A lot of Elvis fans might have known that aside from being a great performer he was also a very talented martial artist. Those that would go ahead and naysay this would immediately get on the bade side of any that would stick up for the king, and there were many in fact that would do so. The truth of it is that Elvis put a good amount of time into his training and was very skilled. He wasn’t immune to the rumors of being a tough guy on paper but in truth he was very skilled since he’d been through a great deal of training and was very interested in bringing martial arts into the mainstream.
His seventh-degree black belt is perhaps the most controversial aspect of his training since at the time he couldn’t be moved up that far since his instructor, Kang Rhee, wasn’t at a high enough level to promote him. Once Kang Rhee was advanced however Elvis managed to earn the seventh-degree black belt that he’d wanted. The reason this is so controversial to some people is that it happened fairly quickly and Elvis gifted Rhee a new Cadillac not long after attaining his goal. Whether there was something to talk about or not doesn’t really matter at this point but people still want to talk and for some reason claim that Elvis wasn’t as great as people seem to think. It honestly seems kind of pitiful to try and dishonor a man that 1) has been for so long, 2) was an icon in his time no matter his faults, and 3) definitely earned his respect since he did put in the time and effort it took to get as good as he was. Elvis was probably never bound to be a movie tough guy like we have today, but back in his day he was known to be one of the more skilled opponents on the mat when he decided to get down.
Ever since his death, and yes people Elvis is unfortunately deceased, the King has been subjected to a great many rumors and defamatory remarks, articles, and other various forms of media. This isn’t designed to be one of them, as the details of his involvement in martial arts are real enough, and are interesting enough to think of what might have happened if he’d survived to this day. It’s hard to know if he would have kept up with it or if he would have gone fully into his role as an entertainer and left the world of martial arts behind. One could only hope such a thing wouldn’t happen since martial arts are a useful and in some cases very needed skill. It seems fair to state that he might have continued to practice but might not have been as sharp as possible.
In any case the King was in fact a very adept martial artist and was not a fake in any sense of the word. It can be agreed that he got a bad rep thanks to those that were being given black belts without having the necessary skill, but Elvis was the real deal.
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