Go Kan Ryu/GKR (yes...the door to door ppl...)

Agreed on two counts. Excellent post from Mike Flanagan as well.

Emma - Try to have an open mind about what is being posted. People aren't just "disrespecting" you for no reason, they are trying to get across valid points that you are taking as offensive. It's always hard to look at something objectively when you are passionate about it. If you have no experience in other arts, how can YOU quantify how good your art is? I would put money on it that if you went to a good quality dojo in another more respected style that you might consider changing arts. If you begin to question GKR at any point, give another place a go and please let us know how you go on. In fact, I would positively encourage you to do this in order to satisfy any doubts whatsoever which have probably been caused by discussions such as these.

 

Ok Emma, I challenge you to try another dojo, be it Shotokan, Kawskfd - that one, Goju or whatnot for a week or two and see what it is like. If GKR compares stick with it if the other dojo is better leave. This si the only way your going to be firm and sure of your art

 

Miss Kitty and Emma;
Hundreds before you when online to express their discontent with the way "other" people was treating the likes of GKR, or better put "the ways"of GKR.
All of them it seems are now gone. Why? Was it because of the pressure they felt every week trying to keep the numbers up, or was it because they were accused of fraud, or was it because the saw the real issue?
Mickey Mouse Karate is not what most people is looking for in the Martial Arts. This belongs to the circus, and to be treated as a number is not very pleasant either, although all the Managers are trained so that they make you feel like a person ($)
Neither of you (and nobody else for that matter) have come up with a common derivative to the questions and issues placed before you, and all you can say is that YOU are happy with learning from yellow belts and so on.
One of the funniest things I heard, was Emma saying she hasn't seen the helicopters. Well, as I said; "he may have not flown them over there yet"! or maybe she has never been to one of their Conferences, as I previously stated.
They are there, right in front of you for all to see, on a giant screen dears, with the heading "You can also have one of these" ( and don't forget the Ferraris owned by his sons)
Yeah, we are all liars and cheats and not "true martial artists" yeah right! Who said a "true martial artist" didn't have a point of view?
Wasn't Jesus a "true prophet" when he denounced the merchants and charlatans preaching their own?
Wake up (you will) and try to read between the lines, because most of the people here have "real" concerns about TupperBob's karate, and they are not here just banging on the walls.
And to end this rudeness in a funny note, let me ask this if I may:
How come GKR is the most talked about system in the Net, and all for the wrong reasons, and how come most people have left than the numbers they boast now? (and all this in such a short period of time!!)
Talk about a system which in such a short time managed to totally destroy the teachings and precepts handed down from Master to Master for hundreds of years huh?
Sorry I'm a liar, and I haven't done enough of MA's to talk here (only forty years) Maybe I'll wait another 10 then I come back ok?
And btw, I haven't seen one rude comment against GKR in this Forum. You wanna see rude comments? Visit: gkrkaratemyarse sometimes
Have a nice day

 

I know little about GKR but after 6 pages of posts why is it that the only two people have defended the style and admitted to training in this particular style. Surely if they have such a big membership they would have a few more people having their say.

 

I would say it’s the other way round. GKR is bringing into disrepute the art that many of us here hold in very high regard. We dedicate our own free time to passing on our skills and upholding the standards and integrity of our art. Only to see our art being cheapened and brought into disrepute by the shallow facsimile that GKR.

Mike[/QUOTE]


You do have a point. A lot of lower grades were forced to become instructors, but that has changed here, maybe not in th U.K like you said, but as far as I know they should not be doing that there. I know of a few lower grade instructors here but they are more like assistants/sempais and do not teach/take full control of the classes. We do have highly competent instructors that are not yet Black Belt level as well, mainly red/brown belt. I train with this guy who became an instructor at yellow belt and has along the way done a fantastic job and now is one of the best instructors in our region his own Karate is awesome as well.

But yeah I can see your point and somewhere along the way someone, not necessarily the administrators has made some bad decisions. When I was talking about Martial Artists disrespecting our club it was intended for those who have not really had a go practising our style for a long time to know what its really like. Obviously a few have had dodgy dealings with some but I was just making the point that the whole club should not be in disrepute for what a select few have done wrong.

 

well, the evidence seems to suggest that it is not the select few, but the majority of GKR instructors that are the dodgy ones. I think the good ones are the select few, not the other way around.

 

9000 students, a handful of dan grades. How can it be the select few instructors? It is GKR policy to install kyu grades as instructors. It's still happening in Australia even though GKR has been there for, what, 20 years or so?

I fail to see how it can be interpreted in any other way.

On another point I note you comment on some "fantastic" red and brown belt instructors. Why is it that superlatives like "fantastic" are always used to describe these kyu grade instructors? If everyone was so confident in their skill and happy about them teaching why is it necessary to shower them with superlatives? Is "fantastic" a euphamism or abbreviation for "fantastic considering they know very little about Karate"?

I really don't wish to seem confrontational, but please do wake up and smell the roses.

Mike

 

Not trying to be nasty or confrontational BUT to sum up all that has been posted here:

GKR is a useless and disrespectful art that sullies the value of karate and turns it into a cheap recruiting scheme for money. It has very little skill basis and very few instructors know what they are talking about. Other arts are far more skilled and egenerally superior. Thats just a sum up

 

It's interesting I have friend who trained in Wado Ryu & is now training in our style & loves it. He told me about the style & I thought wow cool, he taught me some great things & I took them on board as I believe different styles complement each other.

I've made my point in this thread so I'm not going to argue anymore. Dis us all you like just think deep down at what you're doing.

 

I wasnt dissing, I was summing up peoples points :\

 

It is a shame that we haven't heard from an Instructor or better still and Area Manager, or somebody even higher.

 

Cant imagine why, perhaps because no QUALIFIED managers actually exist. I think the closest we would get is an accountant tbh

 

the only way for us to prove our points, would be to train at a GKR dojo. But frankly, i think it would be a waste of time and money.

 

Yep, i would call it 'dissing', and i have tried shotokan in the past, didnt like it, so i have tried other styles. this has ignored a lot of times when i have pointed this out. i agree with miss. kitty on this one, its getting stupid and we should not have to defend ourselves. its our choice, and if were happy with it then we will get along with it and enjoy it.

 

A really experienced black belt friend of mine in both karate and kung fu, calls Go Kan Ryu "No Can Do" he told me their training was really poor and it's a shame since so many good practionners are involved.

I talked to my sensei about it and he said something along the line of "yeah they've got a really bad reputation, it's a whole money making venture, the head instructors are 2 solicitors from Adelaide." or was it Sydney can't remember.

 

The Regional Managers and above appear not to get involved in discussions on the web. I take part in 2 GKR forums and the Managers are conspicuous by their absence in both forums. Apparently they don't even get back to you if you ring or email them. I've been assured by GKR students that the only way to get a response from them is to ring and leave an ansaphone message saying that you want to join up.

Mike

 

lol...

 

The reason their Managers are not involved in these forums is threefold:
First, they are too busy kicking people's rears, so that they keep on knocking on doors.
Second: They have been told not to do so by others higher than them.
Third: They wouldn't have a leg to stand on!!
What are they going to argue about? The legitimacy of the "style" or their "modus operandii"? or the fact Martial Arts are NOT for sale door to door?
Or the fact they have been conned by a bloke with a very shady reputation, whose only ambition has never been to be the best in Martial Arts but to have a bag full of money (it works!!)
Or the fact that this so called "style" has the worse reputation in the world today?
Well, just imagine some of them arguing about any topic whatsoever in relation to their so called "martial Art". I had some rumblings with some of them very early in the pace, and as I stated before, they're ALL gone!! :Angel:
I believe they are in litigations everywhere! All over England, NZ and Australia.
They are fighting people in the Courts for all sorts of reasons, including charging their own!
Do you know everytime a Manager wants to leave, they are threatened with Legal action or immediately accused of theft?
Fancy them accusing others of theft! Who has been robbing people stupid under false pretences for years?
Anyway, I'm off to Ichikawa City in Okinawa, to obtain a Masters Degree in weapons under Hanshi Kotaro Iha. Maybe Nidan Bob would like to come and do some real training for a change huh?
Nah! He wouldn't like to be seen with a white belt I think.
On my return, I may bring you some thoughts from the Masters in Okinawa, regarding people who after 3 months training decide to "create" their own to make money.
I know quite a number of them, as I travel there regularly, and we all enjoy a couple of sakes and some Karaoking (Okinawa's favorite evening time)
For the moment, enjoy your training (those who are involved in serious MA's) and for the rest of them: Keep dreaming!

Sayonara!

 

Good luck with your travels.

Hurry back.

 

Okay I'll jump in

I trained GKR for four and a half years reaching black belt, and spent the last two and a half teaching in some capacity or another...(assisting before running classes.)
Pretty much everything youve heard is true and the stuff that isnt has already been corrected. I must point out that it would seem the situation in the UK is disastrous compared to in Aus, which is escalating the bad reputation of the club worldwide.
I now train in two other styles of martial art, but if it wasnt for gkr I probably wouldnt have entered the genre at all, so for that at least I am grateful. A lot of us reach a point where we question the teaching and attitudes (mostly of ourselves, are we doing our students a disservice?), especially of the door knockers and full timers, try and do something about it, realise its futile and just drift off elsewhere.

BTW, the plans for the conquest of the USA are already underway. There is a full time centre in Houston, and plans afoot to expand. The structure is different over there however, as they are only sending full time instructors of shodan grade initially.

Respects to you all.