Was Elvis a Real Red Belt in Kempo?

[WaylonMercy5150]

That's Elvis throwing his signature kick.

He spent nearly 4 years training with 3rd degree black belt Ed Parker. He earned his way to a red belt.

Quick combos

Killer instinct

Takedown defense

Ruthless

Fury

Power

Well what do you think? Was Elvis real good at karate?

 

[lsa]

and he still died on the toilet.

 

[genecop]

O yes, he trained with Seagal..

 

[BisexualMMA]

Looks like he at least has the power to knock out Jonathan Goulet.

 

[El_Dyablo619]

Chocolate Al approves

 

[SSgt Dickweed]

Elvis hated Robert Goulet.

 

[gondo]

I’m sure he earned a red belt just not from martial arts

 

[sh1tehawke]

My old sensei sparred with him once. Said he was legit.

 

[MadSquabbles500]

I thought his song Jail House Rock was about an MA that evolved in prisons like 52 Blocks.

 

[RollSonnenRoll]

The King is wearing UFC gold with 8 months training

 

[Tone C]

If I remember correctly he was a genuine black belt but the red belt was given as an acknowledgement of the work he did in promoting the martial arts in his films, not because of his exceptional skills or time devoted to training.

Also in his later/fatter years he had 2 belts stitched together...


This is from a magazine article from 30 or so years ago I'm recalling though. Mind you I remember things like that and can't remember where I put my keys, so...

 

[Bacco]

A-level singer ufc hw champ with 6 months of training

 

[SmilinDesperado]

He looks drunk in those gifs.
Is getting wasted the secret to being a kempo master?

 

[King Koopa]

Regardless of how legit he actually was. It is pretty damn respectable for someone like Elvis to even go out of his way to put on the gi and learn some sort of martial arts and putting in the dedication. Especially back then.

 

[TheLinguist]

Gonna go out on a limb and assume Elvis had a very good basic foundation of what martial arts are and how to apply techniques/self control when needed.

His admiration of martial arts was second to maybe only Bruce Lee

 

[Dolomite]

Sad how fucked up he looks in those gifs.

I was never a fan of The King until I was by Graceland one day and, on a whim, I took the tour.

All I learned is that when you get right down to it: Big E was just a big kid from down South trying his best to make people happy.

ETA: I remember that they had his karate uniform on display in one of those insanely huge glass boxes. Looked tiny - like something a 12-year old would wear - maybe it was just the way they had it laid out.

ETA2: HO! WTF! https://store.graceland.com/products/elvis-presley-replica-karate-gi

 

[lsa]

If I remember correctly he was a genuine black belt but the red belt was given as an acknowledgement of the work he did in promoting the martial arts in his films, not because of his exceptional skills or time devoted to training.

Also in his later/fatter years he had 2 belts stitched together...


This is from a magazine article from 30 or so years ago I'm recalling though. Mind you I remember things like that and can't remember where I put my keys, so...

Thats kinda impressive.
Imagine not only being that fat but actually owning it and getting 2 belts stitched together.

 

[Long Dark Blues]

He looks like absolute dog shit in those gifs.

I doubt it.

 

[therealdope]

He looks drunk in those gifs.
Is getting wasted the secret to being a kempo master?

I was going to say pilled up.

 

[Metusalemi]

He had the pelvis for it.