Okay, settle down. Honestly, you're not helping yourself, or Mr Veros by any of this.
I just came across this while searching for Mike Veros. If any of you are still on here, you have grossly misrepresented Mike Veros. I haven't talked to him in over twenty years but the information that is on here is incorrect or incomplete at best.
Then you need to be able to counter and give what you feel is correct information. For the record, you have not done that.
I just signed up, I noticed it said white belt, I'm not a white belt but I didn't see where you change that. Probably appropriate though given my ideas about rank. I have been studying for over 30 years
Yeahā¦ as said, the forum rank is nothing to do with any rank held in the real world, or any particular systemā¦ for a couple of reasons. One is that it's just a fun, martial art-like way of saying who is the more experienced and senior members of the forum (based on post number), another is that we are not arbitrators of people's external ranksā¦ I could come along and claim to be a 28th Danā¦ how does the site recognise that, or verify it? But, more importantly, your rank outside of here is largely besides the pointā¦ your experience can help inform your opinions and views, but that's slightly unrelatedā¦ and the need to have an ego fulfilled by having strangers here acknowledge a rank you may or may not hold in an art we don't train in is not a good sign.
Well first, if you google ancho one of the first pictures you see is of him leaving wright Patterson in I think around 1987. The person standing to his right (left in the picture) is Mike.
You might be best off actually linking the pictureā¦ I, for one, have no idea which one you're talking about. I will say that the date of 1987 doesn't mean much in making your case, thoughā¦ as it was one year later that Mike Veros started the "Yudansha Fighting System"ā¦ which matches with the history that both Tony and Kirk found.
I studied with him and Michael and Brian Johnson. Probably brown belts in that picture and Mark, Desmond, and many others. I think the other person iklawson was referring to was most likely the sensei standing on the other side of professor ancho. Mike was an officer in the air force so he moved a lot but he was a great instructor that really opened my eyes. He taught at Wright Patt Air Force base when I met him and he had a school in Beavercreek, Ohio. He may have been a great businessman but as a young high school kid I never paid more than 38 dollars per month and many times nothing while some of the people who were supposedly pissed were charging 150. He taught military mostly but also kids and it was a great atmosphere. I never heard him say one bad thing about another martial artist. I heard most of the story from one of the students of the so called hand picked students of ancho who challenged me when he found out I was a student of Veros.
So, as a teenager, over 20 years ago, you trained under him for a short time, and he didn't charge you much? And this means that his highly doubtable high Danzan Ryu ranking is perfectly legitimate becauseā¦? The myriad issues on the old website (pity it's no longer up) are not issues, because you, as a 17 year old, enjoyed the class?
As for his skill I would have to say he was at that time a fourth degree black belt in danzan ryu and he was the best I had ever seen. Which maybe wasn't saying much at that time but I had already been studying martial arts for 8 years and he was a very humble and capable teacher that was more interested in helping people learn than rank and praise and fame. At that time he taught many of the military police and local law enforcement as well. He went on to teach military personnel and many others In many states and countries including military personnel from Air Force and Marines and others. He was, at least when I knew him more interested in helping people learn the arts than he was interested in recognition. I remember him even giving me the keys to the dojo when I was around 17 or 18 so I could come in on Sunday and practice. I studied every day for just over a dollar a day
Yeah, all this tells us is that you enjoyed him as a teacher, and found value. Honestly, that's great. Howeverā¦ that does nothing to dissuade any of the issues we found, with Mike's claimed rankings, time in study in Danzan Ryu, or the comments of the other people who knew him. Frankly, whether he gave you the keys, or charged you $500 an hour means nothing in regards to what we are talking about.
The disparaging words I read on here about him from some people. Looked up your videos. He was at least that good when I knew him twenty years ago
In your estimation.
And by the way at least half of the people in anchos picture I think would agree with me. And also professed ancho was teaching at Wright Patterson Air Force base and when he left Mike Veros was still teaching there so I dispute the claim that there were hand picked replacements. It's easy to say that more than ten years after the man died, but that doesn't make it true.
Fellow students would agree that he was "the best they had ever seen"? Really? They may have liked the guy (or not), but one feels that, if they all felt that way, they would have followed him when he started his new thing, yeah?
After my first post I had three emails real fast before I could respond. Nothing to add? I'm sure you are frantically looking for Google info but keep in mind they didn't have google in the 80s so keep in mind most of the best martial artists go unnoticed unless their students are media savvy or promoting themselves.
Dude. It's a world-wide siteā¦ people are asleep, people are at work, and you've resurrected a thread from 4 years ago. Settle.
I would also like to add that the person with the most Google hits or the person that charges the most, or the person with the most knock outs or wins is rarely the best martial artist, fighter, or teacher. Learn what you can from the person you're with and move on to learn some more when they have nothing more to teach you.
I have little to no idea what you think you're saying hereā¦ the guy with the best record and reputation isn't the best, because you all said mean things about the guy I liked?
Really?
Mike Veros moved on because he was in the military. I wish he was still here to teach me. Some of my he other people mentioned are here because their family is here and their business is here. That doesn't make them better martial artists.
Again, this means absolutely nothing.
Look, I get that you want to defend someone you obviously got something of value fromā¦ but you haven't really done anything of the kind. You've said that, over 20 years ago, as a teenager, you trained with Mike for a short time (until he moved due to being in the military), and you think, based on your experience then, that he was good. Okay. But none of that really means anything with regard to the issues brought up.