Hi guys -

We recieved a few emails from GKR people after Tony Swains (top thread of all time) caused some controversy. Its not our place to jump in and say this is good, or they are bad etc. So like all things Martial Edge we went to the sauce.

Lesley Jackson secured an interview with the man who started it all, Robert Sullivan.
http://www.martialedge.net/articles/interviews-question-and-answers/robert-sullivan-founder-of-gkr-karate/

So putting it out there to the members of Martial Edge it will be good to hear your response from this interview.

REMEMBER no personal attacks or profanity - and that includes about Mr Sullivan too.


Hats off to Lesley Jackson, one of the UKs leading martial arts journalists for securing this interview.

Great to get an interview with the top guy -unfortunately i dont know what i was expecting but there is nothing new here.

Looking at it as a business rather than an Art-something he mentions in passing is rather worrying for his business model and its longevity - 4000 new students (customers) a week and yet only (ONLY!) 40,000 customers worldwide, this figure of 40,000 seems to have been static in the last year - which means he is probably losing 4000 customers a week as well!!

What i dont understand is why, with these sorts of numbers, is the GKR name & model not known beyond those in the Martial Arts worlds?

Without starting arguements again, Amway is known beyond cosmetic sales (If thats what they sell) yet GKR is not.

GKR is a diluted style of Karate - he admits that “The style could be called simplistic in a sense", but if it works for people - those who gain from it, does it bring harm? If GKR spark an interest in Karate in someone, if they decide GKR is not for them and give up Karate completely would they really have stuck it somewhere else?

Hmm, it's a funny thing, i once saw a kata on you tube that was allegedy being performed by someone from GKR, and it was the best form and sharpest execution of technique i have ever seen, i just looked for it but can't find it now, if i come across it i'll stick it on, it was impressive.

But the fact remains that GKR is an organization that is massive on marketing, unit shifting, profit, and not necessarily doing the business when it comes to teaching pure martial arts properly.

I am sure there must be some good GKR teachers out there somewhere but they will be few and far between, and if good martial artists join GKR with the intention of becoming a teacher they probably won't stay around because of the way the classes are run.

Kancho bob sullivan may be a good martial artist with lots of experience, but he went on to start a worldwide club that trains people up from having no martial arts experience, to being teachers, in a very short time at all, and when you join a GKR class it REALLY shows.

Hats off...

Well I never!

Thing is, what I have reported him saying is just what he said, if that makes sense so you can take from that what you wish. Of course he has a good business head on him and he is going to be media savvy but he was very approachable and pleasant to speak to on the phone and I did get the impression that he is genuinly committed to his martial arts.

Swings and roundabouts, swings and roundabouts.

Lesley Jackson wrote:
Hats off...

Well I never!

Thing is, what I have reported him saying is just what he said, if that makes sense so you can take from that what you wish. Of course he has a good business head on him and he is going to be media savvy but he was very approachable and pleasant to speak to on the phone and I did get the impression that he is genuinly committed to his martial arts.

Swings and roundabouts, swings and roundabouts.

Any thought to follow this up with a face to face interview when he comes over this summer - i know he is in Nottingham this year.

If you look to the traditional karate in Japan now, you wouldn’t notice much difference between what they do and what we do.

Really? I beg to differ.

Nice one for scoring the article Lesley. Good job.

Seemed like a really missed opportunity here... it didn't address any of the controversy surrounding GKR at all.

The funny thing is Gav, I was going to post EXACTLY the same as you.

Gavin King wrote:

Seemed like a really missed opportunity here... it didn't address any of the controversy surrounding GKR at all.

Alcatraz:

The funny thing is Gav, I was going to post EXACTLY the same as you.

I thing you guys are missing the point here. Its not the place for our editorial team to be getting involved with the politics and mis feeling. What we wanted to do with the GKR interview was to present their side of the story and we certainly achieved it.

Pete, editorial even handedness is one thing, sitting on the fence whilst blindfolding yourself is another.

Even handed journalism allows for the interviewed person to state their case for sure and I'd support anyone's right to do this. However, not asking any questions on the controversial side of things GKR is in my humble opinion verging on editorial cowardice. Ask both sides, present the answers as given and let the reader read.

I'm with Gav, that was an opportunity missed.

Ken Harding wrote:
Pete, editorial even handedness is one thing, sitting on the fence whilst blindfolding yourself is another.

Even handed journalism allows for the interviewed person to state their case for sure and I'd support anyone's right to do this. However, not asking any questions on the controversial side of things GKR is in my humble opinion verging on editorial cowardice. Ask both sides, present the answers as given and let the reader read.

I'm with Gav, that was an opportunity missed.

Agreed, I know nothing about GKR, only from what i have read on this forum and my experience from a couple of guys knocking on my door. But it answered nothing from the thread. Disappointed.

With any editorial piece we put on this site we are always going to get mixed reviews which is fantastic. From the feedback we have got so far its either thanks guys this guys full of *** as we experienced or there wasnt enough blood spilt.

One of the things that came over strongly in the threads on GKR were the different sides of the coin - some had great experiences, some like Tony Swain who started the original thread were outraged by the teaching standards compared to his experiences in Japan.

But for the majority the opinions and debate were based on hearsay or minor experiences - for example 'well they have knocked on my door etc' or 'ive heard that they teach students with a few months experience to be instructors.'

I will take the flak been dished out on this one - I maintain our balanced editorial policy. It keeps us impartial and balanced and provides the ground for you guys to step forward and say well actually '.........' which to be honest guys all ive heard so far is that it a.) doesnt seem controversial enough or b.) opportunity missed!

If you want blood and - if you want Lesley to go back to Robert for round 2 - and the UK head (which we have planned in) you need to provide something more concrete other then anecdotal evidence.