“Parker was promoted by Chow to 1st degree so that he could teach on the mainland. There is much speculation on whether his 3rd from Chow was real or forged due to the fact that Chow claimed he didn’t talk to Parker after giving him a 1st degree black. The story then goes that Parker, in 1964, went from 3rd to 6th in a hotel room in Long Beach before the tournement because that would be the rank suitable for one hosting the tournement.”
So does that mean Elvis wasn’t really a 5th degree black belt under Parker??
Research. Always get two sides before you bring it here. This could be fun. Remember if you are really thinking about sticking around roll with the punches.
Very very true. Make sure you have done plenty of research to check your facts before posting. Without corroborating stories or other evidence it is just going to sound like heresay.
Clyde might know. But yeah, this is third hand stuff - you need to source things like this for two reasons: Covering your ass, and making it an interesting, full read.
“We can also ask why every one of Ed’s original Pasadena Black Belts left him; why not one of his pre 1965 Black Belts stayed with him, and why most of his later Black Belts abandoned him? The answers are not easy, as they lie in the nature of Ed Parker.”
Or this photocopied letter from Ed Parker to William Hensel, in which Parker admits that he promoted (Mitose) Kenpo purple belts directly to black belt when he formed the IKKA. If Parker’s rank wasn’t legit, then none of his students’ rank are legit either.