Ashida Kim
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Ashida Kim is the pseudonym used by Radford W. Davis (born July 13, 1948), a controversial Florida-based American martial arts teacher and author best known for his books on ninjitsu training published during the 1970s and 1980s. [link] Davis claims that he has also worked as an extra in a number of movies, such as Armageddon, Waterboy, Instinct, and Angel's Dance.
Black Dragon Fighting Society conflict
Davis has proclaimed himself to be the leader of the Black Dragon Fighting Society form of Koga Ryu ninjitsu, a name of no apparent association with the historical right-wing nationalist paramilitary Black Dragon Society of wartime Japan; or the American martial arts group of the same name founded by Count Dante: The Black Dragon Fighting Society; which, after Dante's death, was under the directorship of William Aguiar. Aguiar died in January, 2005. The Black Dragon Fighting Society is now led by his son, Bill Aguiar III who is co-founder of his own [online forum] and hosts the [Official Black Dragon Fighting Society website.] Davis' websites were suspended on or about October 5, 2005 when a cease and desist order alleging illegal use of the BDFS trademarks and copyrights was sent to his Internet service provider by Aguiar's lawyer. While he disputes the merit of the claims, which were never tried in court, Davis removed the offending material from his site as part of a deal with his service provider to reactivate the site, and has explained his side of the story on a "[Dojo Politics]" page there. Aguiar's group is currently headquartered in Fall River, Massachusetts.
Black Belt program
It has been alleged in [an article on Bullshido.net] that Davis offers mail-order black belt programs in a belt factory fashion.
Davis states that he is offering a program for those who wish to have their skills verified. After a martial artist has demonstrated their skills and paid the appropriate fees, he will confer an official document verifying this skill level.
His booklet, Mugei Mumei No Jutsu, translated as "No Name, No Art," includes a black belt certification as well as a "Mandamus" threatening vengeance from "occult guards" and "Astral Spies" if the information in the booklet is compromised.
Davis responds to criticism by referring to other, famous Ninjitsu practitioners, such as Stephen Hayes, who also release Ninjitsu videos. These are referred to as "guaranteed" black belt courses, something that Davis denounced. Davis claims that although he looks upon Sensei Hatsumi as a mentor, he strongly dislikes his students.
$10,000 Challenge
In what Davis describes as an effort to quiet his critics and suppress their challenges, Davis has established rules for a "$10,000 Challenge" for those wishing to test his skill[link]. These rules place significant financial and legal demands on challengers, who are required to pay $10,000 as well as post a $25,000 bond and cover all expenses of the event. Several individuals claim to have come forward to challenge Davis, and presented evidence of the money, yet report that he declined to arrange a fight[link]. Note that the $10,000 appears to refer to the aforementioned fee — nothing in the rules states that the challenger will receive $10,000 on victory as may be inferred.
Controversy over \"Ashida Kim's\" writings
Many of the concepts in Davis' well known book, Secrets of the Ninja were also published verbatim in Andrew Adam's Ninja The Invisible Assassins which was released 11 years earlier.
In the Dojo Press edition of [Ninja Training Manual] (originally published as Book of the Ninja) author Christopher Hunter claims "This is the FIRST time the term 'NinjaTo' to describe the Shinobi Sword was EVER used. It has become a common term now. But, it was invented by Ashida Kim and Chris Hunter in 1980". This is an apparently spurious claim as Donn F. Draeger and Robert W. Smith refer to the Ninjato in their seminal work, Comprehensive Asian Fighting Arts which was published in 1969, 11 years before Book of the Ninja.
Lawsuit
On July 6, 1998, Davis filed suit against his publisher, Paladin Press, naming Ethan Ellenberg and Peter Lund as defendants. The case was ultimately dismissed on June 22, 1999 for lack of prosecution. [link] Davis alleges that Paladin Press concealed or under-reported overseas sales figures and diverted royalties by selling secondary rights to Citadel Press.
Published books
- Ninja Death Touch. Paladin Press, 1983. ISBN 0873642570
- Dragon Lady of the Ninja. Paladin Press, 1984.
- Forbidden Fighting Techniques of the Ninja. Citadel Press, 1985. ISBN 0806509570
- Ninja Hands of Death. Paladin Press, 1985. ISBN 0873643224
- Secrets of the Ninja. Berkley Publishing Group, 1985. ISBN 0425083918
- Ninja Secrets of Invisibility. Berkley Publishing Group, 1986. ISBN 0425087883
- Ninja Cloak and Dagger: Espionage and Weapon Techniques. Paladin Press, 1987. ISBN 0873644190
- Deadly Grip of the Ninja: Lethal Throws and Takedowns. Paladin Press, 1987.
- Ninja Mind Control. Berkley Publishing Group, 1987. ISBN 042509894X
- The Invisible Ninja: Ancient Secrets of Surprise. Citadel Press, 1997. ISBN 0806518731
- Iron Body Ninja: The Secrets of Superior Strength. Citadel Press, 1997. ISBN 080651910X
- The Invisible Fist: Secret Ninja Methods of Vanishing Without a Trace. Citadel Press, 1998. ISBN 0806520183
- Ninjitsu for Women: Ninja Secrets of Defensive Fighting. Citadel Press, 2000. ISBN 0806521457
- How to Become a Ninja: Secrets from Ashida Kim's Training Camp. Kim, Ashida & anonymous co-author. Citadel Press, 1995. ISBN 0806515589.
See also
External links
- [Official website]
- [DojoPress]
- [Official Ashida Kim message board]
- [Bullshido: "Ashida Kim's Identity and Black Belt Mill Exposed"]
- [Book review of Ashida Kim's Mugei Mumei no Jitsu]
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