black dragon fighting society martial arts

It would be nice if the world could operate on a series of handshake deals, but it doesn’t, so in these matters, you’re a fool if you don’t get it in writing. In Chicago 1969, there emerged the American rendition of the Black Dragon Fighting Society, as founded by John Keehan (AKA Count Rafael Dante) who was co-founder and mid-west director of the United States Karate Association (USKA) until 1962. Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) starring Spencer Tracy. Real standards came later, and a lot of old-timers lie about it to protect their so-called “legacies.”. The Kokuryukai, Japanese Black Dragon Society murdered its way across the globe and established its 1st presence in Chicago and Los Angeles in the 1930’s. It’s a shit show of incredible magnitude. In Mandarin it is Shaolin Wu Hei Long. One of the most remarkable things about the current (and past) iterations of the Black Dragon Fighting Society is that its members are essentially celebrating the life and legacy of a terrible human being. Because I don’t think any of them were any good. Now, during his life, Aguiar took steps to protect certain Black Dragon Fighting Society assets that he claimed belonged to him, going as far as to mail out cease and desist letters and threaten litigation when he felt people were infringing on his copyrights and trademarks. By Warlock Asylum on September 10, 2014 • ( 1) Greetings! The Japanese Black Dragon Fighting Society Kokuryūkai was founded in 1901 by Uchida Ryohei (left) who was descended from the Genyōsha. The South African Black Dragon Fighting Society is historically linked to Kokoryukai kempai Tai/Koga Ninjutsu. To walk around the world to share with the Family the Creation of Mankind. It’s possible that NONE of the people currently fighting over Keehan/Dente’s legacy EVER had rights to any of it. In 1962, South Africa, under the guidance of Black Dragon trained Ben Mangels, the Black Dragon Fighting Society INTERNATIONAL is the outcome of an anti-apartheid human rights movement. he was only 36 — or issued a formal proclamation regarding succession in the event of his death. “John was the type of person who enjoyed attention and being in the limelight,” Jones says. Grandmaster Sky Benson: California: Bio: Master Jacov Bressler: Master Jeff Langton One 1940’s arrestee is Chicago resident, Satokata Takahashi, who was a retired major of the Imperial Japanese Army and member of the Black Dragon Society. IFAA Official Black Dragon Fighting Society members may compete or attend without written invitation. OFFICIAL BLACK DRAGON FIGHTING SOCIETY . So, in 2005, William Aguiar Jr. dies and a few things are likely discovered. Pictures show that Keehan/Dante rose from nidan (2nd) at age 23 in 1962 to godan (5th) at age 25 by 1964 (he actually claimed to be USKA 6th dan by 1962 at age 23). Aguiar III has an interesting problem in that he certainly has a right to his father’s legacy…but it looks like part of his father’s legacy might not have ever belonged to the elder Aguiar in the first place. When Keehan/Dante died, there appears to have been a bit of a scramble (Aguiar) to make sure people were made aware of Keehan/Dante’s supposed intentions for his martial arts businesses and legacy. The Society published a journal and operated an espionage training school, from which it dispatched agents to gather intelligence on Russian activities in Russia, Manchuria, Korea and China. “‘If you’re talking about me, then you know about me.’ I thought that was a weakness: ‘What can I do for myself instead of the art?’” Arthur D. Rapkin, a Milwaukee-area acupuncturist who studied under Keehan from 1965 to 1971, recalls Keehan’s “chronic” arguing with other karate schools. While old-timers want you to believe that standards were higher back in those days, the truth is there was a lot of this stuff going on. It seems Keehan/Dante didn’t officially name a successor. Frank Dux and IFAA Official BDFS originals assist in organizing and promoting the invitation only, events. Wisdom. South Africa currently serves as the domain of the world headquarters for the privately held International Fighting Arts Association. I am proud to be a member of the Black Dragon Fighting Society and it would be my privilege to help anyone who seeks knowledge in the Science of this wonderful world we call Martial Arts. My visit with GM J.Cole's house 2/14/20 J.COLE was the last man Count Dante promoted to black belt in the Black Dragon Fighting Society & Dan-te system he has been one of my mentors from the time I could walk and the oldest elder in the Black Dragon Fighting Society GM Cole was one of 2 Masters tasked with helping to mentor me by GM … The true story is that Keehan/Dante was born in 1939. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. The youngest, the young and the new. Later, Black Dragon added eagle, monkey, and praying mantis as well as a drunken form, today. In the major interview/series of Black Belt Magazine articles written by Massad F. Ayoob and published not long after Keehan/Dante’s death, it’s pretty obvious that Keehan/Dante was not only a pathological liar, a bully, abusing drugs and alcohol, and probably a criminal, but that he was likely mentally unhinged. But Keehan also had an arrogant streak. The Black Dragon Society appeared as villains in two Sam Katzman 1942 Monogram Pictures releases Black Dragons and Let's Get Tough! The IFAA membership represents a circle of influence composed of intersecting yet diverse martial art cultures, lineages and legacies. If this is your first time here, please review some of our previous topics and share your experiences and insights by posting a comment. That is a good question. The Dojo Wars I can only add this: Michael Felkoff told me himself while having Tea after practicing Tai Chi that Frank Dux had just been to visit him because he wanted the title of Grandmaster to Pass to him for the Black Dragons. In 1969 when John Keehan broke away from Dwyer and officially formed the Black Dragon Fighting Society, he chose as his symbol a running dragon looking back on itself to honor his “Bloodsport” Kumite fighting roots and his Black Dragon instructors, (e.g. And he didn’t seem to care how he made it. 337 people like this. The Black Dragons also appeared as villains in 1942 American comic books. The International Fighting Arts Association Official Black Dragon Fighting Society is not a style/ryu or secret sect as may be the case in the past given its intersecting legacies but has grown into an international fraternal order, as established and officially sanctioned by the government of South Africa. *sigh* Okay, here we go… The Black Dragon Fighting Society is bullshit. He is the author of The Secrets of the Ninja, Secrets of Invisibility, Ninja Mind Control, The Invisible Fist, Iron Body Ninja, and many other books. ( Log Out /  So THIS is the sort of person members of today’s Black Dragon Fighting Society revere and celebrate? Keehan/Dante was doing everything and anything he could think of to enrich himself, and the whole comic book ad thing — while it destroyed any martial arts credibility Keehan/Dante may have once had — turned out to be genius as far as making money goes. He is referred to as Si Jo which means founder. While there are some references to William Aguiar Jr. being named successor exist, it appears that Keehan/Dante never formally dealt with succession — why would he? It was called the Shaolin Temple for shaolin means small forest in Chinese. Rick Moneymaker, founder of Dragon Society International, is the world’s foremost authority on applying science to the Martial Arts. People don’t expect to die, so they rarely plan for a future (for their organizations) that doesn’t include them. Learn Martial Science from the world’s leading expert and become a Master of the Martial Arts. This is interesting in that it doesn’t look like Aguiar ever took appropriate step to legally establish and affirm that he had those rights in the first place. “What changed everything with martial arts … When they do keel over unexpectedly, there’s always a grab for money and power, controversy, drama, politics, and the result is usually splinter groups and schisms. in 1901, to preserve the traditional bare knuckle Kumite style event just as depicted in 1988 film, Bloodsport. The Black Dragon Fighting Society founded by Count Dante is an American martial arts organization and has no connection with and should not be confused with the Japanese Black Dragon Society, an ultranationalist secret society during the 1930s and 1940s. Billy the Kid was a psychopath, but people idealize and romanticize him. According to urban legend the death touch Tibetan Iron Palm strike was allegedly administered to John Keehan. An expert at DIM MAK could easily kill many Judo, Karate, Kung Fu, Aikido, and Gung Fu experts at one time with only finger-tip pressure using his murderous POISON HAND WEAPONS. Aguiar died in January, 2005. It always was bullshit, always has been bullshit, and always will be bullshit. I can’t find any mention or record of a will. Master Jenkins started his training in the martial arts over 30 years ago. On 27 March 1942, FBI agents arrested members of the Black Dragon Society in the San Joaquin Valley of California.[2]. One could be that he doesn’t actually own rights to all this Keehan/Dante derived stuff. How dare you impugn Count Dante’s system!!! The People around the world regardless of race or color. In Max Brooks' book The Zombie Survival Guide (published in 2003 by Three Rivers Press) the Black Dragons are portrayed as a unit of the WWII Japanese military. The Fellowship of the Ghost Dragon Samurai is a registered with Yudansha International and DOJO-Academy of the Martial Arts, DOJO-Registration #8561-1. Judo vs. Black Dragon Fighting Society BY Kenn Kerr August 15, 2007 After several attempts to get John Creeden and Bill Aguair of the Black Dragon Fighting Society to accept a challenge to fight in an MMA event, Creeden, the self appointed mouthpiece for the group, yet again avoided the challenge. Keehan/Dante was Catholic…perhaps even more “Catholic” than people might realize. Unlike most other teachers, Keehan advocated Bloodsport Kumite mixed martial art full-contact matches—no safety equipment, no pulled punches. Many people suggest that he was crazy by the time the end came. However, he was granted use of the BDFS name and provided a key to Keehan’s office able to access all his materials in order to assist in booking BDFS seminars and tournaments in the 1970’s. Black Dragon Fighting Society. Bull killing was the signature stunt of karate legend Mas Oyama, and Rapkin initially seemed game: in a Tribune article about the event (headlined “Karate Expert Thwarted as Bull Hitter”), he’s quoted as saying that if the police prevented him from attacking the bull in the building, he would “kill it in the truck on State Street, if necessary.” But after the seats were filled Keehan announced that the event had been shut down by the Chicago SPCA. Uchida was a student of Jigaro Kano (founder of Judo) and follower of the criminal organization Genyōsha (founded by Mitsuru Toyama. This business would have certainly been a part of the estate. He died in 1975 at age 36. This new sect was a more direct form Buddhism which involved long periods of static meditation. 343 people follow this. When he died, it’s likely he left an enormous mess behind him for his wife to unravel and deal with — if she dealt with it at all — and many of the people Keehan/Dante did business with likely have screwed her over. This match was arranged by sportswriter for the Chicago Daily Times named Gene Kessler after the release of Behind the Rising Sun, "to find out about the comparative merits of our wrestling when matched against the Japs' jujitsu." LOL, just kidding. The only real difference is that kids knew they couldn’t really become superheroes so they eventually outgrew Captain Midnight while the mail order disciples of Dante and his “Dance of Death” seem invariably to have grown up to become self-styled “grand masters” of…well, of whatever it is that they do that they claim is “martial arts.”. They read: Yes, this is the DEADLIEST and most TERRIFYING fighting art known to man—and WITHOUT EQUAL. Courage Shop Black Dragon Fighting Society martial arts magnets designed by HustlerofCultures as well as other martial arts merchandise at TeePublic. Unity of Mankind, Balanced Living and Integral Moral Conduct, By most accounts, Keehan/Dante was never the same after the death of Koncevic. But people still put this guy on a pedestal. He taught these to the monks of the temple and they became a part of their daily life. If he had, the true, undeniable truth would be plastered all over the internet. Argh…what a bunch of shitheads, all the way around. The Kokuryūkai assisted the Japanese spy, Colonel Motojiro Akashi. Koncevic explained that Keehan wanted to visit a rival dojo, the Green Dragon Society's Black Cobra Hall of Gun-Fu and Kenpo at 3561 W. Fullerton, to … During the 1920s and 1930s, the Kokuryūkai evolved into more of a mainstream political organization, and publicly attacked liberal and leftist thought. Rick Moneymaker, founder of Dragon Society International, is the world’s foremost authority on applying science to the Martial Arts. Akashi, who was not directly a member of the Black Dragons, ran successful operations in China, Manchuria, Siberia and established contacts throughout the Muslim world. (Count Dantès is the protagonist of Dumas' 1844 The Count of Monte Cristo). And if you’re a complete masochist you can listen to this recent podcast where William V Aguiar III tries to defend his claims. Keehan/Dante died unexpectedly and young, and like many people who die unexpectedly and young, he didn’t plan for it. While parties on both sides can’t stop saying the word “legacy,” not a single one of these fucking clowns really means it. The fact that he was a porn shop owner is hilarious to me. There are some things in the world of martial arts that are simply a given…so much a given that I really never thought I would waste my time on them. I have the original Dante version as well as the Bill Aguiar re-print. (Study war to ensure peace). The last official class of the day was Shihan Ernie Reynolds Judo Instruction. Around the same time Keehan bought a lion cub—a legal, if uncommon, practice before the 1969 Illinois Dangerous Animals Act—which he kept at his dojo on Ashland and walked around town like a dog. So even though it backs up Dux’s claim (a bit), it’s funny because I’ve seen Video of Dux saying he was self taught lol. OFFICIAL BLACK DRAGON FIGHTING SOCIETY, Fall River, Massachusetts. He ended up at a Buddhist. No black or Asian people were involved in the making of this tragedy. The Elders, the Genesis, the Beginning, the Strength, the Bone that stands tall and strong as the backbone of the Family’s Wisdom. If not for original Black Dragons taking over a ‘whites only’ hotel and outnumbered 20 to 1 and risking going to jail, Vic never would have his chance to fight and become the first Black World Karate Champion. It was a PRIVATE BUSINESS that he used to promote events (and other personal, martial arts-related business interests) and for credentialing purposes, and its sole proprietor was Keehan/Dante. He is also Lead Practitioner at Kingsmills Kensei Kai Dojo.. On the one side you have Ashida Kim and Frank Dux rewriting BDFS history to shore up their own bullshit histories (as much questionable shit as there is in Keehan/Dant’s background, he’s still more “real” than both of them combined), while selling certificates and membership cards for insane prices — $150.00 — to line their pockets while also directing traffic to their other businesses and building a mailing list. He brought a quality to television that had never been seen. Absolutely fucking ridiculous by ANY standard. The Dojo Wars[edit] This business would have certainly been a part of the estate. Day and Miskel barely knew Keehan/Dante at all and neither were black belts/instructors directly under Keehan/Dante. Still, none of these “men” (I use the term loosely, preferring “parasites” and “scavengers” instead) have a legitimate historical claim to the Black Dragon Fighting Society or any part of Keehan/Dante’s legacy. There are some things in the world of martial arts that are simply a given…so much a given that I really never thought I would waste my time on them. Third Annual Black Dragon Fighting Society Gathering Thursday-4 September 2014. The organization was mentioned as an influence on the black-nationalist organizations which were convicted of sedition in 1942, most notably Mittie Maud Lena Gordon's Peace Movement for Ethiopia. If Keehan/Dante died without a will that would put his estate in intestacy and the intestacy laws in a case where there’s a spouse but no children in Illinois is crystal clear — everything goes to Christa Keehan. “In as much as, in China, the Taoist Woo Dong Temple was made infamous by its Black Dragon Fighting Society destroying the Buddhist temples of the Shaolin. Aguiar the 3rd had the reputation of selling ‘dans” at $100 a pop. In the real world, I have had some interactions with William III and his supporters (actually made the mistake of trying to help them a few times) and came away largely thinking that (A) these people are trailer park grade white trash idiots (I’m sure there are other ethnic groups in there, and that they are just as idiotic), and (B) try to talk sense to these idiots for long enough and they eventually make clear that they could give a SHIT about Keehan/Dante’s and now also Aguiar Jr.’s legacy. Now, I’m not going to get too much into their claims since they have no claim beyond the fact that they saw an opportunity to exploit Aguiar’s death and they took it. Now put pornography in the context of his successful efforts to exploit impressionable young boys. Tags: Feature, John Keehan, Black Dragon Fighting Society, martial arts, Count Dante, Floyd Webb, dojo wars More Feature » Support Independent Chicago Journalism: Join the Reader Revolution Keehan/Dante was an opportunistic businessman, and he had his hands in a lot of pots at varying levels of legality. Stoffel Van Vuuren, who hosts the invitation only IFAA/Kokoryukai sanctioned Bloodsport. But from the Shaolin Temple with its mandatory practice came a reputation of monks who were highly skilled in martial arts. And another is that a lot of this stuff (like World’s Deadliest Fighting Secrets) has slipped into the public domain. At the temple in Fukien province a style had developed known as Five Animal Style. It was a PRIVATE BUSINESS that essentially sold novelties (mail order certificates, membership cards, etc.) I’m not making this up. Black Dragon MArtial Arts is the priemere destination in Red Deer Alberta for martial arts training. CONTRARY TO WILD CLAIMS MADE BY SELF APPOINTED AUTHORITIES THE NAME "BLACK DRAGON FIGHTING SOCIETY" IN THE MARTIAL ARTS IS THOUSANDS OF YEARS OLD. I know its bullshit but it certainly is amusing. Heaping, stinking piles of tight and cape-wearing psychotic bullshit. He is a General Member of the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai and is the Scottish National representative for the World Martial Arts Council.. She’s listed on the death certificate. Coming soon Although it never had more than several dozen members at any one time during this period, the close ties of its membership to leading members of the government, military and powerful business leaders gave it a power and influence far greater than most other ultranationalist groups. Manga Genre Martial Arts - As the name suggests, anything martial arts related. The dragon is symbolic of the warrior's inner spirit, and since inner growth is one of martial art goals, it became representative of some styles. In San Francisco, Bob Calhoun leads a band called Count Dante & the Black Dragon Fighting Society. member for Martial Aid for Bosnia, Republic of Ireland representative for the Zen Kenpo Ryu association ,the European representative for the A.K.J.U., Irish representative for the Black Dragon Fighting Society. Obviously, Keehan/Dante didn’t write it down. In the summer of 1967 he promoted an audacious exhibition in which, as part of a tournament at Medinah Temple, a bull would be killed with a single blow. Security. Trais kicked Keehan/Dante out of the USKA in 1964, after which Keehan/Dante started his own organization (Keehan/Dante’s World Karate Federation, not to be confused with the WKF started in 1990) before going on to publish the pamphlet Worlds Deadliest Fighting Secrets, creating his Black Dragon Fighting Society (absolutely NO connection to the Japanese Kokuryūkai, in spite of hat the current iterations of the BDFS want people to believe), and becoming “Count Dante.” All this was a marketing ploy to make money. Killed over his flamboyant transgressions and associations regarding Black Dragon ties to the Chicago and Japanese, mafia. Keehan/Dante was nobody’s idea of what a martial artist and teacher should be, but there are people — mostly cowering behind keyboards — who want to identify with him and his so-called legacy. No amount of wishing will ever make it otherwise, and if you truly believe it to be anything more than an ad in a comic book designed to extract money from foolish children you are a moron. Keehan’s relationship with them and his black students inspired him to not give the martial arts world of that day any respect for the way it divided people because of their skin color, like preventing Victor Moore from competing for a title. Frank Dux, Vic Moore, Jeff Langton, Stoffel Van Vuuren, Ron Pierce, Ashida Kim, Ernie Reynolds, Ji Han Jae, Irving Sotos, Lawrence Day, et al  that facilitates it’s reputation as the fraternal order composed of the “best of the best” in martial arts, today. They should all be ashamed of themselves. Dragon's Upper Legs - Children While maybe Keehan/Dante was a charismatic tough guy who could scrap back in the day — there is at least one piece of video footage out there that shows him doing his “stuff,” but by today’s standards his “skills” are pretty sad — his greatest accomplishments were a comic book advertising campaign and creating a martial arts fraud template that would soon thereafter inspire fake martial artists like Frank Dux to even higher levels of chop-sock-fuckery. 684 likes. ), read as Kokuryū-kō in Japanese. Okay, okay…I jest about the Catholics (I was raised Catholic myself before finally seeing the light and turning to atheism), but the more one digs, the more the fact that he was involved in other seedy enterprises and connected to the criminal underworld becomes less and less of a surprise. Contact Professor Stoffel Van Vuuren, for details. Kendo player, Judo player, bodybuilding champ, grappling expert, karate master and Martial Arts Hall of Famer. Faced by martial mystics he declared himself a voodoo priest, by which to promote himself. temple located at the foot of the Sung Shan mountains next to a small forest. 04/25/2020 . Respect His forbidden and secret training manual of the Black Dragon Fighting Society has never before been available to anyone outside that fraternal membership. Initially directed only against Russia, in the 1930s, the Kokuryūkai expanded its activities around the world, and stationed agents in such diverse places as Ethiopia, Turkey, Morocco, throughout southeast Asia and South America, as well as Europe and the United States. That’s all it ever was, a money-making enterprise designed to cash in on the growing popularity of martial arts in the 1960’s. The IFAA is still host to the legendary Kumite, legally sanctioned in South Africa, as depicted in the 1988 film, Bloodsport. Honor It always was bullshit, always has been bullshit, and always will be bullshit.