More Proof of the Extent that Bret Gordon.... LIED!

Bret Gordon has spent the better part of 4 years trying to figure out some way to get over on me, from writing a defamatory article full of lies that he made up, to harassing a student of mine who lives in another state and his 13-year-old daughter. Gordon wont do anything to my face, he is just too much of a pussy. 

Gordon did however, get himself in some hot water the Ohatchee Police dept. According to police Gordon targeted a student of mine, Randy and his 13 daughter because he held a deep hatred and jealousy for me. Gordon harassed and Doxed this family. Gordon has even had conversations with said authorities. Gordon admitted that he was involved. Despite being told by the police to quit posting about Randy and his daughter, Gordon continued to do so.

But don’t take my word for it contact the Ohatchee Police Department, 7801 Al-77, Ohatchee, AL 36271  Phone: (256) 892-3156 https://www.facebook.com/OhatcheePolice  Gordon expects that I will forget about this and just let it go…but no that wont ever happen. Gordon and I are going to cross paths, he is an idiot if he thinks otherwise.  

When it comes to Bret Gordon despite what I have written so far showing the extent that he lied about my background, it doesnt even begin to cover the entirety of the levels he went to. His original article can be found here-https://web.archive.org/web/20201204194651/http://www.join-usama.com/blog/pot-meet-kettle

In his article linked above Gordon starts with (I highlighted them in yellow because they are the words of a liar and a coward);

“In his bio on the Winter Haven Judo website, which is his school by the way, Barron specifically leaves out who his Judo instructors were. Doing some more research, the certificates below were posted on one of his numerous blog sites and I can't help but notice a few interesting traits. The most glaring is that his 2nd Dan certificate on the right is in Korean (and both feature the Korean eum-yang in the logo). Does that mean it's really Yudo and he has no right to claim Judo? Or can we admit they're the same thing... Moving on, both certificates are signed by "Terrell R. Tucker" and list "Hoong Woo Ro" as the founder of the Winter Haven Judo Club, which like I said is Barron's own school. If we are to believe everything we find (or can't find) on Google, neither of these two gentlemen ever existed. Probably the most glaring evidence that these men aren't real is that Tucker's signature seems to change drastically from 1998 to 2006.”

In the first sentence he claims I had left out who my instructors were….this is a lie. To the contrary there were posts that had been up for years before 2020 showing pictures of my instructor, my rank certificates and talking about my formal training in judo.  https://winterhavenjudoclub.blogspot.com/2015/05/judo-tougher-than-rest.html

I want to point out that Gordon knew I was legit, he knew Terry Tucker was indeed real person but wrote the article anyway lying at every turn. Gordon wrote that my original judo instructor, Terry Tucker, was a fictitious non existent person and that I owned the Winter Haven Judo club and simply promoted myself using forged signatures of a nonexistent person(s).  The information was and is found easily online by simply searching Winter Haven Judo club. http://winterhavenjudoclub.blogspot.com/2008/01/newspaper-article-on-judo-club.html 

Gordon, purposely ignored the Winter Haven judo club's blog where there were pictures of myself and Mr. Tucker online in the 2008 blog post linked above in previous paragraph. Terry Tucker was clearly identified in the 1997 news article, that was in the post and shown to be my instructor and myself as his assistant instructor  and a brown belt in judo (below).  

1997 Winter Haven News Chief article

Gordon saw the newspaper clippings of the Winter Haven Judo Club and who the program belonged to, but, Gordon chose to lie his ass off and defame me and my instructors anyway that he could. 

Gordon has posted online more times than I can count that the mat was the only proving ground for someone’s legitimacy. He frequently challenged people to get on the mats with him online. But that came to an abrupt halt when it came to me. 

Gordon was man enough to harass a student of mine and his 13 year little girl but……

Gordon was asked to scrimmage with me but he pussed out. 

Gordon was told he could use any systems he wanted and I would stick strictly to judo…He pussed out of that too.

Gordon was then told I would get on the mats with both he and his instructor at the same time….he pussed out. 

I am in my 60s and in shape Gordon is not in shape at all. Gordon doesn't miss a meal or a snack. He is grossly out of shape, overweight, unimpressive in stature and skill. He knows that I would embarrass him in a scrimmage under any circumstances. He knows he cant hang with the real deal.....me. He knows which one of us is the real man and martial artist. A judo scrimmage requires practical application of skills, Gordon doesn’t have any. He knows he would be grossly outmatched and exposed.

Gordon also knows he over stepped his bounds when he tried to threaten and harass my people and then decided to reach out to one of my instructors for rank. 

Gordon wants to be in my league but he wont ever measure or even come close. 

AFTER Gordon spent the past 4 years calling me and my instructors fakes, frauds and non existent people. Gordon trying to pull one over on my instructors, emailed (pictured left) one of MY judo instructors earlier this year, asking my instructor to help him with his judo rank. Bret wanted my instructor to give him a 2nd degree black belt in judo. Gordon was turned away. 

Gordon emailing one of my instructors asking for a promotion proves that Gordon knew I was legitimate when he wrote his DEFAMATORY articles. It proves that he did indeed knowingly and purposely LIE about everything pertaining to my back ground.  

Gordon knows that he went to great lengths to lie about me and I intend to show in my articles how far the lying ass hat went. 

Over a year ago, Bret Gordon also claimed in an article about me that he won a defamation lawsuit: https://bretgordon.weebly.com/blog/pot-meet-kettle-barron-shepherd-part-2#/  In the very first sentence Gordon literally started the article off with the claim that he had won his lawsuit;

“I knew after we won our defamation suit, our trolls and haters would come back with a vengeance. When the truth isn't on their side, the only strategy left is to flood the search engines in order to bury it. I'll admit that I was a little shocked at who's leading the charge, but let's dive in...

The majority of the attacks against us came after I wrote an article in 2020 on Barron Shepherd, a local judo instructor and the first troll dumb enough to use their real name to lie about us.”

Now I will state here that I did take Gordon at his word about winning his lawsuit. Surely, he wouldn't be dumb enough to state that he won a case when he had not....... and he surely wouldnt stupid enough to start an article off with something that wasn't true.  Well he did. 

Despite Gordon’s insults, continued defamation of me and legal threats in the above linked article it didn’t hinder me from pointing to the extent that he purposely lied about my back ground. 

I want this to be perfectly clear as long as there is a single word still up online written by Gordon about me and my student and his 13 year old daughter that Gordon harassed and doxed, I am going to point out to the most minute detail the extent that Bret Gordon took to lie about my background. Further action is going to take place and be taken. 

Bottom line here is Gordon hasn’t won his lawsuit nor was it “buried” like he stated in the first sentences of his article in 2023. The status of the lawsuit and evidence presented in the filings are ALL a matter of public record and can found here; https://courtrecords.lakecountyclerk.org/ 

Click on case search  at top of page and type in the case number 2020 - CA – 001851 and Bret Gordon’s name. 

 I sent the link and info to my attorney.

Looking at the files in the docket no proof has been offered by the plaintiff of actual defamation. A claim with no proof doesn’t and wont hold up in court. He can’t point to a single incident where he was actually defamed and has refused to answer filings made in the case or even offer proof of his own background.  

Gordon would later write in another article that the filings made by the defendant aren’t official court documents. They were admitted into the court as evidence upon Plaintiff’s request and the defendants defense........That’s as official as it gets.

 No efforts have been made by the plaintiff to disprove the filings made by the defendant. As it stands, no decision has been made. The plaintiff attorney dropped the deposition that they requested after the defendant decided to get an attorney to represent him.

I expect this law suit was filed solely to scare people off from asking any questions about his background and I expect Gordon will run from this lawsuit at this point. Regardless, it is obvious that nothing is as Gordon claims it to be. 

JACK STERN THE GREAT PRETENDER: LITERALLY NOTHING TO SEE HERE

Jack Albert “Papasan” Stern was quick to tell you he was a tenth degree black belt in judo and that his son was a Olympic Judo medalist in the 1987 Olympics. To hear Stern's coat tail riders tell it, Stern supposedly held some sort of legendary status, the likes of which the judo/yudo and hapkido communities has ever seen. The problem is..... it is all a big gigantic…..LIE. It wasn't true back in 1996 and it isn't true now. Stern wasn’t a ranked martial artist not in Judo/Yudo or hapkido and he never trained overseas. 

Jack Stern had been exposed as a fraud back in 1996, it was indeed quite the story back then. https://theninjerkiller.blogspot.com/2024/01/jack-stern-great-pretender.html  

Stern had been convicted of making false military claims to garner military benefits that he wasn't entitled to. Stern upon his arrest admitted to the Broward County detectives amidst his uncontrollable sobbing that he held no judo/yudo or hapkido ranks. He also stated that he had lied about everything. He said he didn't do it to hurt anyone but because he just didn't want people to think he was a loser.

Stern's supposed Korean Yudo Association Member Card

With the information already being verified that Stern held no ranks in Judo or Hapkido, a few months ago I reached out to The Korean Judo/Yudo Association anyway. It took some time but one of their researchers went through their records in the computer system as well as dug through boxes and boxes of old records. 

One of the first things I was told when I gave the time frame that Stern supposedly trained in Korea was that no Americans were training during that time. However, the records keeper sought through many files. He also checked with other major Korean orgs. 

Originally Stern was claiming to be a part of and ranked through the Korean Yudo Hapkido Association. However, according to Broward County Law enforcement this organization didn’t exist it didnt extend beyond Stern’s own front door. It was something he had just made up. https://theninjerkiller.blogspot.com/2024/02/jack-sterns-judo-fraud-conclusion.html

This of course was a good place to start when I made inquiries directly to Korea. Fortunately for me that a spokes person took great interest in the information I was providing them. He even thought it quite comical when I mentioned they called Stern "Papasan". 

All can garner what they want from the above email. 

No records of Stern in Korea. Its not surprising..... Stern did admit in open court in 1996 that he had no training. At this point I think it is pertinent to mention that Stern was banned from the 3 major judo orgs. He had attempted to join The United States Judo Association and the United States Judo Federation, but was banned for submitting fake Korean documentation as proof of rank. This has now even been verified directly by various Korean Organizations. 

https://www.usjf.com/membership-expelled-and-suspended-list/ 

https://www.usja.net/suspended 

It appears Stern held no ranks, not even a kyu rank in anything what so ever. It isn't surprising at all that there are no records of Stern ever having trained in Japan or Korea in judo/yudo or Hapkido. Stern has long since pass away, however, the evidence against any claims of Stern training in Korea, Japan etc, regardless of who is making them, is overwhelming...and exposing Stern, at this point honestly feels like beating a dead horse. I will be releasing court documents and the investigative report to the Stern case in a future article.  

https://theninjerkiller.blogspot.com/2023/09/kodokan-fraud-in-florida-pt-2-lineage.html

https://theninjerkiller.blogspot.com/2023/12/jack-sterns-lineage-details-are.html

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/jackie-stern-man-bought-wore-medal-honor-didnt-earn.html

Bret Gordon's Lies, Defamation and Unadulterated Hypocrisy

One handed hand on belt seoi throwing drill

My name is Barron Shepherd (recent picture above), I have a 35 plus year career in judo and have trained in the martial arts for over 45 years. My first introduction to judo came at the age of 14, however I would not start formally training in judo until about 9 years later. 

I have written three books in the past two years to date, two on the subject of combat judo, both published, the third will be published in 2024. My published books have sold out and have been lauded and endorsed by former Olympic Judo coaches as well as retired US military officers and experts in their fields, such as Dr. Mike Simpson, US Army Special Forces Maj. ret. and author of the book, "Honed" and Col. George Bristol USMC retired, developer of the US Marine Corp Martial arts Program (MCMAP) as well as other notable experts in the fields of judo and combatives.

In 2020 Brett Gordon wrote a defamatory article about my martial art background. Here is the link to that article https://web.archive.org/web/20201204194651/http://www.join-usama.com/blog/pot-meet-kettle.

Gordon ignored all the then current credentials and then purposely and willfully fabricated his entire article regarding my background. This was done in an attempt to damage not only my reputation but my instructors' as well. 

Judo 

Bret Gordon skirted pertinent information of my background and intentionally presented false information in his 2020 article entitled Pot meet Kettle. He stated that an expired USJA coaching credential earned in 1998 was fake. Gordon used this then expired credential to build his bed of false information concerning my back ground.  

Bret Gordon ignored all of my then current coaching credentials and rank certificates from USA Judo (formerly USJI), one of the National Governing Bodies (organizations) for judo in the US. These credentials included coaching credentials and ranks earned, verified and recognized by USA Judo. These credentials showed a recorded and verified history of years of study in judo attaining ranks of shodan, nidan and sandan over many years. The sandan of which had been earned in 2018.

Bret Gordon then went on to write that my original judo instructor, Terry Tucker, was a fictitious non existent person and that I owned the Winter Haven Judo club and simply promoted myself using forged signatures of  the person(s) who Gordon stated were fictitious.  The following information is found easily online by simply searching Winter Haven Judo club. http://winterhavenjudoclub.blogspot.com/2008/01/newspaper-article-on-judo-club.html 

Bret Gordon ignored the Winter Haven judo club's blog where there were pictures of myself and Mr. Tucker online in a 2008 blog post. Terry Tucker was clearly identified in the 1997 news article, that was in the post and shown to be my instructor and myself as his assistant instructor (below).  Additionally, in 2020 Mr. Tucker was contacted by others and his back ground verified.   

1997 Winter Haven News Chief article

Also the Judo program was not "owned by me" as Gordon stated in his article. It was a city recreational program that was started in the early seventies by Sensei Ro who Gordon stated was also a fabricated person. It was clearly stated in the news paper clipping (above) directly under the pictures in the article that the program was offered thru the city of Winter Haven. No one at the city was contacted by Gordon and if they were Bret Gordon did not acknowledge it. Instead he chose to make up the story that I owned the judo school and promoted myself. 

Coaching and member Credentials USA Judo and USA Boxing 

Bret Gordon purposely made zero mention of  the then current USA judo coaching and rank credentials, USA Boxing coaching credentials, NASM credentials or others. Not a single place in his article did Bret Gordon acknowledge or mention any current verified credentials that I had earned in other self defense and combatives programs. Instead he chose to make it appear in his article that I had no legitimate back ground or rank in anything. 

At the time Bret Gordon wrote the defamatory and slanderous article about me he was claiming to be a 5th degree black belt in judo. A rank that seems to had magically appeared out of thin air. A rank in judo that is too high for someone as young as Bret to have attained. Oddly, since this time, his claim of what rank he is in judo has changed multiple times from 5th down to 4th and ultimately down to a 2nd degree black belt rank in judo. 

Even when corrected and presented with facts from various sources, Bret Gordon did not make proper corrections to his "hit piece". Each correction that he himself made he stopped short of admitting to being wrong or acknowledging that he was wrong regarding his article about my back ground. Example: In one of his corrections he admitted to Terry Tucker being an actual person but stopped short of admitting that Mr. Tucker was indeed my judo instructor.

USA JUDO - SANDAN - AUG. 27 2018

In another correction he tries to imply that I "obtained the rank that I previously claimed to have" implying that I just had gotten or bought my sandan rank from the USJA in 2020, one of the national governing bodies of judo in the US.....This was not the case...... the rank was not gotten or bought. My sandan rank was already validated, verified and recognized thru USA Judo in 2018, two years prior to Bret Gordon's article (circled in red above). 

USJA and USJF

Within these the USJA, USJF and USA Judo organizations there is a rank verification process. The USJA along with the USJF both verified my sandan rank thru the preceeding National Governing Body, USA Judo. Upon verification both the USJA and USJF recognized my sandan rank and the USA Judo award date of Aug 2018 (cirlced in red above).

Kenpo 

Gordon also stated in his article that another one of my instructors, Sam Lonewolf, claimed several tenth degree black belt ranks. Sam Lonewolf made no such claims to several tenth degree black belts. Nowhere is this statement found online...except in Brett Gordon's article. Bret Gordon himself in his article admitted that he could not find much online about Sam Lonewolf. I believe this is why Bret then decided to make up a story and state that Sam had multiple tenth degree black belts. In fact, Sam Lonewolf was only an 8th degree black belt and publicly only claimed as such, even in his own "First Nations" system, he did not claim to be a grand master or claim to have multiple tenth degree black belts. 

Bret Gordon also stated that Sam Lonewolf was never a black belt under the Tracey Kenpo system. Shortly after Bret Gordon's article, links to sites proving Sam was indeed a senior black belt in the Tracy system were provided. One link showed a date of promotion along with the certificate number of Lonewolf's promotion certificate indicating he was promoted by Mr. Tracey himself. Lonewolf's name later disappears from the family Tracy tree around 2012 or 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20040620102236/http://www.tracyskarate.com/Tracytree/Rokudan.htm 

3rd from bottom - Sam Lonewolf 

Gordon, who states that he is a "good  and respectable journalist", has been presented with all such information proving martial art legitimacy but has made no appropriate corrections to his article. 

Bret Gordon was also contacted by the Lonewolf family regarding the falsehoods in his article. Gordon has made no actual corrections, not one regarding the article. Gordon refuses to post anything that proves my back ground and seems content to leave his lies up for his readers to see.  

To further prove Bret Gordon's only purpose for this article was to defame me and my instructors, he stated in his article that someone by the name of Gary Lee was contacted.  Bret Gordon wrote in the 2020 article that Gary Lee, had "inherited Sam Lonewolf's system and stated that there was no record of me ever training with Sam Lonewolf". He apparently did not actually verify this information. Gary Lee however sometime this year contacted Bret via email and let Bret know that he, Gary Lee did not actually inherit Sam Lonewolf's system. 

It was discovered, through the Lonewolf family, that Gary Lee in fact was not knowledgeable of Sam Lonewolf's system and had never actually trained with Lonewolf. Bret Gordon was made aware of this as well. In addition to this, Gary Lee also sent a statement via email to the Lonewolf family apologizing for his false claims. He also apologized mentioning me by name specifically for his statement that "there was no record of me training with Sam Lonewolf". https://lonewolfs7th.blogspot.com/2022/08/sam-lonewolf-setting-record-straight.html  

Forwarded email of apology from Gary Lee 

Bret seems to have made a current correction pertaining to being lied to by Gary Lee but again stopped short of recognizing it as proof of my actual training under Sam Lonewolf, nor did he remove any original statements in the article. 

I think it is pertinent to note that Gordon didn't make a single change when contacted by the Lonewolf family regarding the lies in the article. He only made changes when Gary Lee requested that Gordon remove the statement. Gordon didn't remove the statement from the article he just added a notation at bottom of article. To this day a proper retraction hasn't been posted online by Gordon anywhere. 

Bret Gordon also stated in his article that I made up First Nations Kenpo. The Lonewolf family has also stated that First Nations was what Sam Lonewolf called his system and that I had  Sam's permission to use First Nations. The Lonewolf family has also vouched for me and my long standing with Sam Lonewolf. The Lonewolf family has made all this information available publicly online for months. https://lonewolfs7th.blogspot.com/2022/09/setting-record-straight-mr-bret-gordon.html 

In addition, I have multiple statements from not only the Lonewolf family but Sam Lonewolf's longtime friends, colleagues and those who trained with Sam, as well as Sam himself that verify my background and training history with him. 

Bret Gordon was not interested in clarifying anything that remotely pointed toward my legitimacy or expertise and continued to BLATANTLY LIE!

Bret Gordon then attacked another aspect of my Kenpo training claiming it was also non existent. I had been training for sometime under Rick Brumby, of Premier Kenpo in St. Cloud Florida. At the time Mr. Brumby operated under Paul Mills' American Kenpo Karate International (AKKI), The AKKI was/is the best Kenpo organization in the country by far. I took instruction from Mr. Brumby personally, Mr. Brumby was the best of Paul Mills' instructors at the time, this is why I sought him out to elevate my skill in kenpo. This statement was also made available and validated publicly by other parties, however Gordon made no attempt to make any correction. https://greysmithinvestigations.blogspot.com/2020/07/the-log-in-your-eye-by-gerald-greysmith.html

Gordon even attacked a personal relationship that I had with Sensei Ronald Duncan and his son Sensei Gregory Duncan. He attempted to imply that I had no dealing with the Duncan family. I believe he knew this was legitimate as well as I had written a lengthy memorial about Sensei Duncan for the family shortly after he passed away. This memorial and detailed biography is online on Gregory Duncan's website Duncan Martial arts and can easily be found in a web search. Bret Gordon had no intention of mentioning anything in his articles that would remotely point at anything that was actually truthful about my background. https://duncanmartialarts.com/2013/12/26/koga-magazine-publication-biographic-tribute-to-osensei-ronald-duncan/       

Bret Gordon also in his article stated that he did not know me or know who I was. Gordon did indeed know who I was and what I was teaching. Three years prior to writing his article in 2020, Gordon sent a private message to me on Facebook in 2017. 

2017 FaceBook message from Bret Gordon

He asked me if I could write articles specifically for his blog to share my knowledge and expertise. I believe this further shows and validates that he was well aware of my credentials and intentionally skirted them in his 2020 article and kept continuously lying to defame and slander me. The sole purpose of his article was to paint me  and anyone who I trained under as frauds and put my reputation under scrutiny regardless of  my verifiable my back ground or my certifications and licensed credentials. 

Even when it came to Bret making his so called later corrections and edits at the bottom of his article in 2020,https://web.archive.org/web/20201204194651/http://www.join-usama.com/blog/pot-meet-kettle Gordon purposely ignored multiple USA judo credentials and other credentials from legitimate and prestigious organizations and national governing bodies.  In all his so called edits Gordon stopped short of admitting that and my instructors were indeed legitimate.

Gordon actually believes that since the old article is no longer up online then that means he never wrote it or said it.....BUT HE DID. 

In 2023 Gordon then writes another article, a supposed part two of his original defamatory article from 2020,  https://bretgordon.weebly.com/blog/pot-meet-kettle-barron-shepherd-part-2#/, Gordon INTENTIONALLY leaves out pertinent information that point directly to the extent of his lies. In the original article Gordon defamed me and ALL my instructors. In his 2023 article he lied again to down play and diminish what he actually wrote in his 2020 article. 

Gordon actually believes that since the old article is no longer up online then that means he never wrote it or said it https://web.archive.org/web/20201204194651/http://www.join-usama.com/blog/pot-meet-kettle BUT HE DID. 

Firstly Bret makes a statement in his 2023 article regarding my sandan rank in judo. https://bretgordon.weebly.com/blog/pot-meet-kettle-barron-shepherd-part-2#/ He leaves out that he claimed in the 2020 article that ALL my ranks were fake. He wrote that I had made up my entire history along with fake instructors. In the 2023 He again purposely leaves out that he INTENTIONALLY ignored USA JUDO credentials, that were dated from the years 2015 -2018...this included my sandan.  

Regarding my judo ranks Gordon claims that there are gaping holes in my background. 

My formal training in judo to 1^st degree black belt took 7 years. My instructor Terry Tucker only tested once a year.  This is 2 to 3 times longer than what is required today in all the Judo orgs.

I was a first degree black belt for 12 years before I was  promoted to 2^nd degree black belt. Time in grade for 1^st to 2nd is 3 years but I had 12 years Time in Grade (TIG) as a 1^st degree black belt. This is 4 times more than what was required by ALL the Judo orgs. My total time in judo from white belt to being promoted to 2^nd degree black belt was 19 years.

I was a 2nd degree black belt for 8 years. Time in grade for a 2^nd degree black belt to be promoted to 3^rd degree black belt is 4 years. I had 8 years time in grade, twice the amount required for a 3^rd degree black belt by all judo orgs. My total total time from white to 3rd degree black was 27 years at this point. 

I was a 3rd degree black belt for 4 years before being promoted to 4th degree Black Belt. Time in grade for a 3rd degree black belt to be promoted to 4th degree is 4 years. I had 4 years Time In grade.

At this time Steve Scott, H.G. Robby Robinson and others recognized that the Judo organization's had ALL grossly  IGNORED and OVERLOOKED a lot of my years in judo. It takes approximately 20 years of being active in judo to go from shodan to godan (5th degree BB). I had TWENTY TWO  years from 1st degree black belt to the time I got promoted to 3rd degree (Sandan). When I got my 4th I had TWENTY SIX years. This isn't counting the 7 years I put in from white to 1st black. 

There were more than enough years for 5th degree black belt (godan) and currently for a sixth degree (rokudan), a rank though I probably won't see for a few more years yet. My ranks were all earned and fought for through diligent study and training...not one was given. In addition I can certainly back up these years on the mats.

Gordon knew the extent of my background, the years I had in formal training and in my black belt ranks attained in judo, all my dated rank certs were online for all to see. Gordon ignored them then purposefully and maliciously and repeatedly lied about it...all of it.....MULITPLE TIMES!!! 

In June of this year  AFTER Gordon spent the past 4 years calling me and my instructors fakes, frauds and non existent people. Gordon emailed one of MY judo instructors asking my instructor to give him a 2nd degree black belt in judo.  

My instructor isn't a member of USA Judo. So why is Gordon even asking him to promote him to nidan through USA Judo? My instructor cant, he isn't a member or a rank examiner of that organization.  

Gordon asked for a promotion based on his USTKJ certification. That isn't how one attains rank in judo. Gordon found out that my instructor doesn't give rank away and he was politely turned down. 

Why is he asking to be promoted by one of my instructors all of a sudden? He spent years defaming me and them. It is my opinion Gordon wanted to be able to tell people that he and I had the same instructor. Why? Gordon knew I had a verifiable back ground. He knew my instructors were legitimate and he wanted to sponge off that. 

Regardless of motives, Gordon being stupid enough to email my instructor asking for a promotion proves that Gordon knew I was legitimate when he wrote his articles. It proves that he did indeed knowingly and purposely lie about everything pertaining to my back ground.  

JACK STERN'S JUDO FRAUD AND IT'S PERPETUATION CONCLUDED

According to the Kontei Judo Website, Jack Albert Stern served overseas in the Korean war and garnered his martial arts training while stationed there. Below is a quote from the website's lineage page

"Jackie Albert Stern, affectionately known as "Papasan," he started his Martial Arts career in 1947 while in the US Military in Chinhae, Korea, in Korean Yudo under Sensei Tae Ju Chung. After one year, Stern's unit was moved to Northern Luzon in the Philippines where he trained under Berabe Paragas in “Stick Fighting” for 2 years. Then he was transferred again, this time to Okinawa and Japan where he trained under O'Sensei Yamaguchi Gogen in Goju Ryu Karate for 8 months. In Japan, he also trained at the Kodokan under Mifune Kyuzo and earned his black belt in Judo, as well as trained in Kyokushinkai Karate under Grandmaster Mas Oyama at the main Hombu in Tokyo. In 1956, he was discharged from the military and stayed in Japan, living with the Otani Family while continuing his studies in the arts." 

The problem with the above statement is that Stern NEVER served overseas in the military. The following statement pertaining to Stern's military calims can be found here; https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/jackie-stern-man-bought-wore-medal-honor-didnt-earn.html

“When the Broward County Sheriff’s Department began questioning Stern about his military career and his path to the Medal of Honor, Stern fessed up, and his entire story fell apart. Not only did Stern not earn an official medal and its recognition, but the former soldier admitted that he’d never even left the U.S. during a conflict.”  

Stern never served overseas and obviously didn't train at the kodokan or anywhere else that is stated on the website. 

Jack Stern was exposed as a fraud back in 1996, it was indeed quite the story back then. Stern admitted to the Broward County detectives amidst his uncontrollable sobbing that he held no judo/yudo rank. He also stated that he had lied not to hurt anyone but because he didn't want people to think he was a loser. 

The Kontejudo website displays several judo credentials from various organizations that were supposedly Jack Stern's.  A total of seven cards from various judo organizations and a single Armed Forces Judo Association rank certificate that are supposedly Stern's displayed on Konteijudo.com. Several of these cards shown on the website have ID numbers as well as dates.... all of which can help in the verification process with the different judo entities.  However not one of these judo credentials checked out. 

KODOKAN CARD

The first one that caught my attention was Stern’s supposed Kodokan Member card. An email was sent along with a screen cap of the card and the Kodokan responded with that there was no record of a Jack Stern nor could the member card be verified.  No corresponding data could be found by name or birth date or card ID number. 

Also a picture is posted supposedly of Jack Stern sitting next to Kyuzo Mifune at the Kodokan. Despite what is claimed on the Kontei Judo website the kodokan has verified that they have no record of Stern ever training at the Kodokan. The man circled in the picture on the Kontei Judo website which is identical to the one below on the left is actually of judoka Hal Sharpe. Sharpe did indeed live for a time in Japan during the 50s and trained at the Kodokan and also with Mifune along with many other top Judoka at the Kodokan. This has been verified. 

1st picture: In 1954, Hal Sharpe (circled) won the title as “Japan Foreigner Judo Champion”. The tournament was conducted by Kyuzo Mifune (3rd from left), 10th Dan.  Center picture: Chu Kawakami, 9th Dan, and his son Rei Kawakami, 4th Dan, and Hal Sharp (circled), 3rd Dan and Captain of Kawakami’s dojo team. 3rd picture: Shinzo Takagaki and Hal Sharpe (circled).

THE ARMED FORCES JUDO ASSOCIATION MEMBER CARD AND RANK CERTIFICATE

There 2 documents from the Armed forces Judo Association, a member card and a rank Certificate that are supposedly Jack Sterns shown on the site. The USJA was formerly The Armed forces Judo Association (AFJA). The AFJA changed its name in the late 60’s to The United States Judo Association (USJA). 

According to the USJA there was no record of Stern holding any rank or even being a member of The AFJA or The USJA. The only record of Stern is in 2006 when he submitted falsified Korean documents for judo rank. The submission of these fake documents subsequently resulted in Stern being banned for life from the USJA (See email below).

THE JUDO BLACK BELT FEDERATION NEW YORK YUDANSHAKAI AND SHUFU YUDNSHAKAI CARDS

There are three other Judo member cards that are shown on the website that are supposedly Stern’s as well; The Judo Black Belt Federation, New York Yudanshakai and the Shufu Yudnshakai

The United States Judo Federation was formerly the Judo Black Belt Federation (JBBF). The JBBF was organized around regional/local Yudanshakai (black belt associations) two of these regional orgs was the Shufu Yudanshakai and the New York Yudnashakai. The purpose of these regional Yudanshakai was/is to promote judo in their own area.  In the 1960s entry into the JBBF was restricted to only Black belt judoka, regional Yudanshakai recognized black belts. 

The regional Yudanshukai and the USJF formerly the JBBF keep extensive records of its black belts, members and former members since the inception of the JBBF. 

The Hudson Yudanshukai formerly the New York Yudanshukai has no records of a Jack Stern. 

The USJF formerly the JBBF also confirmed that no records of rank or even membership can be found on Stern. See emails below.

KOREAN YUDO ASSOCIATION

The Broward County Sheriff’s dept had verified Sterns Korean Judo/yudo claims and his Korean rank documentation were false in 1996. By 2006, Stern tried to submit falsified Korean judo documentation for rank to the National Goerning bodies for Judo in the U.S. the NGBs banned Stern from ever being able to join. 

I don't think that the NGBs or the Broward county Sheriff's dept are lying. These two sources alone verify Stern held no ranks in Judo or Yudo that were recognized by the Korean Yudo Association. 

There is also a claim that Stern Started the Korean Yudo Association.  This also appears to be false. Jack Stern did not start The Korean Yudo Association (American branch) as stated online. The Korean Yudo association was the American affiliated branch of the Korean Judo Association, which is run by the Korean Judo Association. Bong yul Shin created the American branch of the Korean Yudo Association and since it's inception it has always been run by Korean alumni graduates from the Korean Judo College. 

It seems Stern may have trained with Mr. Shin but only to a very limited extent….. Not long enough to earn any rank from Shin. In the 1960s, Mr. Shin was mainly doing seminars and not teaching regular classes. Taking a seminar doesn't actually qualify as training under someone. 

Because of Bong Yul Shin’s extremely high rank internationally in judo and taekwondo, it is not surprising that some would latch on and claim to be a “former student” or to have "trained under" to try and claim a heritage/lineage. The three things that are verified are;

 1.) Shin started  the Korean Yudo Association – USA, NOT Jack Stern. 

 2.) Stern received no rank from Shin.  

3.) Did not train under Shin and may have only attended a seminar or demonstration. 

An email was also sent to the Korean Judo Association via the International Judo Federation with the picture from the Kontei Judo website of the Korean judo Association member cards that are supposedly Jack Sterns. They also stated they had no records of the card or Jack Stern. 

The above information pertaining the Korean Yudo Association parses with what the Broward County Sheriff's detectives found out during their investigation and what Stern confessed in 1996; that Stern held no rank in Korean yudo/judo nor did he start the American branch of KYA. stern was a fraud and any rank he issued was fraudulent and worthless. It was just a lie Stern told his own students. 

Not one of the eight old judo rank documents and cards that are supposedly Stern's checked out either by name, card number or member number with ANY of the organizational entities that supposedly issued them. Not single one had any records of jack Stern as a black belt or even a member. The only record from the NGBs pertaining to Stern was the lifetime ban he received in 2006 when he submitted falsified documentation in an attempt to get judo rank from the NGBs. 

Final Conclusion

ALL the judo member cards and the Armed Forces Judo rank certificate appear to be fabricated. Stern certainly had a history of fabricating and submitting fake documentation. By 2000 Stern was already in his 70's I don't see him being tech savy enough at that age to use photoshop. It's possible someone else fabricated these documents either for Stern or quite possibly they were fabricated after Jack Stern's death for the sole purpose to build a fake judo/martial arts resume. 

There is no reason to think that anything submitted on Jack Stern judo claims wouldn't be anything but falsified, made up, fabricated....FAKE!  Any rank issued by Stern would therefore be fraudulent and worthless. There is no reason to believe anything issued by Stern or  carried on by others is any thing other than fake. There is no reason to believe anything that is perpetuated by others is anything other than lies. 

Related articles:

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/jackie-stern-man-bought-wore-medal-honor-didnt-earn.html

https://theninjerkiller.blogspot.com/2023/09/kodokan-fraud-in-florida-pt-2-lineage.html

https://theninjerkiller.blogspot.com/2024/01/jack-stern-great-pretender.html

https://theninjerkiller.blogspot.com/2023/12/jack-sterns-lineage-details-are.html

JACK STERN: A Legacy of Judo Lies, Fraud and Counterfeit Documentation

Jack Stern’s Judo career supposedly extended back to his many years spent in Japan and Korea during his military days fighting in the Korean War.  He claimed that his son was a 1987 Olympic Gold Medalist in judo.  I wont get into the fact that the Olympics' were actually in 1988. Sterns son never competed in judo and the highest medal in Olympic Judo won by a male was a silver at the time. 

The point is it was all a lie. 

Jack Stern doesn't seem to actually hold any ranks in judo nor does it appear he was even a member of any Judo association. Stern's Judo ranks appear to be non existent and total fabrication. Credentials that are supposedly Stern's can be found online on a website. 

There are a total of seven cards from various judo organizations and a single Armed Forces Judo Association rank certificate that are supposedly Stern's. Several of these cards shown on the website have ID numbers as well as dates.... all of which can help in the verification process with the different judo entities.  Not a single one turned out to be valid.  

KODOKAN CARD

The first one that caught my attention was Stern’s supposed Kodokan Member card. An email was sent along with a screen cap of the card and the Kodokan responded with that there was no record of a Jack Stern nor could the member card be verified.  No corresponding data could be found by name or birth date or card ID number. 

THE ARMED FORCES JUDO ASSOCIATION MEMBER CARD AND RANK CERTIFICATE

The same website shows 2 documents from the Armed forces Judo Association, a member card and a rank Certificate that are supposedly Jack Sterns. The USJA was formerly The Armed forces Judo Association (AFJA). The AFJA changed its name in the late 60’s to The United States Judo Association (USJA). 

According to the USJA there was no record of Stern holding any rank or even being a member of The AFJA or The USJA. The only record of Stern is in 2006 when he submitted falsified Korean documents for judo rank. The submission of these fake documents subsequently resulted in Stern being banned for life from the USJA (See email below).

THE JUDO BLACK BELT FEDERATION NEW YORK YUDANSHAKAI AND SHUFU YUDNSHAKAI CARDS

There are three other Judo member cards that are shown on the website that are supposedly Stern’s as well; The Judo Black Belt Federation, New York Yudanshakai and the Shufu Yudnshakai

The United States Judo Federation was formerly the Judo Black Belt Federation (JBBF). The JBBF was organized around regional/local Yudanshakai (black belt associations) two of these regional orgs was the Shufu Yudanshakai and the New York Yudnashakai. The purpose of these regional Yudanshakai was/is to promote judo in their own area.  In the 1960s entry into the JBBF was restricted to only Black belt judoka, regional Yudanshakai recognized black belts. The USJF keeps extensive records of its members and former members since the inception of the JBBF.

The USJF formerly the JBBF confirmed that no records of rank or even membership can be found on Stern. See emails below.

KOREAN YUDO ASSOCIATION

The Broward County Sheriff’s dept had verified Sterns Korean Judo/yudo claims and his Korean rank documentation were false in 1996. By 2006, Stern was up to his old lying ways and the NGBs served Stern with a lifetime ban for trying to submit falsified Korean documentation for rank. I don't think that the NGBs or the Broward county Sheriff's dept are lying. These two sources alone verify Stern held no ranks in Judo or Yudo that were recognized by the Korean Yudo Association. 

Jack Stern did not start The Korean Yudo Association (American branch) as stated online. The Korean Yudo association was the American affiliated branch of the Korean Judo Association, which is run by the Korean Judo Association. Bong yul Shin created the American branch of the Korean Yudo Association and since it has always been run by the alumni graduates from the Korean Judo College.

It seems Stern may have trained very breifly with Mr. Shin but only to a very limited extent….. Not long enough to earn any rank from Shin. In the 1960s, Mr. Shin was mainly doing seminars and not teaching regular classes. Taking a seminar doesn't actually qualify as training under someone. 

Because of Bong Yul Shin’s extremely high rank internationally in judo and taekwondo, it is not surprising that some would latch on and claim to be a “former student” or to have "trained under" to try and claim a heritage/lineage. The three things that are verified are; 1.) Shin started  the Korean Yudo Association – USA, NOT Jack Stern.  2.) Stern received no rank from Shin.  3.) Stern may have attended a seminar. 

The above information pertaining the Korean Yudo Association parses with what the Broward County Sheriff's detectives found out during thier investigation and what stern confessed to; he held no rank in Korean yudo/judo nor did he start the American branch of KYA.

Conclusion

Not one of the eight old judo rank documents and cards that are supposedly Stern's are actually authentic. Not a single judo organizational body had any records of jack Stern as a black belt or even a member. The only record from the NGBs regarding Stern's supposed judo experience doesn’t pop up in until 2006 when he submitted falsified Korean documentation for rank which resulted in his lifetime bans from the Judo NGBs.

BRET GORDON'S SIDE OF THE STORY

 Well apparently Bret Gordon has finally said something online. I will let him tell his side all day long.....I have no problems with that. Here is his little blog article, https://bretgordon.weebly.com/blog/pot-meet-kettle-barron-shepherd-part-2#/ for everybody to read.

His attempts to imply there is something inappropriate about my 5th degree are laughable and defamatory. Gordon likes to leave out PERTINENT things. He just conveniently skirts the pertinent information and spins. There are no holes regarding my judo experience or rank as Gordon tries to allude to. My rank is commensurate with my time and experience in judo....oh yes and my age, I am not too young for my 5th dan in judo. I have trained in judo over 35 years it's ALL verifiable.....there is no misrepresentation there. 

I have zero problems answering questions regarding my rank, how I attained that rank OR GETTING ON THE MAT. The mat is the proving grounds so if Gordon is stating that I misrepresented my rank then he shouldn't have problem with a little randori session with me then. Gordon can drive forty minutes come in and sign a waiver and we will video it and let all decide who the actual judoka really is. I'm willing to put my skills to the test. Gordon wont because he knows he would be embarrassed. 

I have always maintained that one should not make things out to be what they aren't. The biggest thing out of Bret's response on his blog is apparently his original kodokan claims were all just a big misunderstanding that he actually didn't make those claims.  Well Gordon should make a public statement, if that's the case, like Bruce Bethers did regarding having no affiliation with the Kodokan. Bethers made it perfectly clear that there wasn't. Once he made it clear...then everyone knew what they were getting themselves into. End of story. 

THE ISSUE WITH BRET GORDON

I also want to point out that Gordon failed to address the actual issue. No adult should ever threaten a child or threaten a parent to do harm to their child. He actually tried to twist this to make it about some case he supposedly won. I want to make this clear. I DONT GIVE A FUCK ABOUT SOME CASE. 

The issue with Gordon is that he threatened the kid of one of my students, a 13 year old girl. He was caught red handed by police and knows he is being investigated. He skirts the real issue. I suppose threatening my student's daughter is some sort of big misunderstanding also. Funny that there was no such statement or apology ever offered to me or the victims. Gordon never denied anything to the police and even attempted to justify what he did to the police. I suppose this is somehow a misunderstanding though. Did Gordon attempt to apologize for this incident on his new blog? Nope. Bottom line, Gordon and some of his friends targeted them on purpose.

I suppose Gordon using my copyrighted material on his new blog is also a big misunderstanding as well. A lot of misunderstandings around Gordon it seems. 

I believe Gordon has been unsettled by the fact that several people who knew and trained with him have reached out to me. I am sure he is worried about the outcome of HIS run in with the Alabama police. An incident that was of his own doing. There isn't much more I can write about either Gordon or Hatfield regarding their judo claims, they know what they did and how they tried to represent themselves. If Gordon is now claiming there is no affiliation with the Kodokan then he should make that perfectly clear online, like Bruce Bethers did with the USATKJ. 

I teach Judo, specifically, Barron Shepherd Judo and Barron Shepherd Combat Judo....I don't claim it to be anything else and certainly not something that it is not. My rank is earned. I don't promote myself or give myself rank or buy it. Gordon's attempt to discredit someone who he too pussy to even scrimmage with is laughable. What a spineless coward. 

However, there is still the issue of his involvement in threatening my student's kid which I believe, as the cops do, was intentional. THIS IS NOT FORGIVABLE! Gordon knows this is the issue and he avoids it in his blog and attempts to come off like he is the victim and not the 13 year old girl and her father who he tried to harras/threaten simply because the man was a student of mine! 

BRET GORDON AND STEVEN HATFIELD: KONTEI KODOKAN JUDO LIES AND DECEPTION

In 2020 Bret Gordon and Steven Hatfield popped up with claims of being 5th and 7th degree black belts in judo. Steven Hatfield claimed to be a 7th dan and Gordon a 5th dan in judo who were licensed and endorsed by the Kodokan in Japan. Bret had posted a copy of his instructor’s Kodokan Member card online as proof of their so-called lincense to teach and endorsement and credentials for all to see. On thier websites a lineage to the Kodokan in Japan passed through a Jack Stern. They have advertised and made many a claim that they teach "real judo the way Kano intended". 

First problem was; Bret Gordon who was not even 30 years old and by any legitimate Judo school and judo organization standards had not even been alive long enough to have earned a 5th degree black belt rank in judo. As for his instructor, Steven Hatfield was also far too young for the rank he claimed. To put this in further perspective Mike Swain, a former Olympic judo silver medalist is 62 years old and is a 6th dan in judo presently. I myself am almost 60 and will not see 6th dan until I am well into my mid to late 60’s. Bret Gordon in his mid to late 20’s and Hatfield in his mid to late 30’s was claiming a 5th dan and a 7th dan. 

The Kodokan membership card (pictured left) that was offered as proof of Hatifled's license or endorsement is only a gym membership card. People do purchase them as souvenirs. The card on its own isn’t representative of anything else more than a gym card. ANYONE can purchase a life time Kodokan member card, at the Kodokan whether you actually train there or not. They are available to tourists. There is even a vending machine you can purchase the card from. The cards can even be purchased online and over the phone with the Kodokan. These cards bare no rank on them, they are simply member cards much like a gym card. Neither are these cards offered or given as a license or endorsement of any kind. referring to them as anything more than a member card is a MISREPRSENTATION of the use of the card. 

Gordon and Hatfield both for whatever reasons later recanted their claims of Judo 5th and 7th degree black belts. After stating that both the 5th and 7th dans were typos made by their website designer, they then claimed lower judo ranks, a 2nd dan for Gordon and a 4th for Hatfield. Hatfield and Gordon acquired these ranks thru the USA TKJ. Gordon then claimed that these ranks were recognized by the Kodokan through USA Traditional Kodokan Judo (USTKJ). Bruce Bethers, the President of the USA TKJ has even verified publicly that the USA TKJ is not affiliated with the Kodokan (pictured below). So why the need for such a false claim? 

On Hatfield's and Gordon's Kontei Judo website its stated that their judo “lineage” is also comes from Jack Stern. On the site there is a picture of a person sitting next to Mifune at the Kodokan and the person claimed to be Stern is circled (picture below). Stern supposedly trained at the kodokan with Mifune during his military days. However, Stern never served in the military over seas. See related article on Jack Stern's false military and martial arts claims and stolen valor court conviction here; https://theninjerkiller.blogspot.com/2023/09/kodokan-fraud-in-florida-pt-2-lineage.html

There are also two emails from the Kodokan that state that there is no record of Stern training at the Kodokan. One is in the screen cap below. If you read the screen cap below you will see the Kodokan response on the left. The kodokan said there was no record of Stern training at the Kodokan. The Kodokan simply stated this is a picture of Mifune with Foreign students. Yet this is posted on konteijudo.com (below) as evidence of proof of their kodokan lineage. 

By all accounts the person circled in the picture (above in yellow and below left in red) appears to be Sensei Hal Sharpe. The Kodokan has verified that there is a record of Hal Sharp training at the Kodokan and with Mifune in the early 1950s (two pictures below right are of Sensei Sharp circa 1954 for comparison). Readers can look up Hal Sharp and find pictures to judge for themselves.

The kodokan does verify that there is NO record of Jack Stern ever training at the Kodokan in their data base. A Kodokan member card is also shown on the Kontei Judo web site that was allegedly Jack Stern’s Kodokan card from 1960. 

I sent a request to the Kodokan to verify the card and if Mr. Stern did indeed ever train at the Kodokan. Again the Kodokan, even presented with the card and card number could not verify the card was even authentic and stated they have no record of Stern training at the Kodokan in their data base. They also noted that they searched by the card itself, then by his name and his date of birth and found no record of Mr. Stern.

Furthermore, Mr. Stern was also given several lifetime bans starting in 1997 or 98 and then another ban was issued in the 2000s from all three National Governing Bodies for submitting “unverifiable” documents for rank recognition and promotion. The NGBs here in the states banned Mr. Stern for a lifetime, NGB bans have serious long reaching ramifications. Stern’s NGB ban would literally extend to his students and black belts. In other words none of their judo ranks earned through Stern would be recognized. To avoid this, they would have to be reevaluated and retested by a certified rank examiner from an NGB (USJA, USJF, USA Judo). 

The Kodokan has also verified that Bret’s instructor Hatfield is not a licensed or endorsed instructor nor has any rank that is recognized by the Kodokan as they originally implied.  There is no known affiliation with the Kodokan that Gordon has claimed through Hatfield, the USA TKJ organization, or even Stern.

The Kodokan in japan verifies that Hatfield registered/purchased a Kodokan Membership card. No rank of Hatfield’s was recognized. There is no rank on the card. Buying a member card with the Kodokan is NOT the same as registering rank to be recognized by the Kodokan. That is another application process. A process that would require any foreign judoka to go through a Kodokan recognized National Governing body of their country. In the case of Gordon and Hatfield it would be USJA, USA Judo and or the USJF. 

Nor is the card proof that Gordon's or Hatfield's schools or organizations they create and their members are affiliated with the Kodokan.

Despite their efforts including using the term Kontei Kodokan Judo to imply a connection directly to the Kodokan. The implications asserted are very misrepresentative, an “exaggeration” of the actuality of the circumstance.

According to the their websites Hatfield started training in judo in 2000. By recognized Kodokan standards it takes 42 years MINIMUM to achieve 5th dan with little tournament experience. If there is no verifiable competition record or experience it will take longer to attain this rank. Hatfield is currently claiming a 4th dan with the USA TKJ. By Kodokan standards it would take 31 years minimum, longer since Hatfield has no verifiable tournament experience. Gordon currently claims a 3rd dan in Judo however like his instructor Hatfield the number of years he says he has been doing judo are far less than what is required. Circumventing Kodokan standards is not what Kano intended especially when you haven't actually trained in Kodokan Judo. 

Claims regarding the Kodokan in Japan can be checked out. In the case of Gordon's and Hatfield's kodokan judo claims I did that very thing. On August 8^th 2023,  I made an inquiry directly to the Kodokan in Japan regarding both Bret Gordon and his instructor Steven Hatfield. In less than 9 hours I got a short, very stern and very direct response.

The Kodokan in Japan made it very clear in their email response (pictured above) that neither Gordon or Hatfield hold any instructor status or rank with the Kodokan! They are not Kodokan black belts. They are not Kodokan instructors. They are not authorized and CANNOT promote under the authority of the Kodokan. They CANNOT get their students ranks recognized by the Kodokan! Gordon and Hatfield have no authority given to them by the kodokan!