Elvis & Karate

"It's not just self defense, it's about...self control, body discipline, and mind discipline...and breath techniques. It involves yoga. It involves meditation. It's an art, not a sport." - Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley and Ed Parker circa 1974.

If you're a fan of Elvis Presley, you are well aware of the fact that the man had many obsessions in his life. Elvis would go through phases where he would become completely invested in a topic and would stop at nothing to ensure he knew everything about it. In the 1960s, he embarked on a spiritual journey to find the reasons for his extraordinary gift in life. In He went on a gun-buying and police badge spree in the early 1970s. Elvis' fascination with karate dates back to the late 1950s, when he was stationed in Germany. In this discussion post, I'll discuss how he became interested in karate, how skilled he was in it, and the rumor that he was a 7th degree black belt.

Elvis began studying martial arts while in the US Army in Germany from 1958 to 1960. He met a man named Jürgen Siedel, who is considered to be the "father of German karate." While on vacation to Paris, Elvis privately trained with Japanese Tetsuji Murakami, a resident of Paris who was also one of Japan's top Shotokan stylists. When he returned to Memphis, he trained with Henry Slomanski, a Shito-ryu fighter with a military background. In 1960, Elvis met with Ed Parker, the father of American Kempo karate, and his passion for martial arts was further fueled. A lifelong friendship formed. between the two men. In his book "Inside Elvis, which was released in 1978, Parker wrote,"Elvis spoke without hesitation of his love for the martial arts. Singing was his first love; the martial arts ran a close second." Elvis would train with Parker, and would go onto become his most famous student.

Of Karate, Elvis himself said, "It's not just self defense, it's about...self control, body discipline, and mind discipline...and breath techniques. It involves yoga. It involves meditation. It's an art, not a sport." On a personal note, I believe that Elvis was genuinely interested about the art of martial arts, especially in the early stages of him learning it. I've read opinions about how people believe Elvis was an amateur at Karate based on videos of him practicing in the 1970s. From my research, I think he was quite skilled at it, and enjoyed the philosophical aspects that it offered. According to Parker, Elvis wanted to develop his own style of karate, an Americanized version of it that used the English language. His plan was never put into action.

Elvis began training with Master Kang Rhee, a Korean born black belt Pasarysu instructor, from 1970 to 1974. They first met when Elvis visited his Shoyrun school in Memphis, which Ed Parker recommended. Rhee recalled, "Our style appealed to Elvis because it was so different (from kempo), with lots of punching and kicking. Pasaryu combines karate, kung fu, and tae kwon do. Elvis was searching for action and he found it here. He also really enjoyed the Oriental philosophy and discipline." He was the one who had given Elvis his karate name "Tiger".

Wayne Carman, who also trained at Kang Rhee's school, has fond memories of his time Elvis. It was he whom resurrected the film project "The New Gladiators". Elvis financed the film, but the project never was finished for unclear reasons. The footage can be seen in the 1981 "documentary-biopic" This is Elvis and on YouTube.

Elvis and Bill "Superfoot" Wallace in 1974.

Bill "Superfoot" Wallace, who taught at Elvis' Memphis school, can be seen in some of the footage online. When Wallace had injured his left knee in a 1973 tournament, Elvis had an Los Angeles acupuncturist come to Graceland to heal the injury. He believes that Elvis' help saved his career. Of his time with Elvis, Wallace says "We had a ball. You couldn’t hit him in the body or face because he had to be able to sing. I understood that. I still respected him and his abilities.”

Now, I want to give my two cents of Elvis' Karate abilities. I think that Elvis has been harshly criticized for his karate skills because of the "The New Gladiators" footage. I have watched it, and while I love and respect Elvis, he appears to have been under the influence of some type of medication. It was 1974 and we now know that Elvis' intake of prescription drugs was increasing at this point. He does not look well. However, it just isn't fair to judge his karate capabilities on this footage because he wasn't in a write state of mind. We never had the change to see for ourselves if he was legitimately skilled in the art of Karate when he was in his prime, but we have many stories from people that knew him.

This brings up another question: Did Elvis Presley really deserve his 8th degree black belt or did he even earn this rank? I would have to say that the rank was possibly an honorary one. I myself am not familiar with how one is ranked when black belts are earned, so I'm just stating my opinion. Elvis certainly respected the martial arts enough to incorporate some moves in his concert performances in the 1970s. If people who attended those shows weren’t that familiar with Karate, they most likely became interested when they saw Elvis doing it on stage. So, do I think that he was a credible black belt? Most certainly. Do I believe that he was a master at karate? I'm going to say no. One thing for certain is that Elvis Presley's love for the martial arts was second only to his music.

What are your thoughts on Elvis' martial arts skills? Leave a comment below!