I am addressing two articles that were written by Bret Gordon and Steven Hatfield, "The Myth of the National Governing Bodies" and "Fantasy, Narcissism and lack of honor in the NGBs". I want to point out that both Gordon and Hatfield spread only disinformation when it comes to the inner workings of judo and how organizational and Kodokan ranking procedures really work. These articles were an attempt to rewrite the actual procedures of the Judo ranking system and to cover up Gordon's and Hatfield's own judo claims and backgrounds are non existent and UNVERIFIABLE.
A lot of effort and hard work is put into learning judo in legitimate judo organizations and the Kodokan recognized national Governing bodies for judo. Judo is regulated and those who claim judo ranks can easily be verified. Judo keeps a clear record via the Kodokan and all its international and National governing bodies. Because of this it is easy to vet who are legitimate judo instructors and who arent.
Be warned it is buyer beware when dealing with judo instructors with unverifiable back grounds. You are not getting Kodokan Judo by any standards, you are getting garbage!
The cold hard facts are that Neither Gordon or Hatfield are certified teachers, coaches or certified or endorsed instructors from any Kodokan regulated organization. The judo ranks both Gordon and Hatfield claim are not the result of actual Kodokan judo training of any kind. They're self proclaimed judo instructors who literally garnered their ranks overnight, fabricated them and then bought rank from a non recognized organization, the USA TKJ. Only pussies buy a rank in this manner instead of earning it the right way.
The article pictured above was written by Bret Gordon. He claims the NGBs are all about sport and nothing else. Gordon is purposely misleading because there are things he just doesn't want his students to know. First off the three NGBs (USA judo, USJA, USJF) that Gordon speaks of follow standards that were set by the Kodokan. These three NGBs in the US are the only ones the Kodokan recognizes. The Kodokan does not recognize USA Traditional Kodokan Judo (USA TKJ). The USA TKJ is not affiliated in any way to the Kodokan in Japan.
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| Statement from Bruce Bethers, President of USA TKJ circled in red. |
For any American Judoka the only path to the Kodokan is thru the NGBs then to the US Kodokan Committee then to the Kodokan in japan. THIS IS THE ONLY PATH! The Kodokan vets American judoka through the NGBs (USJA, USJF USA Judo) only. There is no skirting the NGBs in any country. The NGBs are who the Kodokan uses to vet all foreign Judoka around the world who want their ranks registered through the Kodokan.
The three NGBs themselves are represented by a US based Kodokan Committee. Anyone who has earned a shodan in the NGBs can submit their rank to the US Kodokan committee, if they qualify it will get passed on to the Kodokan in Japan. The Kodokan in japan will vet the application and check on all verified experience. If, involvement in the sport of judo is minimal you will not be granted a rank from the Kodokan. If a higher rank like a sandan wants that rank recognized and has not applied for rank recognition from the Kodokan before. The applicant will not be recognized at sandan, he will be recognized at shodan provided he has the commensurate amount of tournament experience. His time in grade will start on the day his shodan was recognized by the Kodokan. Basically starting over to earn his higher ranks.
Secondly, what Gordon doesn't say is that the NGBs do cater to non competitive judoka. The NGBs have different sets of standards for judoka involved with the sport and those who aren't. There are four classifications. These four classifications range from the very competitive judoka, lessor competitive judoka to the Non competitive judoka. The competitive judoka make up only a small percentage of judo practitioners. There are not enough competitive judoka to sustain a NGB let alone the three NGBs in the US. Most of the people in the NGBs are non competitive judoka. The bigger numbers of non Competitive Judoka are who really sustain the NGBs. The NGBs recognize that not everyone has a desire to compete. Those who are more involved with Judo like sport judoka will garner ranks about 30 to 40 percent faster than those who don't compete.
Gordon goes on to state in his article that the NGBs aren't the real authority or influence on governing anything related to the traditional arts (judo). This is an out and out lie, the NGBs are the authority, no question. The Kodokan is the birthplace of Judo. Judo is regulated and it is structured in a very specific way. The structure was indeed established and set forth by the Kodokan through its National Governing bodies all over the world. Because of this structure there is a distinct difference between verifiable judo rank which is capable of being proven true or real and a fabricated or unverifiable rank that is not objective and can't be proven.
I don't expect Gordon to speak knowledgeably about the workings of the NGBs he has never been involved in judo outside his own imagination. Gordon is being purposely misleading about what the NGBs true functions are. Gordon doesn't want his students to know that the NGBs true purpose reflects that of the Kodokan's.
Fabricating ranks or buying them from non qualified organizations or sources is NOT a practice that the Kodokan or the NGBs engage in and seriously look down on. Gordon's and Hatfield's issues are really about the standards the Kodokan and its international Governing bodies ALL have. Neither Gordon or Hatfield meet those standards and requirements.
UNVERFIABLE INSTRUCTORS EQUATE TO SUBSTANDARD JUDO SKILLS
What one gets from an unverifiable instructors is very sub standard at best..... meaning black belts who can easily be beaten by even a legitimate white belt. What Gordon tries to teach in the way of judo is very very substandard in comparison to the NGBs and the Kodokan. For the non competitive judoka or the judoka who does very little in the sport to achieve green belt level would typically be three years. To give an idea about how substandard Gordon is he promotes students to green belt in less than a year. it would take more than a year for a competitive judoka to reach that rank. Neither Gordon or his instructor have exemplary skills by any stretch of the imagination and sadly pass their non existent to substandard skills to their students. Their so called judo class/program is a literal joke.
Gordon's method of fast tracking students thru judo ranks is disastrous for the student. It is generally the students of these types of instructors who pay the price. The instructors themselves would not dare step on the mat with legitimate judoka. They know what the poor skills that they are passing on aren't good or effective. This why Gordon will never step foot on the mat with someone like me. His piss poor skills would be no match, he would lose and lose badly.
Some of Gordon's former students, believing they were the ranks Gordon had promoted them to, visited other judo schools. The poor level of training they received from Gordon became quickly apparent and they were embarrassed in front of everyone. The white belts with less than six months training were beating Gordon's green and brown belt students it spoke volumes of Gordon's lack of judo skills.
With that being said I want to stress this was one hundred percent Gordon's fault NOT his former students. Gordon is not a judo instructor, he teaches garbage. He has never been a judoka. He convinced his students that they didn't need years of training but only months and they would be ranked judoka. It was unfortunate that they found out the hard way that they were taught garbage that wouldn't work nor was it even remotely effective.
Like Gordon's article, Hatfield attempts to put out false and misleading information (pictured above) to hide that the fact he is not even remotely qualified to teach or coach Judo. Hatfield sports a red white belt in judo, laughingly he isn't even old enough to have such a rank in judo. To say it is inflated is an under statement. He claims he started training in judo roughly in 2012. To obtain a 5th - 6th degree black belt in judo would require 35 plus years of judo training and experience. Hatfield's whole article gears around what he calls the uselessness of certifications and that they aren't really needed.
Despite what Hatfield tries to say in his article, certifications show a specialty that goes beyond just an individual achieving a black belt rank in judo. Earning a Black belt rank isn't any indication of ones teaching or coaching ability. The NGBs, the Kodokan, even the founder Jigoro Kano all recognized this. Kano himself wanted qualified teachers and instructors. Simply getting your black belt in judo wasnt enough even back in Kano's era. This is why there are teaching/coaching programs and certifications today within the NGBs as well as educational programs within the Kodokan itself.
Coaching certifications and accreditations are specific in that it shows an area of a judoka's expertise....TEACHING AND COACHING. It indicates that not only can the instructor do judo himself but he is a credential instructor and coach in other words, he is a professional. It cannot be stressed enough that coaching education doesn't stop with gaining a certification it is continuing education program. Personally I have coaching credentials and do continuing coaching education programs in three different legit Judo organizations as each hae their own coaching education programs.
YOU ARE EITHER VERFIED OR YOU ARENT SHIT
The unverified uncredentialled instructor is substandard in comparison to the person who has specialized in judo by taking and garnering his certifications. Likewise when going to a school that is run by a instructor who is unverified....you are just getting a sub standard level of instruction. Substandard instruction can leave these types of schools and instructors wide open to civil litigation. Failure to provide adequate instruction is when a teacher instructor or coach has not adequately or properly instructed students in any or all phases of judo. It is the instructor's/ coaches duty and responsibility to adequately and properly instruct all students in correct technical and safety skills of judo.
From a legal stand point it is never a good idea to lie about or exaggerate your expertise for several reasons. If you have to bull shit people it means you are hiding your lack of knowledge. It also means you aren't even confident in your own abilities if you have to make them out to be more than what they are. Judges see right through practices like a play on words. Those kinds of BS tactics certainly wont help you in legal proceedings. In court you will be required to prove every last one of your claims. Unverifiable claims will not be considered evidence. 1000 unverifiable claims doe not equate to a single truth or fact.
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| Hatfield's school ad on left - Kodokan member card on right |
It is never a good idea to advertise or represent yourself as something as something that you are not. Hatfield has claimed to be a licensed and or endorsed with the Kodokan (pictured above on left). The truth is Hatfield doesn't hold a single rank through the NGBs. According to the Kodokan them selves he holds no rank with the Kodokan either. Hatfield's Kodokan judo rank and instructor claims were false. He isn't licensed nor is his school, his Kontei Judo or Sieken Judo Jiujitsu Association. Also if Hatfield's rank was recognized by the Kodokan the rank would be on his card. It clearly isn't (pictured above on right).
The Kodokan member card is not proof of a license, rank or endorsement. The card's only function is as a gym card, you show it to get in. Trying to say its proof of endorsement or a license as Gordon and Hatfield implies is misrepresentative of the card's actual purpose. The way Gordon and Hatfield attempt to word things and imply on their websites and other public media is quite misleading.
It is not a good idea from a legal standpoint to claim to be something that you are not. Neither Hatfield or Gordon should make things out to be more than what they really are but they do. They both have implied an affiliation with the Kodokan that isn't there. This quite literally leaves them open and vulnerable to litigation. It gives their students grounds to break any and all contracts they may have signed with Gordon or Hatfield schools immediately and even start litigation to regain the monies the students paid to them. Uncredentialled instructors can also be held liable for committing fraud. Claiming to be a judo instructor when you are not a verified judo instructor opens many doors for civil legal litigation. They can be held liable for any and all injuries that occur in their classes.
Hatfield has no understanding of the certification process or even what it means and blatantly attempts to say in his article that standards, certification training and requirements that all legitimate judoka must meet means nothing.
Being a credentialed, certified or accredited instructor is considered a professional and goes a long way in the eyes of the legal system. Attorneys do call instructors who are recognized by the NGBs into court proceedings for professional assessments, evaluations and testimony as they are noted credentialed experts. An instructor that is trained and certified through the NGBs could be called to testify against an instructor who isn't credentialed or certified. Example, I am an authority in my field, I am credentialed and certified in multiple legitimate Judo organizations. My testimony in court would hold more weight than that of Hatfield's or Gordon's. I would literally be there worst nightmare in a litigation. How important does being certified sound now?
The more educated you stay the better. It shows everyone that you are just not another instructor, it shows you are not an amateur or self proclaimed expert or self promoted instructor. Certifications from National recognized institutes and organizations shows that you are a capable professional Judo teacher, instructor and coach. Teaching judo cannot be taken lightly nor should it be, the more credentialed a judo instructor is, the more it helps protect the instructors themselves from legal litigation. If one isn't qualified to do CPR and offers assistance anyway and the subject dies as a result. Even if their intentions were good, legally they would and could be held responsible for the death.
Whether Gordon and Hatfield and others of their ilk like it or not, Judo IS regulated, with the standards and requirements being set by the Kodokan. The three NGBs in the US are ALL comprised of professional teachers, instructors, coaches and athletes ALL who have met certain standards and criteria to be such.
Hatfield's skills are very substandard, a beginner level of white belt. His poor level of skill and knowledge is evident in the videos he has on social media attempting to demonstrate judo techniques. He is clearly not a ranked judoka with any legitimate judo organization nor is he ranked with the Kodokan. He didn't go through the hard training or the effort that comes with judo and it shows. Calling himself a 5th degree black belt master....now that's a joke. Like Gordon, he's a pretender and a candy ass. Hatfield cant and doesn't meet any standards in judo not even at a beginner rank. Hatfield calling himself a judo instructor is like someone trying to claim they're a attorney without having to go to law school and pass the bar. Lastly, only a pussy would buy a judo rank from a joke organization instead of actually training in it to earn it.
PROTECTING YOURSELF FROM UNVERIFIED JUDO INSTRUCTORS
I would like to point out to readers that unverifiable judo instructors or instructors who fast track you through judo ranks are practices not recognized and that these type practices are looked down upon by the Kodokan and its NGBs! There is no skirting the NGBs in any country. The NGBs are who the Kodokan uses to vet all foreign Judoka who want their ranks registered through the Kodokan.
There is nothing wrong with a student or potential student independently verifying an instructor's information for themselves. Only those with stuff to hide will take it as an affront. If your instructor is claiming things like he is a Kodokan black belt and that he will get your rank registered with the Kodokan my advice is to CONTACT THE NGBs and THE KODOKAN DIRECTLY! Website: http://www.kodokanjudoinstitute.org/ Email: int@kodokan.org
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