Ronin, in general this post in going to land you in trouble, brother.
So, first and foremost - why is this guy on your radar? Did you want to train with him? Do you have any reason for a bias against him - any business dealings/competition, school competition, etc…?
[QUOTE=Ronin_;2713870]Matt claims he is a black belt in Tohkon Ryu Jiu Jitsu, Judo and Karate.
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So, you leave us to infer he is not. The real question is, why do you think he is lying?
Also, where does he make these claims? Do you have any documentation that he states he has a dan ranking in Judo and Karate?
Once you have that documentation, there will be national bodies for Judo, and possibly the style of Karate he has a black belt in, where you can validate his claims.
Frankly, prior to lodging a claim you should have done this legwork.
His premises are an absolute shamble with rubbish, building gear here there and everywhere, the toilet facilities are a disgrace and have been cause for potential female students to not return and the place stinks in general.
Which female students? Basically, this is just hearsay. As for the gym stinking… well, I’ve been to several good boxing gyms that could qualify for EPA superfund money… But, so long as the training is good, I did not care.
It also looks like his gym is still being built, which he advertises pretty clearly on his website. Maybe you should cut him a bit of slack on this one.
I have been to view his classes (MMA, Karate, Judo, BJJ) and of the three former options that he teaches I would have to inform everyone that this would not be a good place to train at.
Okay, good to know you went to see him. But you really should give a whole lot more detail. And just because you wouldn’t like to train there, doesn’t make this guy a fraud. At this point, this is more of a bad review, than a “fraud.”
Also, did you talk to him while you were visiting? Get his lineage? How about the style of karate he is a dan in? What were the classes like, formats, warmup, etc…?
Finally, from the website (which you failed to post) http://itsmykarate.com, it looks like they only offer Kids Karate, BJJ, and MMA classes… where did you see a Judo class?
The BJJ class is taken by Shane Poppleton and ran very well and would be the only commendation i have on this place (and the standard of hygiene these guys hold for themselves and the mats they roll on).
So, the BJJ class is good and the mats are in good order. Again, this is more of a review type issue than anything related to fraud.
Matt himself trains in their class on occasion and on more than one occasion has caused injury to a person by either neck cranking them with can openers or squeezing their face like a zit.
Is he there in his capacity as an instructor, or is he training himself? If he’s an instructor, and he’s cranking people its dick behavior, and if he’s a student its borderline dick behavior. Still not fraud.
Having also gone through his website I see no link to where his qualifications come from and the “combined martial arts” website for which his karate gis are from do not have him mentioned as a black belt instructor.
How about a link, and why the hell is an equipment manufacturer the certifying body you actually check?
Hopefully my post can assist people who considered attending here a bit open eyed as to the quality of this place before they get roped into signing with him on a direct debit contract.
So basically, this is just a review. A really, really poorly written review. There are two places that you allow us to infer that he may be unqualified, but you have failed to do the legwork to substantiate any of these allegations.
Do the legwork, and then look at the reviews section of this site, and post the relevant information where it belongs.
If this seems like I’m being hard on you, well, I am. This thread is already first or second when you search google for his school… If you want to post a bad review… fine… there are portions of the this site dedicated to that. But calling him a fraud is another thing altogether.