I was doing some research on things and came across this site and this page. Sorry, I have some very bad news for you.
I wanted to bring to your attention the American Ji Do Kwan group you mentioned in the article is all a lie. William Sirbaugh did not train under Herrington or Moore. They have now openly admitted to their lies. GM E.A. Fuzy was the head and creator of American Ji Do Kwan. When E.A. Fuzy passed away these two guys tried to take over the legacy by claiming Sirbaugh was GM Fuzy training partner and co-creator of AJDK. These guys have been booted out of many organization. You need to do more research on this article and search the names of Bret Gordon and Stephen Hatfield. Here's is a link where they admitted after four long years to everything they knew of their history and claims to AJDK was all oral and a lie. https://bretgordon.weebly.com/blog/just-ignore-them#/ These two guys named Stephen Hatfield and Bret Gordon have been remove and banned from so many organizations it is not funny.
They made claims to GM E.A. Fuzy American Ji Do Kwan and once that was disproved, they moved their claims to Herrington and Moore.
Made claims to 4 different decades to GM Fuzy and Herrington, and Moore. They kept trying to find a hole they could get their hooks in.
Hold on to your hat #1 . SIrbuagh is a Felon. was in prison for over 9 years during most of their claims to GM E.A. Fuzy.
Hold on to your hat #2. Hatfield at one time had a pedophile Justice Patrick as the head of their new claimed AJDK System and tied it to GM E.A. Fuzy. Yes they did do that. This guy raped an 11 year old girl.
They ignored a cease and desist letter that was issued to them.
Had websites pulled down because of copyright infringement issues.
Used old photos to try to make a claim to a system and claim the photo was their instructor. Turns out the photo was someone else. They have done this numerous of time.
Used a lot of dead people to make claim too and received rank from. Just in Ji Do Kwan alone he used the following people names. All Dead. Sirbaugh, Shune Davies, John Paul, Robert Moore, Curtis Herrington, E.A. Fuzy.
Judo instructor dead and Hatfield claimed to be the inheritor of Jack Pappasan Stern's Judo.
Hasaka Yutashi if you read those court documents you will see this person does not even exist. Hatfield now claim his instructor in Ju Jit Su is his grandfather.
They went after so many people with this lawsuit to wave it around to claim they won. In reality the suit is still open and an abundance of evidence has been entered to show in their own blogs, websites, and text messages were entered as evidence that show their claims were false per the people that were there.
https://courtrecords.lakecountyclerk.org/ Click on the case search tab and copy and paste or enter the Case #: 35-2020-CA-001851-AXXX-XX
The results of their claims:
NKJF did their research – https://nkjf-usa.com/ Been removed from this organization. Refer to Court Docket file 129.
Judo did their research – Convicted Stolen Valor Jack “Pappasan” Stern admitted in court he never trained in the arts. The convicted felon was banned from three major Judo organization for life. Refer to court docket file 150 - 155.
Tang Soo Do did their research - Tang Soo Do admitted to not vetting them good enough in writing. This can be provide if needed.
BBJ did their research - They at one time stated they were high ranking black belts in BJJ. Those high ranks are gone now.
Renshinkan Daito Ryu did their research – Per conversation with Daito Ryu and Steven Hatfield he was removed for his lies and attitude. Refer to court docket file 130,138, and 139.
Korean Jidokwan – There is word out there that their claims to Korea and ranks have all bee Suspended. This includes their international credentials. This may be why they did all the rebranding that they were doing.
Hatfield claimed to be on a high dan board. Which also was a lie per the head of the NKJF.
Claimed 5th dan rank in Ju Jit Su and claimed a person ranked them to 5th dan. The person came out and said the certificate was not legit. Screen shot of this can be provided.
American Ji Do Kwan – The Real AJDK people have produced a lot of proof over the many years to show that their claims were all a lie. Hatfield and Gordon have admitted that all their claims to AJDK was a lie. Refer to court docket file 43 on page 2 of the court docket files. And the following link in their own words under accusations #2. https://web.archive.org/web/20240330012905/https://bretgordon.weebly.com/blog/just-ignore-them#/ Everything they knew was all “oral history” and “was simply untrue.” about their claims to AJDK.
If you like more on this topic. There is a document that is well over 600 pages on them alone from so many other people in the arts.
Ji Do Kwan was never mentioned in their bio/resume until 2017. In 7 years they are 7th dan and 8th dan in Ji Do Kwan.
They keep rebranding. American Ji Do Kwan , American Ji Do Kwan Tang Soo Do, American Ji Do Kwan Taekwondo, American Ji Do Kwan Tang Soo DO Taekwondo, Jidokwan Florida, US Traditional Taekwondo Federation. And those changes all came about in the last four years.
Hope this information helps you out. Being from Ohio a lot of the martial artist know Robert C. Moore, Curtis Herrington and E. A. Fuzy. How do I know what I am saying is true? I was in the system during their claims.
If you need anything let me know. Sorry for the news. But these guys have issues with their background.
