Red dragon mcdojo or no?

**HereBeADragon** · Posted On: 2/28/2012 4:27pm

I think the 10th degree is in his own made up martial art not in Judo. Dudes got it all on there. Marine, police officer and a grandmaster in his own art which he created after his mystical journies through the East.

I'm looking at his timeline for military service and his training in Japan and I am seeing some potential problems/odd things.

A U.S. Marine decorated in the service to his country 1958-1964
Began studying Judo in Japan in 1958.
Trained at the Kodokan in Japan 1958-1961. His instructor was Tochiko Yogami.
Risei Kano, son of Dr. Jigaro Kano, promoted Shi-Han Sensei to black belt in Judo. He was one of the first ten Americans ever to be promoted on December 8, 1960-he received his 1st Degree Black Belt in Judo at the Kodokan in Japan .
Promoted by Mas Nagano to 1st degree black belt in Yokosuka, Japan 1961

So according to his history he was a marine and had to be stationed in Japan pretty much for the first half of his service and near the Kodokan. He also received his black belt in Judo in Japan at the Kodokan 2 years after he began training there, and it looks like he only spent a total of 3 years training in Judo. Seems very hard to do while being an active duty marine. I am a relative beginner in Judo but that seems really quick. He also was promoted to 1st degree black belt again in 1961. It looks like this is suppose to be a black belt in a different art but one is not specified. If thats true he trained not 1 but 2 arts while being a marine in Japan and did it all in 3 years.

Next in his timeline we have him in Pennsylvania opening a karate school and being a police officer. I don't know enough about the hours police work but this seems like a pretty busy schedule to keep.

Opened the first full time Red Dragon Karate in Bethlehem , Pennsylvania in 1966.
Voted policeman rookie of the year of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Police Force. 1967
Voted policeman of the year 1968
Opened the first Red Dragon Karate in Covina , California in 1972
Created certifying organization American Karate Kung-Fu Federation (A.K.K.F.) to promote certification and professionalism in Martial Arts. 1968

We have him opening his first red dragon karate in 1966 in Bethlehem ,Pennsylvania the next year (1967) he is votes policeman rookie of the year and then policeman of the year in 1968. He also had the time to open the AKKF the same year. Next he is again opening the first red dragon karate this time in California in 1972 so I guess the policeman gig wasn't working for him. I don't see why a man would become an officer and then quit after what looks like 6 years or so of service. Must be more to the story but nothing that I can find.

**TexJohn** · Posted On: 2/28/2012 5:55pm

On top of that, if you look at this link...http://www.worldblackbelt.com/Foundi...assa_Louis.asp... was the captain of the Marine Judo and Karate team during his service. This would put him starting martial arts in 1958, and graduating high school, being a good enough Judo player to lead a national Judo team by 1964 (when he was discharged). However, he started teaching Judo in 1963 in the US.

I also find it interesting that in 1982 he won the "World Fast Draw Competition." This is an interesting year for quick draw shooters, because Bob Munden set the world record with blistering .208 second shoot. He pretty much tore it up for years to come. It will take me a while to knock down some of the competitions, but I'll work on it.

Also, his law enforcement stuff is fairly easy to track down (in a round about way). If by saying that the "FBI school," is the FBI National Academy that he graduated from, then he will appear on the class number roster (much like BUDS). I'll try to work on this too.

**HereBeADragon** · Posted On: 2/28/2012 6:29pm

It would be helpful to know what kind of martial arts background he had before 1958 but I cannot find anything about his training prior to that date.

**thrutch** · Posted On: 2/28/2012 6:49pm

Originally Posted by HereBeADragon

He also received his black belt in Judo in Japan at the Kodokan 2 years after he began training there, and it looks like he only spent a total of 3 years training in Judo. Seems very hard to do while being an active duty marine. I am a relative beginner in Judo but that seems really quick. He also was promoted to 1st degree black belt again in 1961. It looks like this is suppose to be a black belt in a different art but one is not specified. If thats true he trained not 1 but 2 arts while being a marine in Japan and did it all in 3 years.

Originally Posted by Red Dragon Karate

December 8, 1960-he received his 1st Degree Black Belt in Judo at the Kodokan in Japan .
Promoted by Mas Nagano to 1st degree black belt in Yokosuka, Japan 1961

Mas Nagano was a Shotokan master, so he achieved Judo and Karate Shodans pretty much concurrently. Not unheard of tbf.

Originally Posted by HereBeADragon

I don't see why a man would become an officer and then quit after what looks like 6 years or so of service. Must be more to the story but nothing that I can find.

*cough* money? *cough* If you have a read of the article on page 50 of this it gives a pretty clear indication he was raking it in from teaching martial arts.

**TexJohn** · Posted On: 2/28/2012 9:34pm

Originally Posted by thrutch

Mas Nagano was a Shotokan master, so he achieved Judo and Karate Shodans pretty much concurrently. Not unheard of tbf.

*cough* money? *cough* If you have a read of the article on page 50 of this it gives a pretty clear indication he was raking it in from teaching martial arts.

Very nice article on the economics on a McDojo, however I think the argument, as it stands now, involves possible embellishments on this guy's resume. By embellishments, I am referring to whether this guy is a douche-bag stat padding asshole, a really weird guy, or a for real badass.

**Monster79** · Posted On: 4/16/2012 8:59pm

The guy who ran the first martial arts school I attended around 20 years ago was a con-man who purchased a rank from Louis Casamassa, and used it to gain other ranks from similar teachers.

At the time (in the 90's) it was a good school to go to if you were into NASKA type sport karate competitions, and interested in minor parts in TV and movies. Chris Casamassa was Scorpion in the original Mortal Kombat movie (and did some silly TV shows like WMAC and Mortal Kombat), I'm thinking one or two of the original Power Rangers were from Red Dragon Karate and some of the extras.

I suspect The "Bluegrass Hall of Fame" is probably actually referring to a hall of fame associated with the big "Kentucky Bluegrass" NASKA tournament that's held in Louisville every year. It's a big competition that always had good Red Dragon representation.

**Matt Phillips** · Posted On: 4/17/2012 2:12pm

I also found this on http://www.newwbbtestpage.com/foundi...uis-casamassa/

1. Gold medal recipient in judo at the kodokan, Tokyo Japan 1960
2. Winner of more than 50 judo championships in Japan 1959 –1961
3. Undefeated united states marine judo competitor

so...
Regarding 1. lulwut?
regarding 2. Only 50? Really?
regarding 3. "I didn't say I was All-Marine champ, I meant I competed once and didn't lose"

Skeptical in the extreme