5th to 6th
dan - 6 to 10 years
6th to 7th
dan - 6 to 10 years
MOST people get 5th dan in or around 45 years of age and 25 years of training MINIMUM. Most Korean arts consider this a milestone and you have to also factor in the physical test. While you may be older at 5th degree you WILL have to meet these physical standards.
Again Gordon is in his early 30s...too young for the ranks he claims was given, he accepted or whatever.
I would much rather be a 5th dan with more than enough years to have a 6th or 7th than to be a 5th dan with not enough or barely enough years for a 5th degee BB rank.
With Gordon's background being as it is, he wrote in his blog, that there were gapping holes in my back ground. With a back ground like his maybe he should keep his fucking mouth shut.
It took me 7 years to attain my first degree black belt in judo. I was a 1st degree for 12 years before being promoted to 2nd degree BB. I was a 2nd degree bb for 8 years before being promoted to 3rd. That's 27 years total time and more than enough time for a 5th.
Gordon's "vast experience and 25 years total time training in various martial arts" for his 7th degree BB doesn't even add up to when I got my Sandan. But, according to Gordon, I have gapping holes in my back ground.
The only thing that appears to have more gapping holes than Gordon's so called taekwondo journey is Gordon’s Aiki Journey; https://www.americanyoshinkan.com/blog/my-aiki-journey , on his very own blog he wrote that he started his aiki journey in 2010 and by 2018 he was a fifth degree black belt???? So, only eight years to a 5th degree black belt in some form of Aiki Jujutsu....REALLY? Could Gordon's own articles possibly CUNTIFY himself any more?
Talk about getting drunk one night and waking up next to a fucking ugly woman.
