GKR Karate , An Incident and a Warning

[green_god 10]

I get the impression that GKR among the Martial Arts world, is kind of like the spotty ginger haired kid, that never quite fitted in at school no matter how hard he tried.

[Protekt 10]

I see GKR a bit like a school bully, it tries to screw as much money out of the un-informed as possible, before they find out about real martial arts club training and fees.

[magicbandit 10]

GKR is the biggest con in the world..

 

They brainwash all the 'employees' into working for free or next to nothing.

Although they are not 'employees' they are classed as self-employed distributors so GKR can AVOID the tax man (words of the regional manager).

 

They are breaking all employment laws by stipulating the working week of the "Self Defence Consultant" with 10 hour days involving meetings, training, door knocking etc.

This is clearly the structure of an employed position so how can they catergorise it as 'self-employed'.

 

If you were working for GKR in this capacity you could easily take them to a tribunal, who would rule that you are classed as employed. This is despite the fact that you sign an agreement stating your not employed..

(also my agreement was wrong.. it stated it was between me and GKR karate admin services LLB, however the company number relates to GKR Karate UK Ltd - so this is invalid anyway haha)

 

In summary this is NOT a martial arts school it is a pyramid selling scheme designed to make money for the man at the top.

 

Also they are currently being investigated by HMCR..

Feel free to phone them if you wish to complain (you don't even have to give your name)

 

Tel 0845 60 55 999 or 0161 9308445

[Ghostrider 11]

Just been to see my ex wife and she told me they have been in her area - saying she and my daughter could be black belts in 6 months....not bad for a 7 year old

 

Told her about this thread, so im gonna print it off and show her.....

[GSJoinery 10]

i'd like too sign up for the laugh, but they never ask me:(

[sugarray 10]

I studied wado ryu stile karate for 12 years and achieved first dan black belt after five years. I went to watch a GKR grading last sunday at risley Nr Derby and wasn't very impressed with the standard of black belt grades and the way karate was being taught. GKR originates from australia and stands for GO KAN RYU which is an anagrham of KAN GO RYU Kangaroo, i think this stile is a p**s take of traditional karate and a money making scam. The grading i witnessed was more like a training course as students were being taught technique rather than demonstrating it to achieve their grades.

[Time 10]

I train with gkr and have done for the last two years!! So i suppose this makes me one of the SAD people out there??

I found your comment to be quite rude, also your threatening behaviour towards those who disagree with you to be no better than that of those in which you are commenting about!!

I agree that the situation could have been handled better, and i also agree that there seems to be more of a personal problem between the instructors of gkr and those in which were asked to close.

But you cannot pass judgement against gkr as a whole based on the behaviour of just two people!!

Gkr seems to get alot of bad press, mostly from those who dont seem to know anything about gkr other than what they have read.

I was a sempai for gkr when i was a lower grade, i assisted in teaching those who were around the same grade as myself or lower still. Helped with the signing in of students and looking after the children in the class. I gave up being a sempai due to lack of my own confidence and wanted to concentrate on my own training. Since being with gkr i have made lots of friends, the atmosphere is generally a friendly one. Along the way as some people progress towards there black belts, some get a boost of there ego and can develop an attitude.But not all!!

Gkr is a non contact sports, but you are still likely to optain injuries at some stage during your training! Gkr does state this to their students. Everyone is learning and during the learning process people make mistakes. During kumite you are within close range of another fellow student, blocking and striking, you are bound to get bashed around from time to time. I cant understand how someone could break there arm though, im assuming it was due to negligence on either her partners behalf or her own.

With most things, gkr is either for you or not!! Students come and go of there own will. If they find its helping them in some way they will continue to come back and if they find its not for them they can leave. Alot of students that leave gkr before they reach the goal of black belt normally return at some point down the line anyway.

My point is, gkr is not as bad as you make it out to be.... its certainly helped me gain confidence, fitness etc. non contact does not necessaily mean you will not get hurt, why do you think you need the necessary protective gear? they wont let you train without it!! non contact just means unlike some styles we dont literally punch each others lights out lol chefs you need to chill your bean

 

Morning all,

 

i have been a student and also worked for gkr, as a student you can grade when you have handed over sufficient amount of cash even if you have no idea what the hell you are doing let alone the kata. I found that the gradings only got harder at red but by that time you have spent so much money and time that you carry on cos you dont know any better.

 

As for the occult/pyramid scheme these losers offer you all have valid points but to be straight, 100% commission based, no expenses of any kind, motivational speeches that make you feel like your in a low budget karate film, being told that you should read this and that based on self motivation, you must work weekends to reach your targets, the fast track training you revive is based on whether you reach your targets and YES i have come across 3 orange belts disguised by that pointless black and white belt, and they all seem to think they are the cream...................DONT WORK OR TRAIN WITH GKR

[tunny 10]

hi, i joined this website just to say this.....

 

i saw an ad in my local paper for a "self defence consultant"

im like wow thats the most perfect job in the world to me so i ring up and get an interview.

go round to this guys house do the interview and he explains what a self defence consultant does... hes basically "self Employed" door to door sales man for karate, i start thinking to myself this doesnt sound right to me. but i go along with it for the time being till i can do some research.

so this guy rings me up and says ive got the job, "great" i think, but then notice he slips in that i need being 35 pound tomorrow for my uniform and stuff, before i even do a shift.

so i start thinking to myself this just sounds like pyramid selling to me. i mean they try make it sound really good that people cant come watch there lessions first, but i know that i would never join a martial arts club till i had been and seen how good it was.

so i decieded to do alot of research on this till i went any further and heard loads and loads of bad stuff about it

firstly what i thought was confirmed that it is infact a form of "pyramid selling" which btw is illegal!!

i read loads and loads of stuff from SDC's and how they were working for little to no money doing long hours of the day

then about how they are confrontational with people at door to door selling, then also about how poor there style of MA's is, and how they get low grades a "black and white" belt teaching, so i went and checked some videos out on youtube and find there own promo vids and see how poor there martial arts is.

 

so basically they recruit ppl to be a door to door sales person, by telling them they are a self defence consultant, let you watch a video telling you how you can earn loads and loads of money. then once you get this job they give you a script to read charge you money for equipment, then let you earn very little for recruiting people to there club, promisinig you that you can be a regional manager in 2 years, he also tells me that i dont have to pay tax because im working in sports (i dont know if this is legal or not) they get around paying you so little by it being "self Employed" therefore they dont have to even pay you minimum wage or even anything at all. and tell you if you dont get many people its because you arnt very good at your job. they then give you a very basic product for your and other peoples money. giving kids miss self belief that they can protect them selfs and getting there heads smashed, although they say the first thing to do in self defence is to run...

when i confronted the guy about this after alot of arguing,he said it wasnt pyramid selling as he used to work in pyramid selling.....lol

 

Basically its pyramid selling and im extremly annoyed because i thought it was my chance at a dream job, pyramid selling is illegal, and i just wanted to say to people that if youve had bad expereince with this GKR karate you should report them to trading standards as i have

[chopper-bob 10]

 

Gkr seems to get alot of bad press, mostly from those who dont seem to know anything about gkr other than what they have read.

 

I agree cazzie, it does! Which is why I have joined this forum and STRONGLY advice anyone wanting to know the TRUTH about GKR should visit this facebook group: facebook.com/groups/63028401043 - The Real face of GKR - and speak to the rapidly growing number people who have experienced GKR first hand. And there are people on both sides...but your conclusions will undoubtedly be "there's no smoke without fire"!

[Jacob Sheff 10]

Well I was offered an interview at Crystal Peaks with Go kan Ru - but I just couldn't bring myself to join such a discredited organisation.

 

You've got to have integrity - haven't you?

[bfletch61 10]

ive been with GKR for around 2 year then they moved so i didnt have another club to go to so ive been looking for one and now theyve come to bradway-sheffield and they are really good teachers but the only thing i had to pay for way my life time member ship which is a gold sign in card so i can go whenever i want i think now thats around £50 whcih is not bad for a life time

[ALittleItch 10]

Morning all,

 

i have been a student and also worked for gkr, as a student you can grade when you have handed over sufficient amount of cash even if you have no idea what the hell you are doing let alone the kata. I found that the gradings only got harder at red but by that time you have spent so much money and time that you carry on cos you dont know any better.

 

As for the occult/pyramid scheme these losers offer you all have valid points but to be straight, 100% commission based, no expenses of any kind, motivational speeches that make you feel like your in a low budget karate film, being told that you should read this and that based on self motivation, you must work weekends to reach your targets, the fast track training you revive is based on whether you reach your targets and YES i have come across 3 orange belts disguised by that pointless black and white belt, and they all seem to think they are the cream...................DONT WORK OR TRAIN WITH GKR

 

I too have worked for GKR and also been a student. I totally agree. The speel they give you when you invite them in is nothing but purely rehearsed and designed to trick you into buying. "SO you said you're interested in Karate? Just sign here". Next thing you're reaching for your cash and after they have left you get the feeling you have been conned.