Bret Gordon: The Butt of his Own Joke

Bret Gordon’s stupidity is only out matched by his lying mouth. At this point, he would be better off admitting that he lied and  made shit up about Hasaka Yutashi and his supposed connection to the daito ryu.

The fix is simple really, don't fucking lie and you will never get caught lying. This however appears to be an impossible feat to accomplish For Bret Gordon. 

Except for a single junior black belt rank in Taekwondo, Gordon has recieved no formal training in the other styles he claims rank in and has fabricated it all. Gordon has habit and custom of misrepresenting his affiliations with other martial artists and organizations. His claims regarding Daitoryu Aikijujutsu are nothing but more fabrication and misrepresentation. 

According to Eric Pearson, Gordon fabricated a "glowing review" supposedly from Pearson. When Mr. Pearson found out about Gordon doing this, he contacted Gordon and asked for it to be removed. Gordon refused his request see messages below. 

Pearson addressed this publicly on his blog.

"I am a moderator on one of the large Daito Ryu AikiJujutsu Facebook groups. Years ago Bret Gordon joined the Facebook group. I recall he posted a few videos. He was claiming connections to Kodokai as I recall. We had a pleasant exchange on Facebook messenger. I know very little about the lineage he was claiming. Another moderator on the group blocked him from access to the facebook group because he suspected Mr. Gordon was lying (the other moderator IS part of Kodokai and has access to the records). That was pretty much the extent of my knowledge of Mr Gordon. 

So it has come to my attention that Mr Gordon is using my name as a reference on his website. Budoka online have been questioning me about my “glowing review” of Mr Gordon. I don't know why Mr Gordan chose me as a reference. Recently I discovered that he, without my knowledge, used me as a reference. I asked him to please remove the statement. He refused my request."

Mr. Pearson's statement in it's entirety can be found at https://tomikiaikido.blogspot.com/2024/10/in-reference-to-bret-gordon.html

Gordon released a book in which he stated included "proof" of his back ground, the existence of a fabled mysterious Japanese instructor who had changed his name to Hasaka Yutashi and it would also include a picture of the supposed Hasaka Yutashi and confirm connections to daito ryu. 

Two weeks after its release the Kodokai organization themselves debunked the claims Gordon made in his book. 

"There is no connection between Bret Gordon and the Daito ryu Aikijujutsu Kodokai organization either here in the USA or in Japan. Any claims he is making regarding such a connection are entirely false.

The Daito ryu Aikijujutsu Kodokai organization keeps strict records of it's members. There is and has never been a "Hasaka Yutashi" who trained in the Kodokai organization either here in the USA or in Japan. There is no basis for him to claim that his organization is based on or connected with the Kodokai in any way shape or form, much like the claim he mentions about Yoshinkan aikido.

Furthermore, Gordon should should specifically state that his organization has no historical ties, lineage or affiliation with the Daito ryu Aikijujutsu Kodokai organization. Additionally the individual depicted in the photograph included in his book has never held any rank or title within the Daito ryu Aikijujutsu Kodokai organization in either the USA or Japan.

I hope this clarification is helpful. Please feel free to reach if any further information is needed."

Sincerely, Donald Quintana 

Letter from Donald Quintana Kodokai Secretary of General Affairs

On the heels of the statement from the kodokai (above), the former General Secretary from the Daito Ryu Aiki Jujutsu Kodokai organization has also spoken out about Gordon's spurious claims and blatant misrepresentation of Daito Ryu connections. John Persson related that Gordon didnt present himself a daitto ryu practitioner but some one doing a street wise jujutsu. However Gordon took Persson's comments and edited them to make it appear Persson was commending him regarding Daitoryu. 

Gordon's claims of connections to aikido's Gozo Shioda and the daito ryu both online and in his book have been directly refuted and debunked. 

Additionally, others who Gordon specifically mentions in his book, debunked more of his claims. On pages 11- 14, Gordon covers his "training" with the Ginjukai which included Dimitri Deglas, Joe Brogna and Howard Popkin. Gordon alleges in his book that he trained with them twice a month beginning 2019 and that "he left" in 2020 indicating he trained with the group any from 30 to 40 times at the least and that he even taught classes while there. 

However, according to Popkin, Dimitri and Brogna, this doesnt appear to be the case. Gordon only attended a few classes maybe 6 to 10 at the most and only as a budo courtesy. It appears Gordon was caught in some of his "misrepresentations" was called a liar to his face, told to leave and wasn't allowed to come back. I was forwarded this recent email (below)and then I talked with Mr. Popkin by phone. 

 This directly contradicts what Gordon writes in his book that he alleges is proof of his training regarding the Daitoryu Aikijujutsu Ginjukai. 

Popkin described Gordon as a "bold faced liar" who was fabricating his back ground. Popkin made earlier statements debunking Gordon, alleging Gordon used Kodokai pictures with out authorization or permission. Those statements were admitted in court and can be found at  https://courtrecords.lakecounty.org/ Case Number 35-2020-CA-001851 court docket file 142, exhibit 14, page 6. 

What Gordon alleges as photographic "evidence" of Yutashi in his book has not held up under scrutiny. It is a picture of an middle aged mam just sitting with a little boy. The person in the picture that Gordon alleges to be Yutashi isn’t even Japanese, despite claiming for years he was a japanese man who had changed his name. Nor does Yutashi appear in the Kodokai pictures Gordon claims that he is somewhere in. 

What appears to be the best part of the joke that is Gordon's fake background comes from his own instructor Steven Hatfield. 

In a conversation with Renshinkan officials and its head master Michio Takase, Hatfield specifically stated that his grandfather, who Gordon now claims is Hasaka in his book, taught his own style of Jujutsu and that it is not daito ryu and very few techniques are even similar. 

This conversation Hatfield had with the renshinkan is a matter of record and can be found in its entirety at  https://courtrecords.lakecounty.org/ Case Number 35-2020-CA-001851 court docket file 138, exhibit 10, page 6. 

It seems Gordon has been caught in yet another lie....this time it was exposed by his own instructor. At this point anything that Gordon claims or proposes to be "evidence" of his legitimacy is no doubt the result of more purposeful lies, deceit and total fabrication.