Information on obscure styles

[scottnshelly]

I was just browsing the USMA website and noticed they had a list of 115 10th Dans that are members of the USMA. Some of the styles are unfamiliar to me, so I was looking for some additional insight.

The complete list can be seen here, but these are some of the ones that I was wondering about:

Wayne Carman - TCB Karate System

Russell G. Carter Jr. - Ronin-Do

Daryl R. Covington - Wha Moo Do

Donald P. Hutton - Hutton Ryu Jitsu

Jim P. Jarrell - Jarrell Ryu JuJitsu

Gene LeBell - Crooked Shillelagh

Scott Nelson - Nel-Son-Ryu

Juergen Paterok - Taekido

Joel M. Siegel - Tae Kwan Dance

Ronald D. White - Cobra Wind Demon Style of Ninjitsu

Warren M. Young - Warren Ryu

Sorry for requesting information on so many styles at once, but I figured it would be better than a different thread for each one. I’m just curious as to the styles, Instructors, lineage, characteristics, etc.

Thanks.

[1st KYU]

lol, i dont know about the effectivenss of these but come on, Scott Nelson - Nel-Son-Ryu .... thats just rediculous.

[Kaminari]

I think there's a Ronin dojo somewhere around here, but I don't know if they study this "Ronin-Do." If so, it's a form of Japanese karate, I believe.

[Muaythaiboxer]

LOL tae kwon dance= reson TKD is oftain not respected. LOL cobra wind deamon style = person who watchs way to much dragonballZ and plays mortal combat all day. Nel-son ryu = person who dident want to get a 10th dan in a legit style. there are some legit styles on the list and some really good MA but dang there is some really bad stuff there.

[White Warlock]

Heh, i noted Gene LeBell is up there. The guy is a comedian, as well as a talented judoist that used to do professional wrestling. I'm pretty sure his 'crooked shillalegh' is a joke about how some persons grab 10th degree black belts by creating their own styles.

A note... it is considered the standard for a person who founds his system to be considered a 10th degree black belt in their system, with his direct offspring (or adopted offspring), obtaining 9th degree. Therefore, many persons have 'exploited' this little caveat of information... and made up their own styles so they can 'legitimately' wear a 10th degree black belt.

Personally, i think most of those who do so are deluding themselves, or are acting in such a manner as to exploit others. A quick way to gain rank, and in doing so... having credentials, even if bogus.

I noted most of those are also 'part' of the person's name.

[rhoonah]

Nel-son ryu = person who dident want to get a 10th dan in a legit style.

Interesting perspective. I happen to know Soke Scott Nelson personally (had dinner with him this past weekend) and I am wondering how someone could make such a statement without knowing the person or studying under them. He happens to be ranked in multiple styles as well as competed in full contact events. He subsuquently developed his own style or martial arts. As far as I know, he doesn't go under the assumption of being a 10th dan but then again, I have only seen him wear a black belt with no stripes on it.

[lgm]

I have an unverified, perhaps baseless bias that as there are dojo operators or owners so are the claims of different styles they practice. There's no legal prohibition for one to claim he has originated or developed a new style of karate or form of martial arts and to put up his own school for as long as he gets a license to operate it, but I'm really bothered by the proliferation of fakes, charlatans and scam artists who prey on the martial arts ignorance of the public. Do you have any laws in your country that control this growing menace?

I only wish that the uninitiated public who want to learn real and true martial arts feel the need to check out the credentials of these scam artists and pretenders that now pollute the martial arts world before biting the hook.

[Willannem]

I can't speak for the legitimacy of all those systems but in many traditional systems, once you obtain a Menkyu Kaiden license (full transmission) from a school, you are allowed to form you own ryu-ha (sub-style). With this license you are independent of the parent system. What you add to your new style is totally up to you and respected. As stated before, 10th and 9th dan are titles held by the Soke and his son or adopted son.

Even though the names may sound funny, those styles may be legitimate. Several traditional systems are named after the town they are founded in, family names, etc. They can name it what they want. However, I agree that a couple of those are just look suspicious by name; namely the Nel-Son-Ryu. It's like he's trying to name it after his family name and trying to make it sound Japanese, thus being legitimate, at the same time.

[rhoonah]

I think that it is silly to judge a style based on the name of the system. Like I said, I know Soke Nelson PERSONALLY and yes, he named his system after his family name. Would it be any more ligitimate if it has some fancy Japenese name that no one could pronounce? I think that any good martial arts student should investigate the style and school first hand before saying that it is fake, a fraud or any other negative comment.

And like I said, I know this gentleman personally and he is a great martial artist and met all criteria to be granted the title of Soke and start his own art. That criteria includes being dan ranked in 5 (I think) styles and holding at least a 5th dan in one of them, a 3rd dan in another, etc. I could ask my instructor since he went through the same process and actually assisted Soke Nelson in receiving his Soke'ship.

[CagedWarrior]

There's a fighter in the UFC named Mike (quick) Swick, and he practices Swick Fu.