Shihan Denny Shaffer's
History, Certificates & Awards
  

   Thank you for visiting the history, certificate, and awards portion of our site. This is for the purpose of displaying the rank certifications and awards I have received as student, Sensei and Master. More importantly it will further serve to validate my place in martial arts history for my students; while clearly demonstrating, a legitimate linage. It becomes more and more prudent to do this, as in the absence and passing of our great Masters and Leaders, rank and claims of rank, becomes more blatant.

   Below the awards, is a historical biography, explaining the origin of my rank, my relationship with Bruce Lee, my introduction to Master Harold Long, and the formation of both Nashville and Red Dragon Dojo's.

  Denny Shaffer
 Isshin-ryu; Ku-Dan

 Dragon Sen-I Jutsu, Master; Instructor

Half Circle Ju-jitsi; Sho-dan

Kung Fu Sho-dan

To see the full view of the certificate click on the picture.

My First Contract		Letter from Bruce Lee		Letter from Harold Long

Wado-Ryu Yo-Kyu Certificate 05-13-1965		Wado-Ryu San-Kyu Certificate 10-18-1965		Ni-Dan Certificate 09-01-1967		San-Dan Certificate 01-31-1970

Go-Dan Certificate 02-15-1973		Roku-Dan Certificate 03-26-1977		Shichi-Dan Certificate 11-15-1980

Hachi-Dan Certificate I.I.K.A. 01-09-1999		Hachi-Dan Certificate Order of Isshin-Ryu 07-19-1999		Hachi-Dan Certificate A.O.K.A. 01-15-1999

Ku-Dan Certificate I.I.K.A. 03-24-2001		Sho-Dan Certificate Half-Circle Ju-Jitsu 05-06-2006

Male Competitor of the Year World Karate Union Hall of Fame 06-26-1998		Isshin-Ryu Hall of Fame 1984		Sokeship Hall of Fame 2002

World Karate Union Hall Of Fame 2005		Living Legend from Tatsuo-kan Association 09-28-2002
First Palmetto Leadership Award 2002		Special Honor Guest from Karate 5 04-11-2003
Progressive Martial Arts Alliance 11-13-2004		Warrior Stick Award Master W. Mason (Karate 5) May 2005
Dojo of the Year Isshin-Ryu Hall of Fame August 1999		Dojo of the Year Isshin-Ryu Hall of Fame August 2004
Lifetime Achievement Award Given By: Tatsuo-Kan Association Master Clyde Stanley May 19th, 2007   Hero of Hero's Award Given by Kelly's Hero's April 22, 2006   Symbol Of Independence & Ferocity Given By: Master Wayne Wayland, From The Personal Collection Of Master Rick Niemira (1938-1980) May 19th, 2007

   This history is for the benefit of my students, family or anyone who is interested. It is for the record and defines the historical facts and dates as I remember them, and want them to be remembered. I hope in some way it encourages people who read it, to follow their dream. You will never regret it if you do.
 

   As you can see the long glorious road to the martial arts began for me October 13th 1964. Out of curiosity, I dropped in on a karate school just to watch. I had been to Golden Gloves boxing practice for the team I was to represent, the United Auto Workers. When approached by the instructor during his class break, I was asked if I was interested. I said no, I was already boxing and besides they weren't even really hitting each other. He said if I could hit him before he hit me he would give me a free membership. If he got me first, I would join for a year. He was small and looked very slow. We bowed, I laughed, and he kicked me in the groin. I laid there for quite a while and then asked him, "where do I sign?" The school was owned by Cecil Patterson a really good martial arts man and great guy. I will always count him as one of the most decent people I've ever known in the martial arts. Things changed a lot as My Sifu (Rick Johnson) changed from teaching Dorku-te to Kung fu. Mr. Patterson changed from Shorei to Wado-ryu. He also changed the name of the school to Bushido. There was always turbulence, as Rick and Mr. Patterson didn't get along. So the dojo students were very segregated. Later Rick got thrown in jail for assault, so I started taking Wado. I finally got my green belt in Kung-fu/Wado/Dorku-te/ whatever. I was generally ignored by many of the Wado people due to my earlier Kung-Fu status. The Judo/Jujitsu people were friendly so I trained with them on Saturdays and almost switched over. Once I had to get my roommate to drive me to a tournament in Cleveland, Tennessee, as no one in the dojo bothered to include me. I had never seen a tournament before, much less competed in one. I had no idea what to expect. I saw a white belt named Maurice Msarsa using a lot of sweep kicks. So I though why not!! I won the green belt division winning eight matches. I beat a young Knoxville green belt in the finals named Travis Brassfield. When I got back to the dojo, I was told that I won using overly aggressive street fighting techniques. I didn't know at the time that they were describing an Isshin-ryu fighter. I was also the only one in the school to win anything having eliminated two of the Bushido guys. It somehow didn't make us closer. A couple of weeks later, Rick, who was the best con man I've ever known, talked Mr. Patterson into letting him come back. I then gladly went back into Kung fu and stayed there long enough to get my black belt. Rick did not believe in certificates so it was just his word and my belt. Rick's con artist ability, led him to a friendship with Bruce Lee. Rick some how convinced Bruce that they were going to open a chain of Jeet-Kune Do schools. Bruce flew to Nashville and I picked him up at the airport. He was dressed like Elvis Presley and was the cockiest guy I have ever met. He carried an article with him in his bill fold about taking out three guys on the street. With all that said he was also incredibly likable and had a brilliant mind. He was also everything he thought and said he was and more. His ability was never an exaggeration. We became friends immediately. It didn't take long for him to discover that Rick couldn't finance a hot dog stand. It also didn't take long for him to demonstrate, that he was something special and possessed amazing power and speed in that small body. For two weeks, he killed me every day. Rick pretended to have a bad hip. After an all too short stay, he said a quick good-by, then flew to New York for an audition as Cato on the Green Hornet TV show. He got the part, and as they say, "the rest is history." At the time of his visit in 1965, I had no idea who he was. To me he was just a young guy, a great teacher and an extraordinary martial artist. I saw him as an ambitious, theatrical type guy, who wanted in TV and the movies. My greatest regret is not having one picture of him. And worse yet, not one of he and I. I just simply never gave it a thought that I was in the presence of greatness. I had a couple of other letters from him, but they were lost in my many moves down through the years. He did verify my black belt, but he also didn't believe in certificates or rankings. He told me, "that a certificate was a good thing for cleaning up a mess." After he left, Rick dropped out of existence and I never heard from him again. Earlier he and I had matched in the dojo and due to my work with Bruce I was far better than he was. He got mad and I had to lay him out to protect myself. Our relationship virtually ended there. He was also asked to leave the school permanently. With no options, I went back into Wado-ryu and got as high as brown belt. I wasn't happy at the dojo as I always felt like an outsider and "Kung-Fu person". I was doing some private teaching at peoples homes and decided that, that was my calling. I left with a couple of other guys and started teaching in a garage. Some of the Bushido people harassed me, made threats on the phone, and left some on my car window. They said that I wasn't a black belt and had no right to be anywhere teaching. After trying to just ignore it, I finally called Mr. Patterson and asked him, if I could hold my own with his best guy, would he recognize me and get his guys off my back. He said yes, and sent over a guy named Jimmy (using his first name only). Jimmy was very good, but I did well enough for Mr. Patterson to keep his promise. They then invited us to a tournament in Chattanooga. In the invitation someone had underlined, before putting it in my mail box, wear "CLEAN WHITE GI'S." I took it as an insult and told the guys (who were already called the dirty dozen) (only Phil McElroy remains from that original group), to dye their gi's black. We ruined several machines at the local Wishy Washy. That was the name. You can't make this stuff up. . . . . . I had earlier written Bruce about what was going on and he wrote me back immediately (see letter above), and then called me. He wasn't overjoyed that we were going to a tournament but said, "don't act like you don't belong there. Don't let them intimidate you or your students. If they do, hit them in the mouth. There are lots of ways to make a reputation." Words I've always lived by. We went to the tournament and did really well. . . Well everyone except me. I got my butt kicked as did everyone else in the black belt division by students of a guy named; HAROLD LONG. . . . . . . . It was obvious that we were rag tag and very non-traditional in our black gi's and eclectic style. . I realized that I had to hook us up with someone who could really help us. So I approached Master Long and asked if he would be interested in me and my guys as students. Without hesitation, he said, "yes, but that I had to be there once a week". He knew I lived two hundred miles away, but that was his plan. I said, sir, I live in Nashville. He said, "well sir!!, that's your problem isn't it??" I can't say after that, I was surprised by what he would put me through later. He once kicked me out for being fifteen minutes late to class. When I told him it had iced over in Crossville and made it tough to get there, he asked me if I would rather be a weather man and to hit the road. I waited in the snow, like the little match girl for him to go to lunch. He wouldn't talk to me then, but did when he returned. I had to stay over night, clean up the dojo twice, and teach his cop class. After some of the stories those guys told me about him, I figured that I got off easy. He initially re-confirmed my Kung-fu rank and made me an associate member (see letter above). He copied Mr. Patterson and Bruce. I never heard anything from Bruce after that. I regretted loosing him as an ally and adviser, but I gained so much more. After about two visits, I fully converted to Isshin-ryu. Master Long opened up a whole new life and world for me and many others. A life to this day that we are still benefiting from.
 

   Over the years from my old Nashville school, I have directly trained or through my linage produced six Isshin-Ryu Hall of Fame Members (Phillip McElroy, Jim McDonald, Butch Hill, David Gabbard, Kelly Markham and Sandra Strong) as well as numerous Masters, national champions, I.I.K.A. board members and over 200 black belts. Other earlier highlights of my career have been winning the First International Isshin-Ryu Grand Championship, as well as 25 other state and regional titles. I was an original board member of the I.I.K.A. and served as Vice President. I also served as Vice Chairman of the Isshin-Ryu Hall of Fame and was for three years the Emcee of the H.O.F. annual awards banquet.
 

   People who I personally promoted to black belt that were responsible for building the Nashville School are: Phil McElroy, Ron Hutchings, Roy Vaughne, Jim McDonald, Jim Lindsey, Gary Earhart, Tony Hood, Dennis Martin, Vince Hicks and Jimbo Butler. There were several key people who were kyu's under me (and later became great Dan's under Phil McElroy), who went on to play key and leading rolls in the Nashville story. These were; Butch Hill, David Gabbard, Trice Fasig, Randall Butler, Jeff Sanders, Tony Williams and Sandra Strong. Kelly Markham did not receive his Dan from Nashville but was there long enough to make a contribution, and we will always consider him one of us.
 

   I moved to Anderson, South Carolina in 1977. As my business and family demands grew, my participation in the Nashville school became less and less. In fairness to the working sensei's, I gave the school to Roy Vaughne, for day to day operations, and Phil McElroy as head Sensei in 1984. In 1985, I became president of Holiday Health and Fitness Centers. I had direct responsibility for sixteen locations in five states, with indirect responsibilities and partnership in three hundred more. This, plus family obligations, left no time to participate in Isshin-ryu to the standard I expected from myself. In 1985, I formally resigned my position on the I.I.K.A. and Hall of Fame Boards. Although I did occasional seminars in Nashville for my former group and stayed in touch till 1989, most my Martial Arts activities were confined to teaching self defense courses in my fitness locations. This continued until July of 1995, when I was asked by a group of members in the Anderson Fitness Center, to teach them Isshin-ryu. Reluctant to become just semi involved again, I agreed to do it, but, free of charge. I warned them that I only knew one way teach. I started with fourteen. When the matching started, I wouldn't allow any protective equipment. Most of the students were cops and didn't seem to mind. Although I had virtually been inactive for some time, I matched each one, every class. At the end of two months, I had three left. At this point I had left my parent company and bought back some of my former locations. My time being more my own, I decided to jump back into Isshin-ryu heart and soul. As the class grew back to twenty five, I asked for the help of David Gabbard, Tony Williams and Butch Hill. With their enormous input, I began to create a very competitive group of students. Simultaneously, I was allowing myself to be retrained by anyone and everyone like a rookie black belt. So much information had come out during my absence I had a lot of catching up to do. So I did what needed to be done. Along with attending every seminar on Jujitsu, grappling, kata, bunkai, Pankration and weapons, I additionally sought out what I considered the best and asked for their help. Masters Willie Wilson, Butch Hill, Clyde Stanley and James Ogle were my Jujitsu and grappling mentors. Kata and bunkai mentor was, David Gabbard. Weapons mentor was Masters Butch Hill. Also a great deal of help was Master Toby Cooling. His was the first shiai and black belt testing I witnessed after my return. It helped me set the standards for my dojo. Kumite mentors were Master David Gabbard and Sensei Tony Williams. If there was any advantage to beginning again, learning so many new things, and relearning the old, at age fifty-six, it was the fact that due to business success, I was retired. As I have said many times, "It gave me everyday, all day, to learn and train. The first two years nearly killed me, but what a way to go!"
 

   By 1999 the Red Dragon School of Isshin-ryu won "Dojo of the Year" at the annual Isshin-ryu Hall of Fame banquet and tournament. The Red Dragon School has gone on to produce many fine black belts and a number of other outstanding awards from Isshin-ryu associations and martial arts Halls of Fame. The Red Dragons have also distinguished themselves in tournaments, averaging thirty trophies per tournament. They have developed a well deserved reputation for their fighting spirit, their unity, and popularity among other Masters and Isshin-ryu leaders. Each year the Dragons host an "invitation only" Dragon Jam. This consist of a shiai and seminars by ranking, still working, Masters. Attending are what the Dragons believe to be, the top Isshin-ryu fighters, Sensei's and working Masters in the country. In 2004 the commercial school was closed and the Dragons moved into a fitness center. This was done to keep students to a minimum without financial concerns. It has enabled us to fully concentrate on training with people who really want to be there. It is a back to basics and hard core training dojo. I still know only one way to teach. And that is; with me participating and demanding the same standard of excellence from myself, as I do my students. This is my definition of the" Working Master" title, that applies to other masters and sensei's that do the same. In 2006 I accepted a position on the Isshin-ryu Halll of Fame board and as an advisor to the IIKA.
 

   In January 2007 I formally announced a new system of Street fighting called, Dragon Sen- I Jutsu, that I have been working on for some time.  It is defined as situational combat and is a system that we will be training on and perfecting along with our Isshin-ryu style. For a full description see past article on Sen-I Jutsu in the, ”articles and commentary” portion of the page. In December of the same year All of my black belts earned their sho-dan In Sen-I Jutsu. I could never adequately explain the amount of work that went in to this promotion. I have never had a group work so hard on anything. They had been training for a few years already on the individual assets, Isshin-ryu, jujitsu, Kung Fu, boxing, grappling and chin-na, but putting it all together in one systematic system, took a lot of work and dojo time.  
 

   At the same time, a “Dragon Forever,” red tab is awarded to outstanding people in and out of our dojo (see Dragon Tab section).
 

   In April of 2008, I resigned as advisor to the International Isshin-ryu  Karate Association, to accept a board position with The Harold Long foundation and to pursue a greater range of martial arts training (cross train). There was a need to have a vehicle specifically and for the sole purpose of perpetuating the memory and legacy of Mr. Long. As this foundation depends solely on contributions, a support group was formed by Master Joe Laney and I, to help finance the Foundation. It is called; The Isshin-ryu Cross-Training Alliance. It is for the purpose of  teaching and training in related martial arts that enhance the art of Isshin-ryu. It is physically supported by some of the finest all round martial artist in the country (see info on this site) and uses all revenues from it’s activities for the support of the Harold Long Foundation.
 

   Please also see the instructor’s page to view the people who have given so much of their time and effort to the Red Dragon School of Martial Arts. In 2005, I cut the class down to about twelve to fifteen warrior-like souls to develop the new system and prevent and distractions from people who waste every ones time. This group becomes more special every time I train with them. How I have been blessed again in Anderson, with so many quality people after the first blessing in Nashville is beyond me. All I know is, it motivates and challenges me to do my best to teach every class like it might be my last one.