GKR karate - UK

**Fantasy Warrior** · Posted On: 10/17/2007 10:28pm

I personally consider this brand of MA to be the single worst risk to consumers of all MA threats - worse that Wing Tsun, Systema, CKD etc etc. It's widespread, universally crap and rotten from the core.

**sochin101** · Posted On: 10/18/2007 5:59am

Originally Posted by Fantasy Warrior

I personally consider this brand of MA to be the single worst risk to consumers of all MA threats - worse that Wing Tsun, Systema, CKD etc etc. It's widespread, universally crap and rotten from the core.

Don't take this the wrong way, but given your current inclination to troll everything that moves with "LOL kata", I'm not sure how much gravity people will attach to your personal opinion.

Originally Posted by Jadonblade

I vote we report them to watchdog!

Done.
There's a form on the BBC website where you can put a brief description of your problem with the company you are reporting.

UK Bullies, flick through the Go-kan-ryu threads that It Is Fake linked, and if you feel like it's something you can help with, fill the form in on the BBC's website and see if they take it up.
Thanks.

and just in case anyone forgets

low quality instruction by often under-qualified and inexperienced "instructors"
door to door sales with high pressure techniques
no-contact style of karate
belt factory
mcdojo
"traditional style" that was created by bastardising goju and shotokan in the 1980's

claiming self defence - mainly teaching stuff from katas as self-defence techniques

There's a shitload more.

And for the apathetic among you: Before you think "oh, it's not going to affect me", theses pricks are claiming something like 5000 active students in the UK. At some point, someone's club is going to lose a training location to these pyramid-marteking mofos.

**maddog** · Posted On: 10/18/2007 6:29am

From what I have seen of one GKR instructor they are of no threat on a martial front, but when it comes to the buisness of martial arts they pawn every one.

**Jadonblade** · Posted On: 10/18/2007 6:55am

So have you reported them to watchdog previously sochin?, Ill do one anyway just to increase chances of them taking it up. I imagine its something they would like, martial arts are always good for teh ratings. I imagine quite a few people have probaly lost training locations, and potential locations as well.

**sochin101** · Posted On: 10/18/2007 8:52am

Originally Posted by Jadonblade

So have you reported them to watchdog previously sochin?, Ill do one anyway just to increase chances of them taking it up. I imagine its something they would like, martial arts are always good for teh ratings. I imagine quite a few people have probaly lost training locations, and potential locations as well.

I haven't reported them previously, no... but it seems an opportune moment, with the current swell of interest (like 4 posts in a wekk - holy mainstream, batman!). If they get a few complaints in rapid succession, I'd guess the odds of them taking it seriously are increased.

**Goldenmane** · Posted On: 10/18/2007 9:01am

I do love it when the GKR peeps knock on my door. Makes for all sorts of fun, if I have the time.

Edit: I rarely have the time, these days.

**sochin101** · Posted On: 10/18/2007 9:06am

As I've posted before, the last time I got door-knocked, the guy was like 120lbs and told me he was a former cage fighter. He was probably mid 20's.
I put the word out to check this fact and was told something like "yeah, maybe in a hamster cage".
I found out he's an "enthusiastic" orange belt. I'm fairly sure enthusiastic when used to describe lower grades means something along the lines of "shitty".
Sounds like regional manager material to me... give him a couple of months.

**Zashiki** · Posted On: 3/03/2008 10:57am

Yes I'm afraid I'm guilty of falling into the gkr trap of being told that I can be a qualified instructor and earn up to £400 a week, what I wasn't told was that including my training time my working day would be up to 12 hours a day and sometimes more only to come home with no money in my pocket. Plus there was no mention of the fact that you have to pay them £35 a week for stock and when you voiced your concern to anyone superior to you all you were told was "try harder" and I definately wasn't told that if I didn't make enough to cover this 'stock fee' that I'd be getting a phonecall from a certain zone director telling me that I 'owed' them money.
I've seen people get themselves into serious debt through chasing this dream of succsess onjly to be labeled as losers when they eventually call it a day.
It's all based on lies at the end of the day, on one hand you're being told that you're just giving people information on karate then when you leave a house without signing anyone you're being told that you're not doing your job properly. After taking someones details at the door you're supposed to say that when you drop the information of later on you'll spend 5-10 minutes explaining about the classes and so on, so why does it say in the training manual that you'll be spending up to 20 minutes at peoples homes so the whole process is based on a lie.
BEWARE, GKR IS A MONEY MAKING MONSTER AND NOTHING LESS!!!

**sochin101** · Posted On: 3/03/2008 2:01pm

Originally Posted by Zashiki

Yes I'm afraid I'm guilty of falling into the gkr trap of being told that I can be a qualified instructor and earn up to £400 a week, what I wasn't told was that including my training time my working day would be up to 12 hours a day and sometimes more only to come home with no money in my pocket. Plus there was no mention of the fact that you have to pay them £35 a week for stock and when you voiced your concern to anyone superior to you all you were told was "try harder" and I definately wasn't told that if I didn't make enough to cover this 'stock fee' that I'd be getting a phonecall from a certain zone director telling me that I 'owed' them money.
I've seen people get themselves into serious debt through chasing this dream of succsess onjly to be labeled as losers when they eventually call it a day.
It's all based on lies at the end of the day, on one hand you're being told that you're just giving people information on karate then when you leave a house without signing anyone you're being told that you're not doing your job properly. After taking someones details at the door you're supposed to say that when you drop the information of later on you'll spend 5-10 minutes explaining about the classes and so on, so why does it say in the training manual that you'll be spending up to 20 minutes at peoples homes so the whole process is based on a lie.
BEWARE, GKR IS A MONEY MAKING MONSTER AND NOTHING LESS!!!

Thanks for posting your experiences.
Are you still working for them?
Did you teach as an instructor?

I spoke to one ex GKRer who was told to hand the membership forms to the kids in the house and get them to fill them in, knowing that it would be difficult for the parent to refuse paying the membership fee after the kids were all excited and had filled their forms in already...