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Elvis In Karate Hall Of Fame

June 05, 2005 | People
Elvis Presley was devoted to the study of martial arts and is considered the first person to display martial arts in a Hollywood movie and he was even producing what would have been the first docu-movie delving into the origins of the ancient art.

The Kings commitment to the martial arts has now garnered Elvis, who rose to the position of an eight-degree black belt, a place in the Martial Arts Hall of Fame in New York.

Elvis is to receive the "In Memory Of Award". Elvis will join forces with other legends of martial arts, including Chuck Norris, Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee.

Everett Dutschke, lead instructor at Tupelo Taekwondo Plus will represent Tupelo at the induction ceremony in the Big Apple and former Tennessee congressman Harold Ford of Memphis will represent that city, home to Elvis' Graceland mansion.

Duplicate awards will also be presented for placement at Graceland and the Elvis Presley Birthplace and Museum in Tupelo. Dutschke said "I think it's long overdue. I've been lobbying hard, because this is good for Tupelo. It's probably just being done now because nobody asked before."
Source:The Elvis Express
caseyiodine wrote on June 05, 2005
4 hall of fames for the king. That is a nice honor.
thekingisalive wrote on June 05, 2005
Actually, Casey, this is the King’s fifth hall of fame, the other four being the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame, and the Blues Hall of Fame.
tigerpawl wrote on June 06, 2005
I am really suprised but delighted about this. Because a lot of martial art enthusiast that I have talked to believe Elvis paid for his eight degree black belt. But what is the In Memory Of Award?
trent wrote on June 06, 2005
It is nice and an honor to see him in another hall of fame listing however, I do not belive he was the first to introduce martial arts in a hollywood film. The movie Blood and Sand 1945 with James Cagney had him performing Judo in the film. The fight scenes were authentic and Cagney was a decent fighter. He not only was able to genuinely execute judo techniques but was also proficient at boxing. Elvis's nautral enthusiasm for the arts is admirable and should be recognized. He also helped middleweight full contact fighter Bill "Superfoot" Wallace in recovering from an injury back in the 70's. As an interesting sidenote,BlackBelt Magazine also mentioned that he was interested in proposing Kickboxing/ full contact Karate into the Olympics.
Fakeelvis1 wrote on June 08, 2005
Someone mentioned that Elvis bought his eighth degree black belt. Why do people even listen to jealous rumors like this? Obviously, Elvis was great at karate & was very involved with the martial arts community & a lot of the top instructors in the world. Do you really think these honorable men are going to sell a high ranking belt to anyone??? Everyone in Hollywood would own one, if that were true. After your first couple of black belt rankings, you then get promotions, due to what you do to promote the sport. Don`t insult Elvis` memory or the integrity of martial arts by believing and / or spreading these false stories around.
pasa-ryu wrote on June 21, 2005
well,its about time they gave elvis the recognition he deserves!..i always said elvis was a real black-belt!..this proves it once and for all...well done elvis.