Has anybody bought that Gladiators DVD?

Has anybody bought that Gladiators DVD?


Is it worth the $15 that shopelvis has it for?
Any unseen footage on the DVD?
Verdict?

The picture quality is ok, but the sound is pretty bad. According to a friend of mine (who has a lot of knowledge about Karate) the comments from Elvis' great master are not as good as they should have been and a lot of Elvis' demonstrations do not live up to a black belt fighter. Besides that the clips are not in chronological order.

So, you get some interesting footage, not edited too well, but still interesting for those, who want to know something about Elvis' great hobby and want to see the King performing Karate.

I think most verdicts were already given in another discussion on this forum. To be short: it is rare Elvis material and funny footage to watch, although quality is not too good. Also I can not believe that Elvis was a great Karataka and the footage does not convince me he was. Rather see an official FTD-kind of label for unpublished Elvis footage, with colour and digital correction, sound revision etcetera: there is so much left in the vaults: all those concerts from 1970 and 1976, the amateur registration of Pittsburgh 1976 to Elvis in Concert 1977. Gladiators is for fans who want to own everything. I will leave it with a one time view only.

The picture quality is ok, but the sound is pretty bad. According to a friend of mine (who has a lot of knowledge about Karate) the comments from Elvis' great master are not as good as they should have been and a lot of Elvis' demonstrations do not live up to a black belt fighter. Besides that the clips are not in chronological order.

So, you get some interesting footage, not edited too well, but still interesting for those, who want to know something about Elvis' great hobby and want to see the King performing Karate.

This begs the question, was he enabled in this area of his life as well? If so, if the man was surrounded with mainly enablers, it must have been very hard for him to form an honest opinion about himself and act accordingly. This is not meant to take away any responsibility away from him, but i can understand it must have made things not easier for him.
I mean... if he really believed that he was this good that he had himself filmed in this condition.... Then you are beyond closing your eyes... then you are actually believing that you are this good and it is worthy of sharing it with the rest of the world.

I have no great knowledge of Karate, but my son has a green belt, which is quite OK for a 9 years old boy.

From my observation, every step and every belt in this discipline is earned honestly. There isn't such a thing as: OK, you look so nice and small and are just 9 years, you had the flue this year and couldn't work hard enough on your kata, so I look away for a second and there you are.

So what your posts imply is: Was there such a thing with Elvis? Was he given the black belt (which would have taken him years of hard training), just because he was Elvis?

If the answer is yes (which I consider to be that way), then obviously he truely believed in his yes-men, otherwise he wouldn't have started that project at all. Or did he finally realise, that he just couldn't live up to a black belt - an stopped the project?

One thing I know for sure: My son has learned to live with loosing a fair karate combat. But the moment he would ever learn, that his belts were not earned honestly, he would not only quit karate. He would loose his tust in everything.

Poor man, if he ever had reached this point. Which I fear he has.

Peter

For me, its not so important how good Elvis was on karate. The important for me is that he loved karate and im glad we got the footage, Rare and fun =).

/Robert

I have it but haven't watched it yet so can't comment on it.....but what I will comment on is the negativity people have towards almost everything Elvis did. Why are you here on this board if he let you down so badly? It's such a pity people can't see the good things he left behind instead of whining on about the not so good.

Karate was a very special part of Elvis Presley. It was something he enjoyed so why don't you just enjoy the fact that Kang Rhee is on record as saying Elvis deserved the accolades in Karate he got.

I'll have to dig out the post, but I commented on this a while ago. The seargent who tested Elvis for his original black was no-ones yes man, and there's no question Elvis earned his black belt genuinely.

From there, was he good enough to be an 8th degree? Certainly not, and those later degrees were perhaps on honour of the recognition Elvis brought to Karate - he incorporated it in his movies before it was fashionable to do so, in his shows etc. Lot's of people have testified to the fact that he was a good, genuine black belt, and loved it - that's good enough for me.

Here we go.....

I found this on the internet - makes interesting reading! From the website http://www.tracyskarate.com/Stories/was_elvis_really_a_black_belt.htm

Elvis was first exposed to Karate in 1958 after he was drafted into the Army and stationed in Germany. His first instructor was a German shotokan stylist named Juergen Seydel who taught Elvis at his off-base housing in Nauheim. One nice thing about the military was that you got thirty days of paid vacation (leave) each year. During his leaves in Paris he would take private lessons with Tetsugio Murakami, one of Japan's top shotokan stylists, who would help pioneer shotokan in Europe. On one occasion he spend nine straight days studying several hours each day with Murakami. With a lot of spare time on his hands Elvis would spend hours training with Rex Mansfield, another soldier stationed with Elvis in Germany. It was during this time than Elvis would also start conditioning his hands for board breaking by banging his knuckles against hard surfaces. Little did he know then that this was something he would need when he finally test for his Shodan under Hank Slomanski. At this time he would also start collecting book on Karate. At this early stage Elvis became very impressed by Mas Oyama and his legendary breaking. Including killing bulls with his bare hands. **

After getting out of the Army Elvis would continue to study under different instructors, but there was no one instructor to call Sensei.

Ed Parker (1931-1960) first met Elvis in 1960 when Ed Parker was putting on a Kenpo demonstration at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills. (Both myself and my brother Jim was part of the demo team, we were both brown belts at that time . I did the board breaking with the fists - Ed did the breaking with his feet.) I remember how humble and unassuming Elvis was. He walked up to Ed Parker and introduced himself as Elvis Presley. As if the whole world did not know who Elvis was. This would, be the start of a friendship with Ed Parker that would last until Elvis=s death August 16, 1977. He would start his studies with Ed but at this time he was not ready for Black Belt.

Another historical note might be in order here. Back then, in the '50s and '60s a Black Belt had true meaning. There was no such thing as a four - or 5-year-old black belt. Any instructor who trivialized the arts to that degree would have been laughed out of the country. Judo had established the minimum age of 16 for black belts, and even then you could search a long time without finding a 16-year-old judo black belt.

And so there was nothing else for it -- Elvis Presley was going to have to earn his black belt.

His instructors were understandably reluctant to promote him to that level. None of them had forgotten the derision piled on instructor-author Bruce Tegner when he presented a black belt to Ricky Nelson. Nobody believed for a minute that the pop singer deserved it.

The solution: send Elvis to Hank Slomanski. If he survived, he'd have proved he qualified. One thing stood in his favor: he had not dodged the draft nor taken a soft role in "special services". He had served his country as a loyal American soldier.

Last year I, with my wife, Pat, took a two day vacation to return to Ft. Campbell, on the border of Kentucky and Tennessee (the 101 Airborne "Screaming Eagles" is located on the Kentucky side). I wanted to search the actual military records to confirm what Elvis and Hank had told us. After hours of going through micro-filch of old records and the Camp newspapers I was able to confirm what we had originally been told. The Karate club met at the base gym for 2-3 hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays. All military personal were invited to attend - especially airborne. But as the Camp newspaper reported only a handful of the toughest of the 101st airborne attended. As one soldier stated, you have to be crazy to take Karate with Hank - at the end of each training session these guys all come out with blood all over their GI's, grinning from ear to ear - and after beating the hell out of each other go have a cold beer!@

Training was broken down into the following sections: Basics; Kick-Punch-Block - over and over again. Rolling and falling. Close hand-to-hand self defense. Lots of hand-to-hand against real knives and other weapons. As part of the course, and your test for Black Belt, you had to know how to set broken and dislocated bones (happened all the time): no one got sued and the military gave free medical. Breaking of boards - no spacers - no padding only - bare first - and fingers against real boards - Yes part of the test was to break a board with your finger-tips - more about that later. the real fun - Kumite - no pads - no groves - Contact - especially to the body was expected and demanded. And yes Hank took his turn with each advanced ranger. Here was you chance to show Hank what you were made of and (if possible) to get even for all the hell he put you through as a "screaming Eagle"! But as every G.I. found out very early: fight hard, but let there be no misunderstanding. Hank was "The Man." The older recruits would watch and smile as the New Kids, with something to prove, tried to kick the "Old Man's" ass; most encounters ended with Hank knocking out the "wise-ass"! The report was that no one ever tried twice to become "top gun" - your first "ass kicking" by Hank or his top assistant, fourth degree black belt Sgt. Saur, was your official initiation into the real world of "self defense".

This was the world that a young country singer stepped into.

As Hank would tell us later: He wanted to find out what the kid was made of. The first day of training was simply designed to let Elvis get used to the type of training he was in for. To his credit, Elvis was in great shape physically and came through the hard, tough, training drills as well as most of Hank's own "rangers."

Come the second session, Elvis was going to get his first taste of REAL - full contact training. Hank took his top student, 4th degree Black Belt Sgt, Saur, aside and told him: Keep away from his face, but put him down. I want you to hurt him bad - break a few ribs if you have to. Everyone sat back to watch Elvis to see if he was really the "King" or a whimpering "candy ass." The "match-up between Elvis and Saur started out slowly as Saur was feeling him out and setting up his man. Of course Elvis had watched other fights the previous lesson and realized this was something he had never been exposed to before. Then at a nod from Hank, Sgt Saur exploded with a series of full contact blows to Elvis's body which dropped Elvis to his hands and knees. It was obvious that Elvis was hurt and feeling the pain. Then Hank related, "I saw Elvis slowly get up with that sneer on his face ... then I saw in his eyes what we usually see only in war: Elvis wanted to kill!@

As the two men once again clashed I stepped in to break Elvis and Stg. Saur apart, "Hank further related, "but I found out what I wanted to know. The kid was a fighter - not a quitter@. Also Sgt, Saur would comment that they would occasionally have a beer after training, but he and Elvis never became friends. As a rule Elvis rarely drank, but he made an exception to sit down and have a beer with the boys. Elvis would relate how, during the "bull sessions" he would slip his full beer in front of one of the "dying for another beer@ fighters and replace it with an empty bottle.

And prove it Elvis did. He was awarded his coveted black belt after six weeks of persistent suffering inflicted by Hank Slomanski, and anyone who knew the principals in this little drama knew there could be no favoritism involved. It should also be noted that Elvis was only one of a handful of civilians to whom Hank ever awarded "Black Belt".

The word came back from Hank to my instructor, Ed Parker, about Elvis: "The kid ain't pretty, but he's tough and he's a Black Belt."

Later, as random skirmishing in a tiny country in Southeast Asia escalated into full-scale war, Hank Slomanski was chosen as one of the elite representatives of the original Special Forces under President John F. Kennedy.

"(Elvis Presley) qualified for 1st degree black belt in 1960 in Memphis with the late Hank Slemansky, a Chito-ryu stylist. Slemansky was killed on active duty in Vietnam sometime in the mid 1960s."

Thirty-two words, a handful of lines.

Hank Slemansky deserves better. He's a man we should be telling our students about.

Now that we know his story, perhaps we can.

Thanks DM!

That puts it in perspective.

LD, if your remarks were pointed amongst others at me: i am not attacking Elvis or actions he took from a negative point of view. I am very glad with the good things he did.
But that does not mean one can not ask questions. Especially because I have the feeling that there was so much more in the man that came out of him. If there is any criticism, the intention is constructive. And there are plenty of occasions where i stood up for Elvis, on and off this MB or applauded the great things he did.

I just love the man and his music and to this day i feel so sorry for what happened to him. Asking questions about that i don't see as negative. The more i understand the man, the more i appreciate the man.

The very fact that DM came up with his constructive and insightful answer puts it all in perspective for me and I am glad that he was a genuine black belt.

The DVD is interesting although I have expected that the footage would be in right order and the sound would be better. You see Elvis in a couple of scenes where he demonstrates certain hand techniques in slow motion with one of the Stanleys and - most of the time - Red West serving as what they call "ookies" (dummies).

I'm really no Karate expert, consequently I can't say anything about Elvis being a legitimate black belt. What I can say is that his moves look pretty impressive to me and he sure was able to defend himself. No wonder, he obviously learned a lot about how to stick his fingers into the eyes of an opponent, break his cheekbone and then finish off by hitting the groin - more or less in one move. Ah, I forgot what he was able to do to the solar plexus of the poor guy who made him angry, can't remember how this fits in .

Very obvious is that Elvis was very fond of Karate champion Bill Wallace who is the real star of the footage - no wonder for him being a professional. Elvis openly shows his appreciation of Wallace and his astonishing high kicks which is nice to see. This was not supposed to be a movie about Elvis doing Karate but a movie about the Gladiators, i.e. Karate experts showcasing their abilties in order to promote Karate.

BTW, West and Stanley have to be considered as extremley brave ookies if you think about what they have stated so far about Elvis' physical and mental state in the 70s - one false move by the King and Captain Ahab with very little possibilities beneath the belt is what they would have seen in their mirrors the day after .

I am glad that he was a genuine black belt.

Yes he did deserve the black belt. Some of Elvis' appearances and song choices are slated enough without his hobby been critcized too that is what I meant to anybody............and yes it is good to ask questions I agree.

Approximately how many minutes of previously unseen footage is there in this new DVD? Discount any stuff used in "This is Elvis" or "Elvis by The Presleys".

Here we go.....

I found this on the internet - makes interesting reading! From the website http://www.tracyskarate.com/Stories/was_elvis_really_a_black_belt.htm

Elvis was first exposed to Karate in 1958 after he was drafted into the Army and stationed in Germany. His first instructor was a German shotokan stylist named Juergen Seydel who taught Elvis at his off-base housing in Nauheim. One nice thing about the military was that you got thirty days of paid vacation (leave) each year. During his leaves in Paris he would take private lessons with Tetsugio Murakami, one of Japan's top shotokan stylists, who would help pioneer shotokan in Europe. On one occasion he spend nine straight days studying several hours each day with Murakami. With a lot of spare time on his hands Elvis would spend hours training with Rex Mansfield, another soldier stationed with Elvis in Germany. It was during this time than Elvis would also start conditioning his hands for board breaking by banging his knuckles against hard surfaces. Little did he know then that this was something he would need when he finally test for his Shodan under Hank Slomanski. At this time he would also start collecting book on Karate. At this early stage Elvis became very impressed by Mas Oyama and his legendary breaking. Including killing bulls with his bare hands. **

After getting out of the Army Elvis would continue to study under different instructors, but there was no one instructor to call Sensei.

Ed Parker (1931-1960) first met Elvis in 1960 when Ed Parker was putting on a Kenpo demonstration at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills. (Both myself and my brother Jim was part of the demo team, we were both brown belts at that time . I did the board breaking with the fists - Ed did the breaking with his feet.) I remember how humble and unassuming Elvis was. He walked up to Ed Parker and introduced himself as Elvis Presley. As if the whole world did not know who Elvis was. This would, be the start of a friendship with Ed Parker that would last until Elvis=s death August 16, 1977. He would start his studies with Ed but at this time he was not ready for Black Belt.

Another historical note might be in order here. Back then, in the '50s and '60s a Black Belt had true meaning. There was no such thing as a four - or 5-year-old black belt. Any instructor who trivialized the arts to that degree would have been laughed out of the country. Judo had established the minimum age of 16 for black belts, and even then you could search a long time without finding a 16-year-old judo black belt.

And so there was nothing else for it -- Elvis Presley was going to have to earn his black belt.

His instructors were understandably reluctant to promote him to that level. None of them had forgotten the derision piled on instructor-author Bruce Tegner when he presented a black belt to Ricky Nelson. Nobody believed for a minute that the pop singer deserved it.

The solution: send Elvis to Hank Slomanski. If he survived, he'd have proved he qualified. One thing stood in his favor: he had not dodged the draft nor taken a soft role in "special services". He had served his country as a loyal American soldier.

Last year I, with my wife, Pat, took a two day vacation to return to Ft. Campbell, on the border of Kentucky and Tennessee (the 101 Airborne "Screaming Eagles" is located on the Kentucky side). I wanted to search the actual military records to confirm what Elvis and Hank had told us. After hours of going through micro-filch of old records and the Camp newspapers I was able to confirm what we had originally been told. The Karate club met at the base gym for 2-3 hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays. All military personal were invited to attend - especially airborne. But as the Camp newspaper reported only a handful of the toughest of the 101st airborne attended. As one soldier stated, you have to be crazy to take Karate with Hank - at the end of each training session these guys all come out with blood all over their GI's, grinning from ear to ear - and after beating the hell out of each other go have a cold beer!@

Training was broken down into the following sections: Basics; Kick-Punch-Block - over and over again. Rolling and falling. Close hand-to-hand self defense. Lots of hand-to-hand against real knives and other weapons. As part of the course, and your test for Black Belt, you had to know how to set broken and dislocated bones (happened all the time): no one got sued and the military gave free medical. Breaking of boards - no spacers - no padding only - bare first - and fingers against real boards - Yes part of the test was to break a board with your finger-tips - more about that later. the real fun - Kumite - no pads - no groves - Contact - especially to the body was expected and demanded. And yes Hank took his turn with each advanced ranger. Here was you chance to show Hank what you were made of and (if possible) to get even for all the hell he put you through as a "screaming Eagle"! But as every G.I. found out very early: fight hard, but let there be no misunderstanding. Hank was "The Man." The older recruits would watch and smile as the New Kids, with something to prove, tried to kick the "Old Man's" ass; most encounters ended with Hank knocking out the "wise-ass"! The report was that no one ever tried twice to become "top gun" - your first "ass kicking" by Hank or his top assistant, fourth degree black belt Sgt. Saur, was your official initiation into the real world of "self defense".

This was the world that a young country singer stepped into.

As Hank would tell us later: He wanted to find out what the kid was made of. The first day of training was simply designed to let Elvis get used to the type of training he was in for. To his credit, Elvis was in great shape physically and came through the hard, tough, training drills as well as most of Hank's own "rangers."

Come the second session, Elvis was going to get his first taste of REAL - full contact training. Hank took his top student, 4th degree Black Belt Sgt, Saur, aside and told him: Keep away from his face, but put him down. I want you to hurt him bad - break a few ribs if you have to. Everyone sat back to watch Elvis to see if he was really the "King" or a whimpering "candy ass." The "match-up between Elvis and Saur started out slowly as Saur was feeling him out and setting up his man. Of course Elvis had watched other fights the previous lesson and realized this was something he had never been exposed to before. Then at a nod from Hank, Sgt Saur exploded with a series of full contact blows to Elvis's body which dropped Elvis to his hands and knees. It was obvious that Elvis was hurt and feeling the pain. Then Hank related, "I saw Elvis slowly get up with that sneer on his face ... then I saw in his eyes what we usually see only in war: Elvis wanted to kill!@

As the two men once again clashed I stepped in to break Elvis and Stg. Saur apart, "Hank further related, "but I found out what I wanted to know. The kid was a fighter - not a quitter@. Also Sgt, Saur would comment that they would occasionally have a beer after training, but he and Elvis never became friends. As a rule Elvis rarely drank, but he made an exception to sit down and have a beer with the boys. Elvis would relate how, during the "bull sessions" he would slip his full beer in front of one of the "dying for another beer@ fighters and replace it with an empty bottle.

And prove it Elvis did. He was awarded his coveted black belt after six weeks of persistent suffering inflicted by Hank Slomanski, and anyone who knew the principals in this little drama knew there could be no favoritism involved. It should also be noted that Elvis was only one of a handful of civilians to whom Hank ever awarded "Black Belt".

The word came back from Hank to my instructor, Ed Parker, about Elvis: "The kid ain't pretty, but he's tough and he's a Black Belt."

Later, as random skirmishing in a tiny country in Southeast Asia escalated into full-scale war, Hank Slomanski was chosen as one of the elite representatives of the original Special Forces under President John F. Kennedy.

"(Elvis Presley) qualified for 1st degree black belt in 1960 in Memphis with the late Hank Slemansky, a Chito-ryu stylist. Slemansky was killed on active duty in Vietnam sometime in the mid 1960s."

Thirty-two words, a handful of lines.

Hank Slemansky deserves better. He's a man we should be telling our students about.

Now that we know his story, perhaps we can.

WOW...............I would have loved to see that....fantastic!!!!!

Nice to know he wasn't a wimp

Approximately how many minutes of previously unseen footage is there in this new DVD? Discount any stuff used in "This is Elvis" or "Elvis by The Presleys".

With Elvis in the picture? Approximately 5 to 8 minutes I would say. Of course there is more previously unreleased footage showing the other Gladiators.

It's nice to have the footage all in one place but the whole Gladiators project was obviously at the very start. You really don't get a good idea how the finished documentary was supposed to be by seeing the footage. Besides it is a pity that you can't really hear Elvis talking in the background, I mean you hear him but not distinctively.

Elvis may have deserved his black belt in 1960, maybe because of a lot of training sessions in the army but Gladiator also tells us that Elvis' karakte skills were not impressive in the seventies and that he was surrounded with yes-man. 'Any fool could see...' would our man sing. What about the story that Elvis got an honoury belt from Kang Rhee and Kang Rhee got some expensive jewellery in return in 1971?
Elvis was important to karate in the USA because he could be associated wit it, but the article about the black belt and Gladiotors do not convince me that he is more than an enthousiastic amateur.

Elvis may have deserved his black belt in 1960, maybe because of a lot of training sessions in the army but Gladiator also tells us that Elvis' karakte skills were not impressive in the seventies and that he was surrounded with yes-man. 'Any fool could see...' would our man sing. What about the story that Elvis got an honoury belt from Kang Rhee and Kang Rhee got some expensive jewellery in return in 1971?
Elvis was important to karate in the USA because he could be associated wit it, but the article about the black belt and Gladiotors do not convince me that he is more than an enthousiastic amateur.

Most people that take Karate don't become skilled championship level fighters or anything like that
When talking a karate class you can eventually earn a black belt through hard work and dedication not through being a bad ass fighter.
Most people just end up learning basic self defense to protect themselves in a fight or something like that.

Elvis was a singer/actor who studied Karate as a hobby so he can't really be compared to the championship level fighters in the footage like Bill Wallace who studied martial arts throughout his life.


If Elvis dedicated his life to martial arts and practiced them as much as Wallace did then he probably could've become an accomplished martial artist.

Elvis may have deserved his black belt in 1960, maybe because of a lot of training sessions in the army but Gladiator also tells us that Elvis' karakte skills were not impressive in the seventies and that he was surrounded with yes-man. 'Any fool could see...' would our man sing. What about the story that Elvis got an honoury belt from Kang Rhee and Kang Rhee got some expensive jewellery in return in 1971?
Elvis was important to karate in the USA because he could be associated wit it, but the article about the black belt and Gladiotors do not convince me that he is more than an enthousiastic amateur.

Oh really? You seem to be very knowledgeable about Karate - otherwise you wouldn't say that even a fool sees that Elvis' skills were not at all impressive. Please go ahead, explain his Kenpo hand techniques to us, interpret them and - most important - compare them to those of others seen in the footage.

What the heck about talking some people here? And what means "a expert who understand a lot of Karate"?

Elvis was a real Black Belt second Dan (degree) in Karate. He had a intense study over 20 years in Martials Arts and learned different styles under different Masters (Sensei's) like Shotokan, Chito riyu, Kenpo and Pasariyu.
First he started with Shotokan under Jürgen Seydel in Germany and Sensei Murakimi in Paris during his army service and closed with a brown belt in Shotokan.
After starting to practise Kenpo with Ed Parker, Ed sent him to his former constructor Hank Slomanski, a master in Chito riyu and
trainee teacher of the Navy Seals, Air Commandos and Army Special Forces. Under Slomanski he got his Black Belt, first and second Dan in Karate. And anybody who have a real knowledge about Martial Arts and his Masters knows that Elvis became his Black Belt not "just for fun" but because he put his abilty to the test.. Later he study with Master Kang Rhe his Pasariyu style.

I don't understand why people always have to open their mouth without no knowledge, just talking B.S.

About the Gladiator DVD.
That's right, the sound quality is a little poor. But what people have to realise from a technical point of view: this footage is over 30 years old and was just the second part of a Karate Documentation which Elvis liked to do as a gift to the world of Martials Arts.

Believe me: Elvis was a real Karateka and I know very well of what I speak! To criticize is very easy and how you can judge abilities of a person or his skills if somebody not doing Karate over years? Elvis was very fast with his hands but slower with his feet.
And if there is any doubt - I think that somebody who was third placed in a Karate Worldchampionship can judge what kind of Karateka Elvis was!

I never understand that in the world of Marterial Arts everybody know that Elvs was a real Black belt - but his own fans doubt this but criticize the man.

What the heck about talking some people here? And what means "a expert who understand a lot of Karate"?

Elvis was a real Black Belt second Dan (degree) in Karate. He had a intense study over 20 years in Martials Arts and learned different styles under different Masters (Sensei's) like Shotokan, Chito riyu, Kenpo and Pasariyu.
First he started with Shotokan under Jürgen Seydel in Germany and Sensei Murakimi in Paris during his army service and closed with a brown belt in Shotokan.
After starting to practise Kenpo with Ed Parker, Ed sent him to his former constructor Hank Slomanski, a master in Chito riyu and
trainee teacher of the Navy Seals, Air Commandos and Army Special Forces. Under Slomanski he got his Black Belt, first and second Dan in Karate. And anybody who have a real knowledge about Martial Arts and his Masters knows that Elvis became his Black Belt not "just for fun" but because he put his abilty to the test.. Later he study with Master Kang Rhe his Pasariyu style.

I don't understand why people always have to open their mouth without no knowledge, just talking B.S.

About the Gladiator DVD.
That's right, the sound quality is a little poor. But what people have to realise from a technical point of view: this footage is over 30 years old and was just the second part of a Karate Documentation which Elvis liked to do as a gift to the world of Martials Arts.

Believe me: Elvis was a real Karateka and I know very well of what I speak! To criticize is very easy and how you can judge abilities of a person or his skills if somebody not doing Karate over years? Elvis was very fast with his hands but slower with his feet.
And if there is any doubt - I think that somebody who was third placed in a Karate Worldchampionship can judge what kind of Karateka Elvis was!

I never understand that in the world of Marterial Arts everybody know that Elvs was a real Black belt - but his own fans doubt this but criticize the man.

Great post, Neverending . Thanks for the information.

What the heck about talking some people here? And what means "a expert who understand a lot of Karate"? (...)
I don't understand why people always have to open their mouth without no knowledge, just talking B.S.

All I said was that Gladiator-film did not convince me at all and that I do not believe he is more that an enthousiastic amateur. Sice we are not living in North Korea and we are not talking about The Great Leader I guess it is permitted to question Elvis matters on this forum. From all I have read and seen I get a strong impression that Elvis was little more than a hobbyist. Periode. And with all the yesman around and Elvis tossing away cars and jewellery it is not even that weird to suggest that somebody just was anxious to do Mr. Superstar a favor. And if it was like that: I like Elvis for his music. For me, his Karate can be stolen as can the boring Gladiator DVD. Next time, all the unreleased footage from Elvis on Tour please!

Please go ahead, explain his Kenpo hand techniques to us, interpret them and - most important - compare them to those of others seen in the footage.

Sorry I have a life to live...

Please go ahead, explain his Kenpo hand techniques to us, interpret them and - most important - compare them to those of others seen in the footage.

Sorry I have a life to live...

Yeah, I totally understand this. Just quit the topic then, it's obviously not one you like to contribute to .

Yeah, I totally understand this. Just quit the topic then, it's obviously not one you like to contribute to .

I think it is a sound habit to run off when people seriously start talking about interpreting silly things like Elvis' (or anyones!) karate moves. Not my piece of cake but have lots of fun interpretating this great meaningfull matter. We will probably meat again on a topic on Elvis' music and then agree that it is great!

Yeah, I totally understand this. Just quit the topic then, it's obviously not one you like to contribute to .

I think it is a sound habit to run off when people seriously start talking about interpreting silly things like Elvis' (or anyones!) karate moves. Not my piece of cake but have lots of fun interpretating this great meaningfull matter. We will probably meat again on a topic on Elvis' music and then agree that it is great!

I'm sure we will do .