Elvis and Karate

Elvis and Ed Parker practice Karate moves in 1974; Parker was a Martial Arts teacher,
having won his first Judo Black Belt in 1949 and being considered better than Bruce Lee

Elvis was first exposed to Karate in 1958 after he was drafted into the Army and stationed in Germany. His first teacher was German shotokan Juergen Seydel, who taught Elvis his techniques at his home in Bad Nauheim.

As a US military man, Elvis had 30 days of paid vacation a year. During his stay in Paris in 1959, he took private lessons from Tetsugio Murakami, one of Japan's leading shotokan. On one occasion, Elvis spent nine days straight studying for several hours with Murakami.

Elvis and Tetsugio Murakami in 1960

With plenty of free time on his hands, Elvis also spent hours training with Rex Mansfield, a soldier from his battalion in Germany. It was during this time that he began to condition his hands to break wooden boards and other hard surfaces.

In 1960, Elvis, with Japanese-style training under his belt, met Kempo's American father, Ed Parker, who introduced him to Hank Slomanski, who in turn tested the singer for his Black Belt.

It was Hank who promoted Elvis to Black Belt on July 21, 1960 and personally gave him his own belt. Afterwards, Slomanski sent word to Ed Parker saying, "Your son is no longer handsome, but he is a Black Belt."

Elvis trained from 1970 to 1974 with Master Kang Rhee in Memphis. Rhee had a good reputation and had been well recommended by Ed Parker, his former instructor and now private bodyguard.

During his four years with Master Rhee, Elvis, like all the other students, selected an animal name that he would like to be called by in the training area. The first choice was "Mr. Panther", which was later changed to "Mr. Tiger" because of political implications at the time associated with the Black Panther political group.

In fact, the name of one of his jumpsuits, the Mad Tiger, was chosen precisely because it was worn and reflected a five-month period in 1974 when Elvis was psychologically out of his mind.

Elvis practiced with the other students in regular training sessions. Discipline in the classroom was so strict that he was considered just one of the common students, with no right to call the press to promote him or admit fans.

Elvis and Master Kang Rhree; 1974

For his technique and discipline, Elvis was awarded a Grade 7 Black Belt in

1973 by Master Rhee and started to test and promote low ranking students. Having been a student of the likes of Murakami, Parker and Rhee, he was appointed an instructor at the Pasaryu Karate Association.

Once, during a training session, Elvis was teaching a female student an escape technique that required the victim to injure the assailant's legs. After repeated attempts to get her to learn correctly, the exasperated student kicked him in the shins so hard he almost fell over from the pain. But she had learned, and that was what mattered.

Younger students were often startled by Elvis' presence. Upon learning of the problem regarding a 9-year-old boy, the King of Rock called him for a private conversation, presenting him with his personal watch, which had the name "Elvis Presley" engraved on it.

Close friends of Elvis called this four-year period "the golden years" - the years of peace and spiritual contentment for him. And Kang Rhee was handsomely rewarded for it. On June 4, 1973, Elvis gave Rhee one of the most special gifts he's ever given anyone, a Cadillac Eldorado Deluxe from his personal collection. This was no ordinary gift. Elvis used to give away cars as fast as you can blink, but he rarely gave away a car that had been customized for him.

Elvis, who normally trained in a traditional uniform, considered it a type of performance. Therefore, a special version was designed, as a kind of jumpsuit. The uniform was trimmed in red satin, had the "TCB" patch on the left chest, the crown and cuff patch on the left sleeve, and a black belt, embroidered with the singer's personal information.

In the first "performance" with the new uniform, Elvis was demonstrating a kicking technique when his pants ripped. Embarrassed, he explained to the class that he didn't wear any underwear. Realizing that the demonstration was incomplete, Elvis began to do a variety of self-defense techniques, including against a knife-wielding assailant and against nearby assailants.

Master Kang Rhee, Elvis and his training colleagues; 1974

In the meantime, Elvis pretended to demonstrate a defense technique against a person with a firearm less than 1.5 meters away. He then fell to his knees, explaining that the only defense at that distance was "to pray". Kang Rhee, the students and all the spectators laughed and clapped. Elvis also demonstrated his fighting stance and jokingly challenged his master to a fight. In addition to the relaxation, the singer also participated in the students' tests, being part of the judging committee and carefully observing how the student worked for their promotion.

Left to Right: Vernon, Dee Stanley, Linda Thompson and Elvis; September 16, 1974

Normally, in a traditional Martial Arts school, no one is allowed to train wearing shoes or socks; however, on one particular day, Kang Rhee made an exception for Elvis. A few days earlier, he had surgery to correct an ingrown toenail and his master didn't want his foot to get infected. He also suffered an injury to his hand when a fan inadvertently scratched it, which, due to lack of treatment, became infected. The King of Rock told about the scratch, explaining why his hand was bandaged, at several shows in 1974.

Elvis Presley received his Grade 8 Black Belt certificate from Master Rhee in a private ceremony on September 16, 1974. He accepted his award in front of his fellow students and their families.

Elvis' Degree Certificate

 A few days before the occasion, Elvis sent a note to Charlie Hodge asking him to have his name and "Grade 8 Black Belt" engraved on his private uniform.

Karate was undoubtedly an important part of Elvis' life. So much so that he made a point of demonstrating some moves at his shows from 1969 to 1977. In the years 1974 and part of 1975, the demonstrations lasted several minutes and became tedious for those who had paid to hear him sing.

Elvis' commitment to Karate earned him a place in the Martial Arts Hall of Fame and made him start dreaming of higher goals in that field.

In July 1974, Elvis founded the Tennessee Karate Institute (TKI), which was led by Red West and Bill Wallace, and began to think about a kind of film / documentary about the art in which he would be the financier and main actor.

Some filming for the project was done during the month of September (Jerry Schilling claims it was all filmed on the 16th), but Elvis dropped the idea for no apparent reason shortly afterwards. This footage was made available as "Elvis Presley Gladiators" on a 2009 DVD.