From Fake Fists to Faux Thrones: Martial Arts Hall of Fame Nonsense Goes Royal
Kung Foolery
FR published Martial Arts Halls of Fame Cheap, Plentiful and Bogus last year. The article reported that Martial Arts Halls of Fame are plentiful, and inductees do not need fighting skills. They need the money for a scroll or trophy – usually from $80 to $300.
The article also reported that various martial arts practitioners give themselves grandiose titles.
Martial Arts ‘Masters’ Selling Honor with No Punch Required!
Of all the halls of fame, which could be accurately described as trophy mills, Alan Goldberg runs the biggest, and it includes a weekend gathering each year. (You do not have to attend the weekend event to get a trophy. If you pay for one, Goldberg will mail it to you.)
This year, Goldberg’s Hall of Fame – he calls it Hall of Honors – event will be held at the Tropicana in Atlantic City from January 26-28.
Goldberg goes by the names:
Master Alan Goldberg,
Professor Alan Goldberg,
Wing Chun Kung Fu Master Goldberg,
Sifu Alan Goldberg,
and, as the self-proclaimed “Godfather of Martial Arts World,” Godfather Alan Goldberg.
Dojo Dollars: Buying Belts, Bypassing Bruises!
For a time, Professor Goldberg said he was inducted into 26 Halls of Fame, but recently increased the total to 66 Halls of Fame – none of which he lists online, but which I believe pretty handily proves the point of the original article: Martial Arts Halls of Fame are cheap, plentiful and bogus.
Professor Harold Hill
Professor Marvel
Professor Alan Goldberg
On his website, Professor Godfather Sifu Wing Chun Kung Fu Master Goldberg states he has “the largest Martial Art Hall of Fame and Awards Banquet on earth” with over 10,000 attendees and over 1,200 dinner participants.
The three day event is called the Action Martial Arts Magazine Mega Weekend. It begins Friday night with a “Red Carpet Party with the Stars.”
Godfather Alan Goldberg
On Saturday is the Awards Banquet, where you can get your unique and distinguished prepaid trophy, scroll or if you pay a little more – ceremonial sword — along with hundreds of other fee-paying hall of honors inductees.
Of Goldberg’s many self-proclaimed titles, he purchased.
A Brazilian man named Ahnume Guerios, 45, sold it to him.
Guerios sells titles. But first he gave himself the fanciest title of all: His Imperial & Royal Highness, Prince Gharios El Chemor of Ghassan Al-Nu’man VIII, The Sovereign Prince of the Ghassanids, and the Emir Al-Nu’man 8th Gharios El Chemor Ibn Jafna Al-Ghassani.
Or Prince Gharios for short.
Prince Gharios
Prince Gharios says he is the heir to the throne of Ghassan and the Head of the Royal House of Ghassan.
Godfather Frank Costello
Godfather Don Corleone
Godfather Alan Goldberg
Typically, Godfather Sifu Master Goldberg gets people to pay him for fancy trophies with grandiose titles, but Goldberg’s partner Dr. Alan Goldberg paid Prince Gharios – to knight him.
Meanwhile, Goldberg got knighted by the Duke of Tormano AKA Fabio Bevilacqua. the Grand Master of the Order of the Redeemer, an entirely fictitious and pretend nobility.
Sir Scam-a-Lot: Goldberg Knighthood
On top of his other titles, people would now refer to Goldberg as Sir Alan Goldberg.
Sir Belvedere the Wise
Sir Alan the Magnificent
But people balked at calling Goldberg “Sir Alan.”
After all, who the hell knighted him?
That was hard to answer.
Royal Ruse: ‘Prince’ Gharios a Knightly Nonsense!
Gharios, the Sovereign Prince of the Arab Dynasty of the Ghassanids, is, the truth be told, a prince of a kingdom no longer existing. The Ghassanids were defeated 1378 years ago and have no territory.
Prince Gherios
Prince Randian
Prince Al Farat
As the heir to the Ghassanid Dynasty, Prince Gherios had nothing to inherit. There was no dynasty. He is just a poor slob born in Brazil without any money, who kicked around in LA for a time trying to be an actor, then went back to Brazil and came up with this idea to be a prince, then got a wardrobe together and set out in the world as a prince.
Prince Gherios will make you a knight
Prince Gherios learned how to do Photoshop to look like a prince.
A Princely Living
Prince Gharios does make a good living, giving out titles and knighting people just like Goldberg makes a good living, making people martial arts Hall of Fame inductees.
Gharios believes repeat business from customers (his knights) is better than scrambling each year to find people who took a class or two in some Podunk karate school, and sell them a trophy to put on their desks to impress their friends.
Prince Gharios requires an annual tribute payment to stay in his Sacred Order of Saint Michael Archangel”, later renamed “Equestrian Order of Michael Archangel”,
Last year, Prince Gharios created two new orders, the Order of Saint Sergius and the Order of Christ Pantokrator, which will be limited to 100 paying knights.
A Kentucky Colonol
So, as well as being Grand-Master of the Equestrian Order of Michael Archangel, the Prince is also the Grand-Master of the Equestrian Order of Christ Pantokrator and Grand-Master of the Equestrian Order of Saint Sergius. And as if that wasn’t enough, His Imperial & Royal Highness Prince Gharios El Chemor of Ghassan Al-Nu’man VIII, The Sovereign Prince of the Ghassanids and Emir of Ghassan and the Head of the Royal House of Ghassan, is also a Kentucky Colonel.
Kentuck Colonel official uniform
Kentucky Colonol Harlan Sanders
The Governor of Kentucky can make anyone he chooses a colonel, and often does so to individuals who make sizable donations to their campaigns. It does not involve any military duties, just like Prince Gharios’ Equestrian Order of Archangel Michael, does not involve horseback riding or jousting, and Professor Goldberg’s martial arts awards do not involve fighting.
Knight to Remember
Sovereign Princes without land and Kung Fu Masters with 66 Halls of Fame inductions who might have difficulty punching their way out of a paper bag; such is the world we live in.
In the make-believe land of martial arts and royalty, it reminds one of another title given by the governor of Nebraska – a Nebraska Admiral, which is par for the course for a landlocked state.
Whether a martial artist or con artist, bullshit or scam artist, the talent lies in the talk, not the action. And no matter how good your spiel is, there is always someone with a better spiel; just ask Sir Alan Goldberg.
"Aikido Master" Prince Gharios
“Aikido Master” Prince Gharios – he’s a martial artist too.
Martial arts author Bodhi Sanders sums it well with an illustration from his work
My conclusion in having read both articles is “pay for honor fake awards” so over the top makes possible present and past students in schools being able to break contracts and demand full refunds. Arguing they are the victim of consumer fraud in any small claims court.
If a person can claim they are physically hurt because of the appearance of consumer fraud the potential damage award could include punitive damages that can be astronomical not just for the teacher by posting these bogus pay for honor awards up on their wall or using them in advertising but may impact the entire history.
Where it is conceivable martial art website admins and celebrities can possibly end up named as potential defendants. Plaintiffs attorneys arguing they are complicit in perpetuating consumer fraud —fully aware how these awards will be used along with the photo opportunities they provide to add to the illusory image of martial art skills and accomplishments that do not exist.
“Networking reasons” if raised in a defense may or may not fly in justifying a person’s attendance. But regardless whether one losses or wins an adjudication as anyone who has found themselves in court action can attest to the protracted costs involved makes it a no win situation all around.
You may want to consider staying as far away from faux Royalty brazen pay for honor events as possible in light of the fall out negative publicity— found guilty by association.
That’s just a logical conclusion.
Of course, those depending upon fakery won’t be able to stay away.
Thank goodness there exist martial art awards that are legitimately vetted, like Masters Hall of Fame.
Dan Hect ran it as a matter of love for the arts. He possessed the ability and performed due diligence being a former Chief of Police.
Don’t let one bad “big apple” spoil the bunch when you read this.