World Budo Alliance

[Rob_Broad]

Has anybody heard of these guys or are they just another self propigating organization. They just sent me an invite and after I went to the site I started to wonder about them.

http://www.geocities.com/budo_4_all/home.html

 

[Cthulhu]

Looks kinda iffy to me. I don't particularly like any organization that claims to give rank diplomas/certificates to people from every style. Who the hell are they to award ranking in Okinawa-te? There are only a few dozen Okinawa-te black belts in the world...none are in that organization.

My original reply to this post was lost when their damn pop-up ads on their site b0rked my browser. If they're such hot stuff, why do they have to rely on pop-up ads on their site?

Cthulhu

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Just my 2 cents as a professional web designer...

If ya can't afford the $15 / YEAR!!! for your own domain name...how legit are ya? Even if you don't want to spend the 100-200 a year for hosting, you can get most registrars to do a redirect from your domain name to your webspace (where ever it is) for almost nothing. ($20 or less per year for the redirect).

So, my thought is...if they can't spend $50-200 a year for a name and some hosting, how good can they really be? (This is directed in general, not specifically at this group)

Think about it.....

:asian:

 

[Rob_Broad]

But by using a free web service they can keep their costs down to you and. (You don't know how long it took to type that one sentence I have been laughing so hard since it popped into my head) I agree wholeheartedly. I have taken it up myself to find out as much as possible about every organization out there that seems to be offering a bigger and better deal. I am tyring help people not get taken in by any of the scheming organizations out there that wish to fleece innocent people. Sorry if my starting threads about all these organizations is annoying anyone.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

No problem. Keep the info coming.
:asian:

 

[Cthulhu]

That's one significant differene with Okinawa-te and other systems: since there are so few black belts, there really isn't any type of governing or regulating body. Also, there are no fees (testing, certification, etc.) for black belt. You simply take the test. If you pass, you get the black belt, but no piece of paper. The black belt is the certificate and you are allowed to teach and rank others from that point on.

It's kind of bad, in that I don't have a certificate on the wall that I can point to if someone wants certification proof. I'm not worried about that so much, since my proof is what I can do, and how I can pass it on. I don't need any regulating organization to justify that.

I like that you're doing the research into the various organizations you run across, Rob. Please, keep doing it and share your findings with us. The frauds, cheats, moneygrubbers, and scam artists need to be exposed.

Cthulhu

 

[arnisador]

Originally posted by Cthulhu
That's one significant differene with Okinawa-te and other systems: since there are so few black belts, there really isn't any type of governing or regulating body.

Is there a grandmaster at the top or is it self-propagating like some styles of Tai Chi?

I agree with all that has been said about the referenced web site. Buy now and get a Ph.D. in Philosophy with your Black Belt!

 

[Cthulhu]

The head of the system is Shihan Gordon Doversola, but many of the senior instructors have branched off to do their own thing, the most notable one being Mike Pecina.

Larry Delano, who I believe is the most senior active Okinawa-te black belt has also come back onto the scene.

To further muddle things up, some time back, when Doversola got rid of dan rankings, a high ranked black belt broke off and formed his own system, Wa-te ryu. It has almost the EXACT same curriculum as Okinawa-te, but with some of the form names changed to Japanese.

So, I guess you could say it has become self-propogating, like Tai Chi. Since I am the only Okinawa-te black belt in Florida, and I'm pretty sure the only practitioner, I've been training with other people...and have been enjoying the hell out of myself doing it. I'd like to train others, and will if the opportunity presents itself, but I'm a greedy bastich and want to continue my own training. Is that so wrong

Cthulhu

 

[Rob_Broad]

I have my eye on a few more organizations out there. There seems to be a lot of them. I am appalled at how many of them approch people thru their emails. The magazines are full of these guys trying to rip people off, it is just horrible.

I also want to report on the good roganization I find. if you have any groups that should be looked at one way or the other please let me know.

 

[arnisador]

I did a Yahoo! search on a certain style of karate and got back two sponsored matches. The first one was:

Get Certified Now! - The Martial Arts Masters World Federation, Inc., has all the tools ...
www.karate9.com

(The second was a relevant videotape.) Found on one of the pages was:
All the support you may need in running your school will be provided through our email hotline and our Support Club. Continuing education and Rank Promotion can also be provided. All at discounted fees.

I don't know if they're legitimate or not.