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History of Grand Master O. E. Simon |
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1970’s In approximately 1971 Ed Parker awarded Olaf Simon an Eighth Degree Black Belt.
“Ed Parker awarded me an Eighth Degree Black Belt at the time as a courtesy simply due to the fact that I lectured in all of his classes for quite some time, spending sometimes up to three or four days in a row with about two or three hundred students.”
It was sometime after this that Olaf Simon and Ed Parker had a major falling out of their own. There is much speculation as to why this happened but some say it had to do with Olaf publishing his book "Law of the Fist" in 1969. This is because Ed Parker claims he had published a similarly titled book "Law of the Fist and the Empty Hand" in 1960 and he felt Olaf had plagiarized his title & writings without any compensation or acknowledgement.
Whatever happened, their relationship was forever soured. It would seem that O. E. Simon always had issues with trusting people, but whether it became worse after this incident we do not know. This may partially explain why so many of his Masters in the years to follow parted company with Simon as they got close to his "inner" circle. It was around this time that Olaf started using the title Grand Master.
“The Title Grand Master most likely could apply to anyone who has made a name for himself over maybe half a century... I was first Grand Master in North America. After I called myself a Grand Master everybody was one or they became one. I think there are a lot of hoodlums in this art and that there are a lot of very fine people in it. But the old masters are dying out and even I, I mean I am close to 70 now. I am on the way out. But the Grand Master most likely comes from the relentless performance and the international reputation I acquired over 50 years being a part of -- as refereeing world championships. I refereed many. I refereed Bruce Lee's matches. Chuck Norris, I fought Chuck Norris, and Chuck Norris lost when I fought with him. I entered the Master Tournament in the United States and the Masters approached me that I should not do so because they don't enter any longer. It was a conflict of interest. We should let the students make the name for themselves and not me. I was very much in need to get a reputation because really I was very much aware that I didn't have any paperwork. And the struggle here in North America, the Japanese were very much in opposition to Kung Fu people. And when they said Kung Fu is garbage it has no power I rented the university hall here in Edmonton and gave a three-hour performance. And I had about six tons of ice brought there, and I set a world record here in destroying ice. And the idea was ice because ice cannot be melted or tampered with. We can tamper with bricks. We can heat them, crack them, pre-crack them, but ice is a matter which cannot be tampered with. Once a person heats it, it melts. Once you carve it, it shows lines through it. So I went through this, and once and for all I had an international press here. And I showed that I was a Kung Fu master in my own right. That was the power of the art and then later I established the skill of the art. These were two different concepts. And after that I thought I deserved the title Grand Master because a Grand Master is also a person who totally devises his own style.”
It was during the 70’s that the names of his schools changed from "Simon's Karate" to "Simon's Kung Fu" and then finally to "Temple Kung Fu". This was over a period of approx one year when the schools went from being amateur clubs to professional.
“Because we couldn't afford the costly leases.”
He apparently had many problems with the local Karate (“Japanese”) schools when he changed the title from “Simons Karate” to “Simons Kung-Fu”. He told several stories over the years of how the local Karate Masters in Edmonton would regularly show up at his studio and challenge him. They were upset because he was now a “Chinese” school, they felt it was good for business if Simon supported their style but when he changed to Kung-Fu they were very annoyed. He never backed down from these challenges and thus established the origins of his skill being from a Chinese style. He claims that the original schools were actually always called ‘Simons “Chinese” Karate” using a Chinese Character in the logo, thus the origins never changed, only peoples perceptions. Ironically it was these same Karate schools that challenged him years earlier when Simon's Karate began to grow in popularity and they felt he was bad for business. Again the story goes that he readily handled the first few challengers and the rest of the "Karate" community left him alone. Truth or Myth? A group of Chinese Masters came to North America specifically to seek out Grand Master Simon. They had heard of this “White” man with great skill teaching an authentic Kung-Fu style (White Tiger?). Upon meeting Mr. Simon they awarded him a document signed by contemporary Kung-Fu Masters from China confirming his authenticity. This account has been repeated by at least two different Masters of past and present TKF and both claim to have seen this document in Grand Master Simons house. Perhaps this is where the “23rd Succession Shaolin-Ssu” comes from?
(without prejudice) |
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