Nick Lowery, 8th dan in Judo?

**nick lowry** · Posted On: 7/17/2011 9:55pm

Originally Posted by BadKarmaRising

Personally, I don't care what rank you've earned or claimed except and until you start marketing yourself with that rank.

All of this started because an attempt to resurrect the Spirit of the Eagle judo camp came to your attention. You offered your services AS AN 8th DAN to this attempt.

For me, therein lies the problem. When someone is writing a check to attend a clinic, seminar, or camp that is in part staffed by "8th dan Nick Lowery" they're paying good money expecting instruction commensurate with that grade.

It is extremely disingenuous to market yourself as an 8th dan in one breath then claim that it's just a political paper promotion in the other. Especially when you defended yourself initially in part by challenging anyone who had issue with it to "strip down to our skivvies and see who knows what."

to be clear i do not consider myself an 8th dan -- (if i live long enough perhaps someday) however there are 3 ranking organizations to date who have conferred such rank my way -- i was asked specifically about one of them (usja) and i replied forthrightly -- if you find this extremely disingenuous you are welcome to that opinion

**Matt Phillips** · Posted On: 7/19/2011 11:57am

I just got a call from AnnMaria De Mars who was incredibly helpful and forthright about all this. In a nuttshell she explained that KG wanted to bring in 60-80 people and have their dojo ranks recognized by USJA; that he wrote a single large check for all his people (for which he later complained to her he was not thanked); that this transaction was pushed by then chief of operations, now president Gary Goltz with the primary goal of stacking the voting process, and a secondary goal of collecting a large number of fees; that she personally objected that she should be outranked by someone who had never won anything, when she had medalled at the olympics; that KG and his people probably did nothing wong; that Nick and the others lkely did not know this was being done; that the background check forms could not be filled out by solely by USJA because they would need to know the SSN's; and that this event and others like it are indeed the reason that she and Coach Pedro resigned last year.

A class act and as straight a shooter as I've ever met

@Fake This might belong in the USJA PB thread, but I put it here because it has bearing on Nick's case.

**Matt Phillips** · Posted On: 7/21/2011 8:32pm

@Nick You mentioned earlier that you were surprised when KG presented you with the USJA Judo Hachidan. Were you expecting something else by any chance?

**nick lowry** · Posted On: 7/24/2011 8:33am

Originally Posted by Matt Phillips

@Nick You mentioned earlier that you were surprised when KG presented you with the USJA Judo Hachidan. Were you expecting something else by any chance?

no expectation.