Ashida Kim...can someone please explain the controversy?

Hey, all.

I’ve been reading some articles on Ashida Kim, and I’m a bit confused. I get conflicting reports regarding his stature in the martial arts community. At first glance I see he’s written over a dozen books since 1980, no small accomplishment even for a fraud. Then I read accusations of him selling “mail-order” black belt certificates. Sometimes he’s accused of not even having any advanced skills, himself.

First of all, what does it mean that he was selling mail-order black belt certificates? Can’t anyone with access to professional or semi-pro printing forge such certificates? If someone wants to fake his/her qualifications, why would they go to somebody else?

Anyway, if someone could help explain the truth behind all of this, I’d appreciate it. I have no real stake in the matter, but I do find it a curious situation.

:nobodycar

I see trollshido and flaming in your future. Let’s see if I’m psychic…

If you wanted to make a controversial topic, make one about abortion, or Communism, or emo vs. things that don’t suck. Just kidding about that last one, nobody would argue in favor of emos.

Troll-Fu is indeed week…Where have all the good trolls gone?

I’m not looking for a flamewar–far from it. I just don’t really understand the nature of the allegations. The mail-order certificates are a perfect example: I don’t understand why he would sell them, or how (specifically) it violates MA ethics.

Also, was there ever a time when he was revered by MA enthusiasts? When did that change? How?

EDIT: Is this topic banned?

Is it banned? No. But if you would have read the “Read me” FAQs before posting this, you would know that all the information you’ve ever wanted is on this forum in other threads.

Not to mention an entire expose on Ashida Kim himself that was on the front page.

And, are you really serious in asking how giving away black belt certificates for money is wrong in a forum/website dedicated to destroying all things McDojo?

I read the expose, and that’s why I posted this thread. I’m just not clear on the whole situation, and I’d like to be.

From what I understand, nobody cared that Kim was selling certificates. Apparently there is a proper method for that. The trouble came when he was suspected of selling certificates to unqualified persons. What I don’t understand is why anyone would buy the certificates. This is unfamiliar territory for me.

Also, I can’t seem to pin down whether or not Kim actually has personal qualifications, regardless of his alleged unethical behaviors.

The trouble came when he was suspected of selling certificates to unqualified persons. What I don’t understand is why anyone would buy the certificates. This is unfamiliar territory for me.

You can’t be serious. Are you that dim?

Also, I can’t seem to pin down whether or not Kim actually has personal qualifications, regardless of his alleged unethical behaviors.

Listen Mr.Internet Sleuth. Take my advice and quit trolling, it’ll only get you banned. If you’re not trolling, then your stay here will be long and painful.

Fucking christ dude. No one can be as stupid as you make yourself out to be.

I’ll be nice an semi-answer your questions.

  1. The nature of the allegations stems from the fact that “ashida kim” makes his money on fraud. He’s bullshido. he lied about the origin of his style, his training, and his very identity. The guy is as good a martial artist as my dead grandmother, based on the evidence presented. he also once issued a challenge for a lot of money, and backed down when people responded to it. He’s a liar and a fraud.

  2. He sold mail order black belts to make money. Are you really this fucking stupid where you can’t understand how a basic mail order scam works? or why mail order black belts have no value at all and lower the integrity of the entire martial arts community? Get a clue.

Here’s the article on Kim’s Black Belt “mill.”

An excerpt:

So the question became, would Davis/Hunter/Kim sell a black belt certificate to anyone, or did he actually screen applicants and require a video tape or proof of rank as he claimed to do. [sic]

This seems to imply that selling certificates is an acceptable practice, provided the recipient is deserving. Can someone please elaborate?

There is so much wrong with this guy that it boggles the mind. First, have you read any of his books? If not, did you know he tried to write erotica under his usual pen name, with himself as the main character?

Have you ever seen any of his insane ranting and raving complete with blatant threats about ninja attacks… i’m coming for you and you never know when I’m going to attack because i’m the invincible invisible warrior iron fist silent deadly shiznitz assasin? Are you aware of how he blatantly stole copy righted material and used it as his own? He claimed friendships and allegiances with characters from both fictional and real.

Who fucking cares if someone can print their own fake black belt certificates if they want? The point is that he was selling absolute shite to gullible kids and blatantly encouraging them to engage in fight’s he’s afraid to settle himself. The further this guy goes along, the worse this is likely to turn out. When he was younger, nobody took him seriously. As an old man, he’s doing the same thing that Neo Nazi ring leader’s do: exploit impressionable kids. Take their money, and make them believe they are singularly hated because of their “real ninja skillz;” rather than their association with a fringe loonie and blatant fraud.

Have you read those books? He fucks up the facts and history of everything, plagiarizes at length, and what he make’s on his own is so god damn dumb that any causual observer with any understanding of the material presented immediately realizes this guy is just pulling shit out of old bruce lee and Sho Kasuge movies. Rotten to the core.

That, and no one person in my life of being a bully, jock, asshole, steroid pumping psychopath, and whatever else it is they hate over there has been more fun to make fun of. Few have deserved it so much. I don’t even care any more if he was horribly picked on as a child/teenager. I’ve seen him post so much ridiculous crap: threats of violence to non-threatening people who dared to question his “obvious superiority”, the time he tried to start a Jedi society with himself as the Jedi Master, the time he tried to start a militant internet anti-terrorist group with himself as the fearless leader and other wise claims of dorkdom and the obvious attempts to otherwise beat his own drum about how bad ass he is.

To sum up the hierarchy of lies and why I personally hate Ashida Kim:

Liar: I’m a ninja.

Askida Kim: I’m a ninja master.

Liar: I kicked some guys ass once so bad…

Ashida Kim: I kicked everyone’s ass at the same time, in fact, i’m so tired of kicking ass you’d have to pay me 20,000 dollars just to get me to kick your ass. Otherwise, I’m just going to sit here and bask in how good I kicked all those asses.

Liar: I got laid by this HAWT chick last summer, you don’t know her…

Ashida Kim: I used to be a ninja body guard for a million dollar brothel after these mafia guys found out how much of a badass i was and told me, “hey, be my ninja bodyguard and get paid hooker money to protect my bitches.” So I was like all kicking everyone’s ass and all these hawt girls wanted me to be their first but at first I couldn’t because it wouldn’t be right and then I did anyway after I saved them from their live’s as hoes after I cashed my hooker money check and kicked all the mafia guys asses for not respecting the hoes.

Liar: man I’m so slick I can sneak up on anybody.

Ashida Kim: I can turn invisible. At WILL. I will kick your ass and be invisible the whole time. You’ll be all like, “fuck, who’s kicking my ass, I don’t know. I sure pissed off a bad ass invisible ninja master this time!”

Am I painting a picture here?

If the recipient is deserving? Holy fuck, it doesn’t matter if you send in the material at all. He doesn’t even research the certificates before he prints them. He gave some dude from this site a black belt cert based on a written statement saying he had very little experience at all. No video tape, nothing. If you mean to tell me, that he can judge if a person is worhty of a black belt in any art they want based on a written claim of experience, then why not lower the god damn bar for everyone?

Why not promote people based on whether or not you think they might be capable of kicking ass if they were a black belt? Suddenly, bang, instant black belt, instant ass kicker just add amphetamines. WTF man.

Haughty,

To give you some straight answers.

“Can’t anyone with access to professional or semi-pro printing forge such certificates? If someone wants to fake his/her qualifications, why would they go to somebody else?”
Yes they could, but there are several reasons why someone might want to buy Ashida’s product. Firstly because they may wish to kid themselves that they are legit and a member of a deadly mystical ninja clan etc -such weak minded people are buying into the collective delusion and it may be a way of offloading the blame/wrong doing in their mind. Secondly certs awarded by ‘real’ third party grandmasters/orgs look better.

The whole fabric of his org(s) is dodgy. Aside from the illegal (and ceased?) use of the “Black Dragon Fighting Society”, the certs he awarded the bullshido member where signed in the names 'Ashida Kim", “Christopher Hunter” and “Radford Davis”. Since the first two are pseudonyms of the last that shows the layers of lies he runs it on -something blissfully overlooked by his closest followers.

Awesome. I see everyone else has this, so I can just sit back and enjoy this.

haughty, this was lame when you did it with phil e, and it’s lame now.

Oh, he thinks he’s some sort of debunker’s debunker… i see…

Note to haughty: nyah nyah nyah nyah… you’re not very bright… nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah

My favorite part was when AK claimed to have fought in Fallujah. Funny, I sometimes handle civilian contracors, and all the ninja’s under DoD right now we have in Alaska training to reclaim Coldville, Antarctica from the flying spaghetti monsters.

Dude… i totally missed it when he claimed to fight in falluja… is there a link? Please, please give me a link. somebody

Fight in Falluja??? link please :smiley: