Well, now he's the youngest American to be stripped of his judan ranking.--sigh-- I'm just waiting for the updated autobiography.
Danjo, the auto is updated. Maybe you can tell if he is still a 10th dan because he promoted himself (which he states he would never do) or because he couldn't possibly REALLY be stripped of rank which so many have said he deserves. I think I need a translator.
Man this guy sets so many records!!! Let me see if I have this right.... 9th kyu to 5th kyu - earned in USSD 5th kyu to 1st kyu - never earned or just skipped 1st dan - after failing two shodan tests, Prof Nick Cerio awards geary a honorary shodan in american kenpo - which is later stripped due to geary's character 2nd dan to 4th dan - skipped 5th dan and 6th dan - awarded by Hanshi Angel, in a system that was not Angel's expertise 6th dan - given by a master in Hawaii (forget his name) - later it is decided it was a mistake, not sure if if was stripped 6th dan - recognized by karezenpo go shin jitsu black belt society - which is later stripped due to geary's character 7th dan - awarded by Hanshi Angel, in a system that was not Angel's expertise 8th and 9th dan - skipped 10th dan - awarded by Dr. Keith Nesbitt - which is then stripped due to geary's character He has had three dan ranks stripped from him, two of which were from two of the biggest names in the history of kenpo!!! I bet very few will be able to top geary in what he has accomplished, nor would anyone want to!!!
"Regardless of what Dr. Nesbitt says, its not possible to rewrite history. I was promoted to Tenth Dan, and I still am a Tenth Dan (as others have affirmed to me time and time again after reading this chapter)." Christopher Geary: http://christophergeary.com/autobiography-19.php All the organizations that promoted him are trying to un-ring the bell. Here's a novel idea, how about doing your background checks before you promote someone?
Not a bad idea, but I'd rather see it go one step further. How about only promoting someone that trains live under you?
Given all that has happened to him with regards to his quest for high rank, he should have just stitched up his own belt with as many red or gold stripes and save his own monies from all these organizations
You have a number of these "facts" wrong. For example, Lou Angel did at one time promote CNG to 3rd. And it was the Hawaiian Martial Arts International Society which gave him his 7th and "Professor" title,I don't know that they ever revoked any of that. That was John Pagdilao and Jamie Abregana. C'mon, isn't it easy enough to take shots at him using the facts? No Need to make stuff up...
how many people over, say, 5th degree, can say they live up to this standard in any art? In the kaju/kara/ken/zen/bo/po branch of this tree, I think they are a minority.
The thing is, CNG could have declared himself to be any rank he wanted a long time ago a'la Fred Villari etc. but he views self-promotion as illegitimate. Somebody once posted that they thought bumping yourself from 2nd to 10th was more legitimate than what Prof. Geary has done LOL to each his own! Maybe you don't like the way he got his rank but the fact is, he asked "what do I have to do" and when they told him what to do he did it. I would think that the leaders of systems who hand out high ranks without ever meeting a person face to face or even watching a video should be taking more heat than the person who recevied the rank. For example, Lou Angel was ready to award a 5th, 6th, 7th dan in his Goju style because CNG learned a few forms from Angel's video series. Why would they do that? What good does it do an organization to add a couple hundred members in a state where they previously had no representation? I have some ideas "what good" but I will let you draw your own conclusions.
David- You cannot justify bad behavior by pointing out other bad behavior... Defending Geary's martial arts reputation is silly, drink some more cool-aid. One of the first things I learned in MA was that you DO NOT ASK TO BE PROMOTED. How about now? How about now? LOL This whole thing is such a joke-
There is a difference between "Can I have my next belt now" and "what are the requirements for my next belt". Not sure how I am "defending his reputation". Do you think that self-promotion is better than what CNG did? What bad behavior am I justifying, and what other bad behavior am I using to do so? I don't follow you? Do they make a kool-aid that helps with reading comprehension? get some. if you are going to start taking cheap-shots at me, then I will just let you all go back to your silly insults and clowning around and put this thread back on "ignore".
True. He went by the organization rules wherever he went. But then he went further and started bugging for even more rank. It's a bit disingenuous to say that someone that keeps pestering for what they need to do for the next rank so soon after they recieved the last one isn't doing something unusual. Your very quote shows you to be defending his reputation by saying what he did was better than someone else. The bad behavior of people handing out rank without verifying his ability first. They regretted it and tried to say "Ooops." Oh well. Hopefully fewer and fewer people will be willing to hand rank out that way. The thing with Geary that makes him a bit different than others who have obtained rank through dubious means is that he goes on his "Portrait of a Martial Arts Master" autobiography and brags about it loud and long for all to read. Most martial artists that get rank from those type of places know that it's nothing to brag about. If he had done like most that go that route and just kept it quiet, no one would have cared (or at least very few would have). David, if you like what you're doing and where you're training, then good. You seem to be one of those that is willing to go out and get decent training from other sources and incorporate it into what you're getting. I hope you continue to do so and expand your horizons after your current contract is up.
Cool-Aid for reading comprehension? I dunno... maybe I was just delirious after reading all the CNG stuff. I apologize if I offended your Senior Grand-Master CNG...I sincerily hope that he is able to mail-order a 10th dan from someone else, anyone really, and have it stick! That'd be great... The guy is a car-wreck... EDIT: Why isn't this thread in the "Horror Stories" section???
Hopefully fewer and fewer people will be willing to hand rank out that way. The thing with Geary that makes him a bit different than others who have obtained rank through dubious means is that he goes on his "Portrait of a Martial Arts Master" autobiography and brags about it loud and long for all to read. Most martial artists that get rank from those type of places know that it's nothing to brag about. If he had done like most that go that route and just kept it quiet, no one would have cared (or at least very few would have). I think Danjo hit the nail on the head
etc.. Someone pass me the barf bag. This guy obviously view dan grades with the mentality of a crying seven year old asking his mom for another candy bar. Disgusting! :barf: