Go Kan Ryu is a Pyramid Scheme!!!

**shred101** · Posted On: 5/01/2007 7:08am

Stay AWAY from these morons. Me and my training partner enquired about an "instructers wanted" tag in the jobcentre. We called up and were asked to go down to see the regional manager or whatever the guy called himself. We were given an address which turned out to be this guys house. Inside he showed us this terrible video which included their students participating in semi and non contact karate. They had NO control whatsoever and theres no way these students would ever win a non/semi contact kumite because they battered their opponents. After the video he said that we would basically be taken onboard after joining up to the club and fast tracked to black belt instructor level. In 1 year. Needless to say we were sceptical. We figured that this was why there students looked so crap at the kumite. We carried on listening and told that once we were black belt instructors we would then be working towards being a regional manager or whatever and taking responsibility for recruiting new instructors. This is where it gets kooky. We were told we had to pay £30 to sign up for this. I was then told that I had to buy a gi and a "recruitment folder" or whatever myself for about £50 extra despite the fact I already owned a karate uniform, a black giko uniform and muay thai shorts. He said that it was club rules that I had to buy new GKR uniform. So, ok, I said what would the job entail? He said that we would basically be doing door to door work and telesales. I asked where the teaching comes in and was given an evasive that comes later answer. He was basically looking for phone cronies to pay him to work for him. Needless to say we left and when he rang us to ask what we thought I told him straight up what I thought and went for the throat. He rang back my mate to whinge at him for me giving it to him on the phone. Needless to say he was told to get lost. Heres how the GKR scam works in short:

People you recruit pay you to join ----> you pay gkr middleman to join -----> middleman pay honchos to join.

And so on and so forth. Please stay away from these dorks. If they ever come round to my house again I will make tameshigiris out of them and use them for iaido practice. They are an insult to all karate teachers and all karate dojos.

**RabidStoat** · Posted On: 5/01/2007 7:40am

If you use the search function GKR has been mentioned on a number of occasions.

Yes I agree - they are a bunch of scamsters.

**RabidStoat** · Posted On: 5/01/2007 8:48am

If you want to waste an hour or so of your life then try the following from one of the UK karate forums
http://www.karateforums.com/grk-inte...?highlight=gkr

**sochin101** · Posted On: 5/01/2007 9:17am

Originally Posted by shred101

They are an insult to all karate teachers and all karate dojos.

Hiya mate...
GKR is known in the UK and Australia for all the worst possible mcdojo and Bullshido tendencies. It's also gaining a foothold in the USA apparently.

The business side of the org is pretty slick. Area managers, self-defence consultants, door knockers. There are over 5000 active members of the GKR org in the UK, apparently.
They're wider ranging than you think, in fact one of the guys who runs a GKR dojo in Cleethorpes got taken over to Stoke to door-knock... small world.

Nicely done for not falling for the slick sales technique... I don't suppose you've got the contact details of the joker you spoke to?
If so, could you please email me at sochin101 @ hotmail.co.uk (without the spaces).

Thanks.

**RabidStoat** · Posted On: 5/01/2007 9:47am

The thing about GKR that never fails to amaze me is that over the years in various forums (including the “official” GKR forum) there a large number of GKR members who admit that the business practises are dubious, the quality of training extremely poor but they still carry on as members of GKR – often defending it against over whelming evidence to the contrary.

I suspect that so many people in life go for the easy option. They say they do karate but in reality it is a luke warm version. I suspect that few GKR practitioners would last long in a serious dojo.

The reality is that GKR does not train people in karate. It is a business, it is there to make money not offer quality training.

**sochin101** · Posted On: 5/01/2007 9:59am

They engender a feeling of loyalty with family values and the promise of a career "doing something you love".
They recruit pretty much anyone that can stand up and not soil themselves while in front stance to be a sempai/sensei.
Trained a little while? Got a belt or two? Know a couple of katas? Wanna be a sempai? Wanna go on the sensei training program? Wanna teach the great traditional *coff* Japanese-style *coff* style of Go Kan Ryu? it's a mix of Shotokan and goju Ryu, except we've taken out ANYTHING THAT MIGHT HAVE THE SLIGHTEST VALUE!

They're a malaise, they're a pox, they're strip mall TKD/Krotty's bastard half brother, and they're coming to a door near you soon.

You all know what to do.

**FickleFingerOfFate** · Posted On: 5/01/2007 10:23am

Originally Posted by sochin101

They engender a feeling of loyalty with family values and the promise of a career "doing something you love".
They recruit pretty much anyone that can stand up and not soil themselves while in front stance to be a sempai/sensei.
Trained a little while? Got a belt or two? Know a couple of katas? Wanna be a sempai? Wanna go on the sensei training program? Wanna teach the great traditional *coff* Japanese-style *coff* style of Go Kan Ryu? it's a mix of Shotokan and goju Ryu, except we've taken out ANYTHING THAT MIGHT HAVE THE SLIGHTEST VALUE!

They're a malaise, they're a pox, they're strip mall TKD/Krotty's bastard half brother, and they're coming to a door near you soon.

You all know what to do.

Holy ****, Where do I Sign!

It's almost as easy as a mail order blackbelt,

and just about as respectable.

But, at least I would get to go to a R34L 5chooL !

and after a year of door knocking and ass kissing,

people would have to BOW TO ME!

< meglamaniacal delight induced orgasm >

**RabidStoat** · Posted On: 5/01/2007 10:31am

Originally Posted by FickleFingerOfFate

Holy ****, Where do I Sign!

It's almost as easy as a mail order blackbelt,

Hate to say it - most of their instructors don't have black belts - they give them black and white stripped belts. That way you can't tell that your instructure just has an orange or yellow belt......

Just go along for a couple of lessons and you too could be a sensei

**FickleFingerOfFate** · Posted On: 5/01/2007 10:38am

Originally Posted by RabidStoat

Hate to say it - most of their instructors don't have black belts - they give them black and white stripped belts. That way you can't tell that your instructure just has an orange or yellow belt......

Just go along for a couple of lessons and you too could be a sensei

....but will they still respect me in the morning?

Do these People have much of apresence in the states yet?

How many?

**sochin101** · Posted On: 5/01/2007 10:38am

Originally Posted by FickleFingerOfFate

Holy ****, Where do I Sign!

It's almost as easy as a mail order blackbelt,

and just about as respectable.

But, at least I would get to go to a R34L 5chooL !

and after a year of door knocking and ass kissing,

people would have to BOW TO ME!

< meglamaniacal delight induced orgasm >

Dude, if it took you a year, you'd be on the equivalent of the GKR short bus.
Someone I know was selected for the STP (sensei training program... kiai) after about 4 months of training. She's now traded her orange belt for the dreaded black and white striped belt which denotes you as a sempai/sensei.

Also, the students have to bow to the "founder" of the style Karate Bob Sullivan before they bow to you... that's gonna dilute the meaning of the bow... you might as well pledge your fealty to AMWAY.

oh, it bears repeating in every post:
NON-CONTACT KARATE.