Bret Gordon has repeatedly and knowingly made false claims regarding his martial arts credentials, including judo, Aikijujutsu, Hasaka Yutashi, and other alleged credentials. His repeated misrepresentations have called into serious question the legitimacy of any martial arts credentials he purports to hold.
Judo being only one of them.....
Any judo black belt rank certificates claimed by Bret Gordon that were obtained without completing actual formal training in judo are entirely invalid and hold no legitimate value. They are fraudulent ranks. Such claims are part of Gordon’s broader pattern of misrepresentation regarding his martial arts credentials.
Gordon’s ineptness in teaching judo is plainly visible in his videos, underscoring a broader pattern of deception regarding his martial arts credentials. His public videos of himself or his students fail to reflect any ranks and the expertise he or they have. His extremely poor attempts at trying to execute or teach judo further call into question the legitimacy of all his martial arts assertions.
Gordon attempts to deflect criticism by claiming that he does not practice sport judo. However, he demonstrates no discernible expertise in judo for any kind of traditional usage or in practical self-defense or handling real-world street encounters, further calling into question his martial arts claims.
In a recent social media post, Gordon claims his judo class trains against opponents throwing a flurry of punches to develop ‘real-world application skills.’ However, his videos demonstrate a lack of proficiency in both judo and practical self-defense, revealing that his instruction does not match the standards he claims. This is consistent with a broader pattern of deception, where Gordon exaggerates or fabricates his skills and credentials to project false credibility.
In a real-world situation, destroying an attacker’s posture
against a flurry of punches is critical for successfully executing judo throws.
When an attacker is off-balance, their arms, legs, and torso are less
coordinated, giving you a window to control a limb or enter for a throw.
An attacker with compromised posture can’t strike effectively, allowing you to move in closer without taking repeated hits. Disruption of posture Enables Efficient Throws - Traditional judo throws rely on the opponent being unbalanced. In a combat or street scenario, breaking the opponent’s posture under pressure is what makes throws practical and effective.
This principle is applied dynamically, not in the fashion as you see in the video that accompanied Gordon’s post.
This essential principle of disrupting the attacker’s posture is noticeably absent in the way his students attempt to execute throws in the video.
If Gordon actually thinks the drill in the video is indicative of real pressure....well let just say Gordon’s own judo
demonstrations fail to show the practical application of throws under any
actual real-world pressure, highlighting a gap between his claims and actual
skill.
Bret Gordon’s lack of real knowledge and skill in judo for
self-defense can have significant repercussions. Students may believe they are
learning effective self-defense techniques, but in reality, they are being
taught methods that are ineffective against real-world attacks.
Without proper technique and understanding students may put
themselves in dangerous positions, making them more vulnerable during an actual
altercation. Students may develop poor habits, such as improper grips, stances,
or timing, which are difficult to unlearn and could compromise future martial
arts training. Students may spend years practicing techniques believing the
techniques work but in reality they have little practical application, limiting
their actual self-defense development.
I think if you're going to teach judo for the streets you should first be able to actually pull it off in the streets. It is obvious Gordon cant. Gordon’s lack of judo knowledge only fosters a culture of misinformation about effective judo application.
UPDATE:
Since the release of this article it appears Gordon is on the USA Judo member list as nidan. However, since he has not once established any record of actual formal training, I do not hold this as any validation as he years ago did not hold any validation toward my credentials and chose to lie about my back ground and lied about my instructors.
