Mr.Calkins

[Mark Weiser]

I saw him online last night after midnight my time USA CST reading these forums but did not respond to the threads. hmmmm

 

[DavidCC]

He posted an invite to some eventa few days ago... why not go there yourself? You've got to be crazy a 2-shodan soke to think he's coming to your event LOL.

 

[Gemini]

He was here just a little while ago, but I guess didn't have anything to contribute. Imagine that.

 

[The Kai]

What more can the guy say? Make up more claims about his martial arts experience? Secret techniques? Buy yet another title?
He'll pop up again after waiting a few days for things to settle down-he'll pick a thread to impart his wisdom, gleamed of course from the long months he spent perfecting his art

 

[Don Roley]

Here's the thing: What, exactly, is the difference between a lie and a legend?

Intent.

There is a difference between an honest mistake being passed down unwittingly and someone who creates a story out of thin air in order to benefit himself.

 

[Matt Stone]

The unfortunate thing about all of this, though, is that this guy has been teaching others the BS he learned from some other poorly informed individuals... The propagation of misinformation continues, and unfortunately when folks are "called out" and corrected, even if they turn over a new leaf, the damage has been done.

I sincerely hope that the guy would have the sack to approach his students, tell them that he was in error and "through research" (a safe way for him to save face in front of them) he has discovered that his misuse of terminology, language, etc., needed to be addressed and corrected.

I don't recall anyone really criticizing him for his lack of skill - I doubt anyone here can vouch one way or another on that front. It was the method of his presentation, as well as his questionable background in training that was the focus of concern... Easy enough to fix, and he doesn't have to lose face for doing so.

Whatever. Back to life here on Camp Casey...

 

[Bester]

SuperSoke's gone back into his hole. Reality was too much for him. Sadly, he really believes this stuff, especially his "Mad Jedi Powers" (My words, not his).

I feel for his students, victims of his ego and fantasy.

 

[Swordlady]

I know this is a pretty dead topic, but did anyone see Bruce's videos: http://www.goldendragondojo.com/VideoVault.html

Check out the kama demonstration. Is he using them properly?

 

[Aegis]

According to Gaskell (to whom I sent a link to the weapons demos) no.

He's a kobudo student, so he knows a bit about that sort of thing. I on the other hand have no idea how nunchaku and kama should be used, so can't comment.

 

[Tgace]

How That demo was supposed to demonstrate the Kamas cutting and penetrating functions I dont know.


Heres how Kama are supposed to be used.
http://www.okinawan-shorinryu.com/demo2002/kama.wmv

 

[Sapper6]

is this what martial artists do when they're not training...? why the need for the witchhunt? really.

i guess you could say that you're ridding the world of "yet another" phony salesman. who gives a ****! buyer beware dammit!

who's to say that there aren't people out there that would really benefit from the instruction this guy offers...? why don't you let his potential students determine for themselves if this is legit? when did any of you become the ruling panel? it almost seems as though most of you are so insecure of your own abilities that you feel the need to criticize.

i've been watching this thread since early on and it makes me sick that you people are so entwined in what this guy is doing, you've resorted to childish antics. does this affect you? do you lose sleep at night? are you subconsciously feeling inferior? what drives this motivation?

i saw the same thing happen awhile back with arnisador badgering "Doc" Chapel. what gives you people this right? is it in defense of the "unsuspecting" customer...? are you the martial arts police...?
spend more time worrying about yourselves and less about what others are doing. you'll be a better human, in all aspects.

i would hate to think of any of you badgers running a business, lets say, a grocery store. i bet you'd write every newspaper in town talking trash about how the "other" guy is selling toilet paper at too high a price.

is it not imaginable that the students this guy has under him could possibly benefit from the material he possesses...? perhaps not in the way you'd like them too...? get over it!


this reminds me of an experience i had about a year and a half ago. i had just recently joined this forum and had some questions about an American Kenpo school located nearby in Springfield, MO. the concerns i had were brought about after a month of training with them. i posted these concerns in the Kenpo section of this forum. these concerns were things like, the price, curriculum being taught (not the curriculum of American Kenpo as stated in Infinite Insights, and really nothing resemblant either), my training method (i preferred private instruction over group lessons, they disagreed and suggested i find a school that better suited me), etc. upon posting these concerns, i was told, "give it some time", "talk to them some more", "nothing wrong with the curriculum, it's been known to differ from AK school to school." balh, blah, blah...

anyway...pure hypocritical, perhaps not by the same people, but the same breed to say the least. members of this forum were rather quick to not let me become an overnight critic of something i barely understood. they emplored me to give it more time, feel them out, continue training, etc. did it work..? nope, i found a different school that better suits me and life is just peachy, without them.

my point; why is it life isn't peachy for these students of Mr. Calkin? better yet, why is it that YOU people feel it shouldn't be...? everyone's a critic.

i really didn't like that Calkins posted videos of this students in the "members in motion" section. it has turned into a bashing, constructive criticism certainly doesn't exist there, at least not at Martialtalk.com.

martialtalk should evaluate their banner motto. i don't see a "friendly discussion of the martial arts". i see, "an unfriendly bashing of people we think are phony".

ya know, ive never met this guy, i could care less if i ever did. this isn't about protecting him, or "in defense of him". this is about respect of a fellow human being. i love the wise-*** who commented about one of calkin's students during his chucks demo video. perhaps you didn't notice this guy was a beginner...? is he expected to master the weapon at such an early stage...? it's this behavior that gets to me. you are all martial artists...? BS. where is the humility...? the humbleness...?

i wonder if people thought the same of past martial artists that sought to start something new...? perhaps we'd never know.

:asian:

 

[Aegis]

Meh, I prefer to ask questions, and if necessary expose fraud, even if the instructor doesn't realise they are perpetuating fraud. To an uninformed potential student, anything can look effective. A trained eye is often needed to sift through the claims, awards, techniques and histories to find the real story.

If we were doing the same for a used car salesman selling cars he claimed were only driven twice when anyone with a trained eye could see quite clearly that they had actually been driven very far very fast, I doubt there would be complaints. The only difference is that in the business world lying can get you prosecuted, while in martial arts you can get away with saying pretty much what you want.

As I've said before, if the right questiosn are asked, the true information can be made available for those who look. It's not a pretty process, and I don't go looking for it, but when someone presents such a case right in front of me, I investigate. And so far not much good information has actually surfaced about Mr Calkins. People have a right to know the truth about their (potential) instructors, and if the information is at least available, they can make a more informed choice. If they still go with it and are happy, fine. But at least they know!

 

[MisterMike]

is this what martial artists do when they're not training...? why the need for the witchhunt? really.

Exactly. You'll find that a lot of guys who have a long paper trail are quick to cut down anyone who's branched off and gone their own way.

Usually they pick on techniques found in a video labeled "Basic" and claim "that won't work," missing the whole point that a technique is there to teach an idea. Which makes it even sillier to come back with their version of the technique which "will work" because the truth is, none of them work and all of them work.

It's also kind of sad how shallow it all is since, as has been proven here, the attacks are 90% based on a physical level while the true followers of the Martial Ways are thinking on a level much higher than that. If all someone can point out is "my techniques is better than yours" then they really aren't worth listening to.

I've got news for those who can't think past the next few minutes: We're all going to get old and so how well do you plan to move then? Makes things a little more clearer that it's all about a little more than getting on the mat and doing some "cool" techniques.

Martial arts are not here for your entertainment, to impress chicks or win bar room fights. A lot of the people I've met, read or seen on video really aren't worth their salt despite their "resumes." Fact is, it doesn't matter where someone comes from, you're still learning "their" version of whatever it's called. Buyer beware is right.

 

[Sapper6]

A trained eye is often needed to sift through the claims, awards, techniques and histories to find the real story.

a trained eye...? are you kidding? when did you or anyone else become the master of all arts. i certainly wouldn't call it a "trained eye", even if i myself were the one judging it. it's more like one person's perspective.

If we were doing the same for a used car salesman selling cars he claimed were only driven twice when anyone with a trained eye could see quite clearly that they had actually been driven very far very fast, I doubt there would be complaints.

when is the last time you devoted such time to defraud such people...? i would guess never. you should perhaps find something more productive to do with your time my friend. in the United States we have something called the Better Business Bureau and others alike to help with this. if a suspected customer does feel the right to cry fraud, it should be their sole responsibility to do so. busting a fraud and critical bashing are two entirely different things. because this man doesnt lay down his entire life for you and others to comb through, he is a fraud...? when did this guy begin to owe anything to you...?

As I've said before, if the right questiosn are asked, the true information can be made available for those who look. It's not a pretty process, and I don't go looking for it...

you're critical participation in this thread speaks otherwise.

And so far not much good information has actually surfaced about Mr Calkins...

according to who...? the internet? give me a break man. you know this man no more than what the almighty internet has to offer, and you've become the apparent all-knowing...? ok.

People have a right to know the truth about their (potential) instructors...

the truth according to the forum members here...? that's scary.


what should give this guy any reason to "chime in" with his perspective...? this thread contains approximately 225 posts of anti-Bruce Calkins. if you were him, would you...?

get a life people.

 

[Tgace]

The only think I can say is, that this guy is definitely putting some questionable stuff out for public consumption. That stuff is fair game...other than that I agree that the constant attacks on everything else can be a bit overboard.

You have to admit that the guy is presenting a big target....and that target has been shot at on various other boards as well if ya look around. I dont think he minds the attention.

 

[Aegis]

Sapper: if you don't like my methods, then talk about my methods. If you want to stand up for Bruce, then defend his claims. Otherwise all you're really doing is asking me to turn a blind eye to someone passing off questionable information as fact, which I will not do if it is pushed into my face like this.

I took part in this thread because of events that happened elsewhere on the forum. Bruce was the one who started by calling himself a 10th dan soke and claiming to be an authority on the arts in general, at which point a few of us started looking into his claims and his background, and it was quite clear to us that there were some major inconsistencies. Now, if you're willing to let that slide, then so be it. Just don't bother posting in the great debate area. Leave us to question claims, and you go on turning a blind eye, that way everyone is happy.

As for "a trained eye", you seemed to take some sort of offence when I referred to myself as "a trained eye". Now, maybe compared to some others on thsi forum I am inexperienced. However, compared to the average person, I have probably in excess of a decade more training than them, I can analyse grappling techniques quite well, I know a certain degree of history of martial arts (mostly Japanese), I study some weapons and can tell when things just don't look right with them.

I have also seen this happen many times before. Someone with limited training promotes themselves, gets "recognition" from some society and starts teaching something fairly basic while still claiming to be the highest attainable grade in most martial arts (ie 10th dan). One such group had some claims invstigated online by people with "a trained eye" and they uncovered some interesting facts which did not match the fraudulent claims. The fraud sued the investigators for slander, and in the ensuing court case their analysis was shown to be accurate: the fraud had been getting students to join based on claims that just didn't stand up to scrutiny.

The entire case is documented here: http://e-budokai.com/jukokai/index.htm

(in case anyone thought I was lying )

Anyway, it's late here and I've probably rambled on long enough on this particular matter for the evening. I hope I haven't offended anyone with my views, but I will not change my attitude towards people who wave questionable claims where I can see them.

 

[Cryozombie]

busting a fraud and critical bashing are two entirely different things. because this man doesnt lay down his entire life for you and others to comb through, he is a fraud...?
get a life people.

Sapper, I agree with many of your points, however, Mr. Calkins DID come onto this board making some pretty outlandish claims, and I think, if you look at it in perspective you can see where he may have opened the door to this.

His claim to instruct the military at a military training school that does not exist, at least not according to persons who were stationed at the base it was supposed to be at...

His claim to be a "Soke" when he clearly is not, unless you redefine the term Soke...

Plus his ties to such "Illustrious" martial artists as Count Dante and Ashida Kim...

I can understand why people are quick to disbelieve him and what he has to say... however I agree with you that it has grown obnoxious as well.

 

[Sapper6]

Sapper: if you don't like my methods, then talk about my methods. If you want to stand up for Bruce, then defend his claims. Otherwise all you're really doing is asking me to turn a blind eye to someone passing off questionable information as fact, which I will not do if it is pushed into my face like this.

I took part in this thread because of events that happened elsewhere on the forum. Bruce was the one who started by calling himself a 10th dan soke and claiming to be an authority on the arts in general, at which point a few of us started looking into his claims and his background, and it was quite clear to us that there were some major inconsistencies. Now, if you're willing to let that slide, then so be it. Just don't bother posting in the great debate area. Leave us to question claims, and you go on turning a blind eye, that way everyone is happy.

As for "a trained eye", you seemed to take some sort of offence when I referred to myself as "a trained eye". Now, maybe compared to some others on thsi forum I am inexperienced. However, compared to the average person, I have probably in excess of a decade more training than them, I can analyse grappling techniques quite well, I know a certain degree of history of martial arts (mostly Japanese), I study some weapons and can tell when things just don't look right with them.

I have also seen this happen many times before. Someone with limited training promotes themselves, gets "recognition" from some society and starts teaching something fairly basic while still claiming to be the highest attainable grade in most martial arts (ie 10th dan). One such group had some claims invstigated online by people with "a trained eye" and they uncovered some interesting facts which did not match the fraudulent claims. The fraud sued the investigators for slander, and in the ensuing court case their analysis was shown to be accurate: the fraud had been getting students to join based on claims that just didn't stand up to scrutiny.

The entire case is documented here: http://e-budokai.com/jukokai/index.htm

(in case anyone thought I was lying )

Anyway, it's late here and I've probably rambled on long enough on this particular matter for the evening. I hope I haven't offended anyone with my views, but I will not change my attitude towards people who wave questionable claims where I can see them.

it's not about YOUR methods or my DEFENDING someone i've never met. it's about a witchhunt that will never see the ending you and others would prefer. i question your drive and motivation behind such. shallowness runs deep here.

i won't turn a blind eye to something i know as fake. as for something i "suspect as fake but have no real evidence so i'll go on believing it is fake" is entirely different.

who give's a damn if he call's himself a 10th dan soke? really, who cares! i like to call myself John Holmes in the sack too, are you going to rant on about his as well...? really people, how does this affect you?

i think the whole "great debate" idea is a complete waste of forum bandwidth. it's a road that will never end, at least to your liking.

i certainly didn't take offense to your comment of "trained eye". i'd just prefer that you re-phrase your statement. to say that you have a "trained" eye would imply that training has ceased and there is very little more to gain, hence, all-knowing. i would prefer you had said "training eye". this would imply you are in the process of such knowledge, have yet to master, and that you still don't know everything there is to know; only a different level of understanding.

i congratulate you on your many years of training, and wish you the best in the years to come. as for the weapons training you might be referring to (aka Calkin's website), should you not concede these are mere beginners just learning to handle that weapon? should you expect mastery at such a stage? should you be disappointed had you expected more? no and yes.

teaching something basic? this is what you said. it's all basic. it's just how you work and use those basics. there is no such thing as basic techniques, just a basic understanding of such techniques. you need to look at the videos on his website for face-value. a commerical. would the unknowning customer know any different? reminds me of the obsessed-over-critical thread relating to the discovery channel's XMA show. we as martial artists expect more. the public will not as much.

thanks for the link about the budo-kai dude. always an enjoyable topic. is it because of people like this that the MA community is more likely to be cautious when faced with something that "appears" similar in nature..?

shall the martial arts of the future never see anyone above the rank of 8th degree ever again? what shall become of the next innovator of the arts?

 

[Tgace]

Just for entertainment purposes....only a passing link to Mr. Calkins.

Look at "Lama Moore" here...
http://www.goldendragondojo.com/Pastevnt.html

and then....
http://amsir.home.isp-direct.com/Contents/moore.html

 

[Gene Williams]

What a sleazy, grasping collection of wastoids.