Author: Bret Gordon ![]() Since the beginning of the internet assault against Steven Hatfield and myself in 2019, both friends and acquaintances have repeatedly told us to just ignore them. Having both kept up with and responded to their vitriol, and letting it go for various lengths of time, I can categorically say the latter does nothing to fix the problem. Over the years, Dale Dugas, Barron Shepherd, Randy Engle, Don Roley, Cayce Lancaster, Ed Mathna and Charles Brown have done everything in their power to destroy our credibility in the martial arts community. Every time we make a new connection, they rush to their keyboards and inundate the organization with enough emails to nearly crash the server in an effort to "enlighten" the organization to the type of people we are. Yet, not a single one can actually pinpoint a wrongdoing or lie we have told in the course of all this. For those unfamiliar with what we've been dealing with, there are 3 primary accusations against us and I will address each one below: 1. "Steven Hatfield and Bret Gordon have fake credentials." While I have already detailed my entire training history in a 2-part article including copies of every certification I currently claim (click here for part 1, click here for part 2), I realize I have not done the same for my teacher. His life's story is not mine to tell, but here are copies of his relevant certifications for the arts he currently teaches at his school. He is of course the founder of his own systems as well, Ryu-Saiichi-Do Karate and Tenshi-Akuma-Do Aiki Jujutsu. In addition, he has created several self defense programs, including W.A.R.R.R. (for Women's Self Defense) and K.A.S.E. (for Child Safety). 2. "Bret Gordon and Steven Hatfield tried to hijack our legacy." This claim comes from Ed Mathna and the other students of E.A. Fuzy, and stems from an old history of our American Jidokwan Association where at one point it was stated that William Sirbaugh, Hatfield's stepfather, was a co-collaborator with Fuzy in the development of his American Jidokwan Karate system. This comes from oral history passed down from Sirbaugh to Hatfield, and as his stepson there was no reason to question it. After the dispute with Mathna began, Hatfield and I began doing independent research and finding out a lot of what Sirbaugh said was simply untrue. What we know 100% is that at one point, Sirbaugh knew Curtis Herrington (Fuzy's instructor) and developed two martial arts systems which he called American Jidokwan Taekwondo and American Combat Hanki, both passing to Hatfield upon Sirbaugh's death in 2009. Regardless of Sirbaugh's past, the American Jidokwan Association run by Hatfield and myself has since become affiliated with the Jidokwan World Headquarters in Korea, and been appointed an official branch of the WTJF. We are the only American Jidokwan group with such distinction. 3. "Bret Gordon and Steven Hatfield support child rape/pedophilia." The most heinous accusation yet comes from a situation involving Patrick Justice. Justice was a student of Hatfield, who after Sirbaugh's passing was named the President of American Jidokwan as Hatfield wished to pursue his training in the Japanese arts. Now, I must clarify that being President of American Jidokwan at the time simply meant he was in charge of his own school and could operate independently as there were no other AJA affiliates at the time. At no point was Justice ever hired to teach at Hatfield's school or did he oversee any other schools. In 2014, I joined the AJA and in 2016 became the Florida State Representative as we began to expand with several member schools. In 2017, it came to light that Justice had a prior conviction for sexual battery in 2004, and I conferred with Hatfield that Justice resign and requested I take his spot if he didn't want it. Justice was removed, stripped of all rank, and we went our separate ways. After this transition of power, I made the decision to leave Justice on the history section of the new AJA website as a former President of the organization rather than publicly shame him and draw attention to this period in the organization's history. It was ultimately removed in 2020 with a PSA regarding the situation, including where we investigated and cleared by SafeSport (the national organization for sexual misconduct in sports). Hearing of the issues it was causing us at the time, Justice even wrote a statement for us explaining how he kept this information from the organization and taking full responsibility for his actions. Somehow, because we didn't drag him through the mud nearly 15 years after his conviction and wished to dismiss him quietly, this has been misconstrued to us supporting child rape and pedophilia. Allow me to state this as boldly and passionately as possible - neither Steven Hatfield or I condone any violence against women or children, and will do anything and everything in our power to protect those in need. Something that must be mentioned as well is that we have already been legally vindicated in all of this! In November of 2020, we sought legal action against Dale Dugas. We chose him first simply because he lives here in Florida, and in order to sue someone for libel and defamation, you must have an attorney licensed to practice in their state. As Mathna lives in Arizona, Engle lives in Alabama, Roley in Colorado, and others scattered around the country, we don't yet have legal representation in those states. After nearly 3 and a half years, the judge ruled in our favor and placed Dugas in Judicial Default, finding him liable for damages against us. The court document detailing this is included in the slideshow below: Now, some have said that the only reason we won this lawsuit was because Dugas failed to appear for the final hearing. To that I say if he believed so strongly in his case, if he was as committed to arguing the accusations against us in a court of law as he is to do so behind the safety of a keyboard, why wouldn't he show up to court? He ran from us then, and he continues to run from the truth while repeating the same lies and playing games. So why am I writing this article tonight? Hatfield and I recently joined the National Karate Jujutsu Federation under Steven Johnson. Since joining, Hatfield was appointed head of the High Dan Board and I was appointed the Florida State Representative. It wasn't long before the aforementioned trolls became aware of our new affiliation and harassed Johnson into our dismissal. In a phone conversation with Johnson earlier this afternoon, he stated that he was being "inundated with emails" and was presented a document with "571 pages" detailing our fraud. Of course, he hadn't had time to read through all of it but simply decided that this type of attention would be detrimental to the organization. During the call, I offered to provide copies of certifications, pictures of training with instructors, and anything else required to dispute the accusations but his reply was simply "they can't all be wrong." I didn't know that the truth was based on popularity...
In point of fact, yes, repeating the same lie 571 times is still a lie. A lie does not all of a sudden become truth just because you shout it loud enough. Getting all of your friends and followers to bully others into submission does not prove your case. Under this pressure, Johnson released a public statement "apologizing for our deception." It is this last part that has me appalled, considering during our phone call he offered me the opportunity to remain with the organization if I would simply disown my instructor. That line has been repeated by many during this ordeal, that it's clear I am highly skilled and would be better off if I distanced myself from Hatfield. Well, where do you think I got these skills you speak highly of? Trailblazers have always been hated by the community at large. Hatfield and I continue to fight against the grain, and I challenge anyone to provide proof of any deliberate lies or fabrications in our history. We have made mistakes, as everyone has, and have done everything possible to correct them and be as accurate and transparent as possible. But as for "our deception," it simply hasn't happened, and no matter how hard they try to destroy us, we will not fade away.
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Welcome to the official blog of Bret Gordon. Here is where I'll be posting articles relating to the politics of martial arts. For more style specific content, check out the following links:
Aiki Jujutsu Blog Taekwondo Blog Judo & Jiu Jitsu Blog Archives |