Elvis Presley Gladiators Project 1974
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 ก.ย. 2024
- In July 1974, Elvis founded the Tennessee Karate Institute (TKI). It was run by Red West and Bill Wallace.
In September 1974, Elvis was planning to finance, and be involved with a documentary movie on the martial arts. This footage was shot with the intention of it being a part of that project. By the end of the year Elvis had had a change of heart about the project and it was never taken any further.
This footage was shot at the TKI and at Kang Rhee's school. There is conjecture about whether it was all shot on the same day or over two days a week apart. Jerry Schilling says it was all from 16th September 1974.
The narration is by Wayne Carman. He is the author of "Elvis's Karate Legacy" 1998.
Elvis' TCB Oath
More self-respect, more respect for fellow man, respect for fellow students and instructors, respect for all styles and techniques. Body conditioning, mental conditioning, meditation for calming and stilling of the body. Sharpen your skills, increase mental awareness for all those who might choose a new outlook and personal philosophy, and freedom from competition.
This footage comes from the Madacy Entertainment DVD called Elvis Presley Gladiators, which was released in 2009 and was only available for a short time.
Wow I was there as a Kid I remember. I still keep in touch with Mr. Wallace my inspiration.
Grand Master James Gonzalez. I remember Mary Kang Rhee Assistant very nice lady.
I met Wayne Carman in Memphis, TN in 1998. He had a display at the hotel where the Images of Elvis contest was held. My brother and I both had black belts in a different martial art, and Mr. Carman let us watch this movie -- prior to release -- and he also let me wear Elvis's 8th Degree Black Belt. :)
Bill Wallace has such insane control over his kicks.
Comment to comments below. Guys, this is a different time. I trained in Kenpo karate from the same linage in that time frame. That is what Kenpo looked like at that time. It was mostly point fighting, and demo orientated. Kenpo looked this way when they did their techniques. It was whippy, fast, and confident. That is what Bruce Lee changed. HE changed all martial arts in that time frame. Now Kenpo looks very different. Elvis, was Elvis, he set his own dress code and standards. This you need to get. Elvis could do what he wanted because he was Elvis. He loved martial arts, and promoted it whenever he could.YOu can not expect a celebrity like Elvis, do get down and dirty. GET REAL! Bill Wallace is one the greats of his time. He was there cause he loved it and wanted to promote it. The world is much different now in perspective of martial arts.Guys just enjoy that you can see Elvis Presley in this was in this time.Yes, his health was failing, but he was a great, great man. He does not owe anybody anything guys. He is the greatest!!if you watch Ed Parker, the grand master of Kenpo, he moves, about the same. That's kenpo.30 years from now, guys are going be laughing on how we do our martial arts now. it is always evolving.People don't realize, he was sick, and on medication, and yet still gets criticized. Today everywhere you look, you will see people far more overweight. Elvis was Human too. Cut him some slack.
About the only slack they cut him was they made sure they didn't hit him in the face. What he looked like was part of his living. A broken nose wouldn't have been a good result. He broke fingers regularly. No problem.
Tcb Tcb ELVIS Presley was the man, he will always be my Hero, i don't give a shit what anyone thinks, he lived his life the way be want it to 🤘EP FE
Here, here.
Cool looking karate suit. Rest in Peace Elvis we love you and miss you.
Those karate endings on Suspicious Minds were awesome in '72.
Elvis and his passion of Karate.Interesting!
That was really cool! Elvis was just the coolest dude ever!
Thank you very much for sharing this incredible footage. Elvis was truly a one of kind guy.
Awesome side of Elvis.just amazing....I wish there were more video!
thanks for this sir I grew up in 80s I loved pka karate trained from age 8 till 14 miss guys like superfoot and bad Brad kickboxing is so much more entertaining than mma and your right sir Elvis fans will love it and karate fans to
I've just read the book by Wayne Carman. He's very knowledgeable and a brilliant martial arts expert. Okay, not a trained narrator. But he knew his stuff. Elvis was very accomplished at Karate. When three people stormed the stage in Vegas, Elvis took them on and could handle himself. He was a legend and if he chose to wear shades or his boots, so what? He was very spiritual and often led meditation.
amen to that
im Elvis fan since 1980,my opinion is that Elvis had learned martial arts not to make a career out of this ,but to combine the movments in his shows ,very nice,good job!
That's pretty stupid. I wouldn't brag about that to anyone.
i have also trained Karate for many years, i love old scool, Elvis style.
This is awesome. Thanks for sharing it.
We love you Elvis...!!!!!!!!!!!!
Elvis is great in everything he does, there is no arguing about that. He is just great...the King of Rock and Roll!!
Wonderfull,this video shows a Elvis different the Elvis Singer!!!
Amazing history.
Elvis is great, he is just great in everything he did, no arguing about that. He is still THE KING, long after he has gone!!
"I was amazed at how the gun got off his hand and hit the ground so hard"
Best comment of the video
Excellent video! Very inspirational! Thanks for sharing!
There's no record of him ever having met Bruce Lee. He did meet Chuck Norris, who said:
Despite some personal objections to his lifestyle, no one can doubt Elvis' musical and theatrical genius, creativity and magnetism as a performer. And as far as his martial arts abilities, he truly was pretty impressive, flexible and tough. He may not have been a Bruce Lee, me or other notables in the field of professional competition, but then again have you ever heard about any of our singing careers?
Great upload, thanks for sharing!
This is great to watch......karate was more popular back then......& Elvis enjoyed it to the fullest!
Elvis is so cool.
Yes, that is what he was king of.............COOL!
King of cool? ... Absolutely yes ! ! And in every way... That beautiful boy still haunts my dreams.
God Bless your soul our darling.
Agreed.
Wallace technique is very good
Is there anywhere where the Audieo of Elvis any better ? And Yes, Elvis was a true Martial Artist and deserved every rank.
Thank you very much for answering my question . Have a great weekend !
wow, so camp! great video
This is (or at least I assumed) rare and so valuable to have access to. And on TH-cam. :)
You get more respect every time you see Bill Wallace's kicking ability. He's like a boxing punching but using his feet. Or "foot". Something I don't think can say about any other. Arguably the best kicker ever...next to Bruce Lee. One being an ex pro kickbxer. :) Terrific video.
It would be nice if the audio were to be reprocessed. Would be great to hear his dialogue.
até no treino de Karate, ele esbanja charme. ELVIS .....o único!!!
He wasn't that much bigger when he died. He had a lot of fluid retention in his face and the front of his torso from cortisone for his arthritis. The Mexican Sundial outfit he wore a lot in 1977 was actually made for him a month after this film was made. He wore it in Lake Tahoe in October 74, and this was September 74.
Thanks so much for sharing this video !! He was an amazing person !! Heck....I think I even learned a few things on this video myself . Great video !!
This is actually really interesting to see. Elvis was a strange guy, but he only wanted to teach people about the martial arts when he did this demo. Cool video!
awesome ! Immortal Elvis !
Many thanks for sharing
For those of you who doubt Elvis was a genuine black belt:
Elvis got his 1st black belt in 1960 awarded by Hank/Henry Slomanski, the most respected american master hardass who put his students through physical hell . There was no safety gear -- no shin pads, cups or supporters, just blood-and-guts fighting. Nobody wanted to award Elvis the black belt cos of the press coverage. So they sent Elvis to Hank, who no one could ever doubt that if a black belt was given that it was genuine. 1st session Hank noted Elvis was in great shape. 2nd session Elvis was going to get his first taste of REAL - full contact training. Hank took his top student, 4th degree Black Belt Sgt, Saur, aside and told him: Keep away from his face, but put him down. I want you to hurt him bad - break a few ribs if you have to. Everyone sat back to watch Elvis to see if he was really the "King" or a whimpering "candy ass."
Fight started off slow then at a nod from Hank, Sgt Saur exploded with a series of full contact blows to Elvis's body which dropped Elvis to his hands and knees. It was obvious that Elvis was hurt and feeling the pain. Hank related, "I saw Elvis slowly get up with that sneer on his face ... then I saw in his eyes what we usually see only in war: Elvis wanted to kill!. As the two men once again clashed Hank stepped in to break Elvis and Stg. Saur apart, "Hank further related, "but I found out what I wanted to know. The kid was a fighter - not a quitter. Elvis was only one of a handful of civilians to whom Hank ever awarded "Black Belt".
The word came back from Hank to instructor, Ed Parker, about Elvis: "The kid ain't pretty, but he's tough and he's a Black Belt."
Thanks for sharing this video, Awesome stuff. :-)
Before Bruce Lee..we had Elvis...good on you mate ...We needed more Karate Tours.!!
Wow! Elvis was good martial arts. I knew He study with Ed Parker but did not know how good he was.
Thank you for posting this!
Senior Grandmaster Ed Parker said Elvis was "a good black belt by anyone's standards". I asked Bill Superfoot Wallace personally if Elvis was a good black belt, he replied " He wasn't bad. He was a very dedicated martial artist"
Bill "Superfoot" Wallace is the REAL karate champion! He was NO push over! He was a TRUE champion and NO one could beat him in his division! Wallace was NOT able to kick with his right foot because of an injury. His LEFT leg only had best speed and power! Bill was actually handicapped but it did NOT stop him from winning WORLD championships! Wallace is deadly! A great champion!!!!! All American!
+TurfGuy exactly what it says. All american. Best of the best.
lol first he sings a beautifull song dedicated to his love mary presley, and next he is giving some random guy a knuckle sandwich.Gotta love the king.
thanks so much!!!
Elvis is really a Gladiator! The best!
No matter what anyone says about Elvis, he really was a Black Belt. I am sure he was given honorary rank just like a lot of people are given this day and age. The BJJ and GJJ people respect him and those that came before the advent of MMA. But some of you have no respect for anyone in this video because they don't practice BJJ, GJJ or Muay Thai. Or some other hybrid UFC style. Back then in the 60's and 70's, the martial arts was just coming into the USA, no one had ever heard of the Gracie's outside of Brazil. I study GJJ myself because I want my students to be able to hold their own against someone who trains in BJJ or some other ground fighting system. It was all standup back then and no one went to the ground except for Judo. I was 15 when Elvis was making this video and I recall how popular Bill Wallace was and still is. I hope you realize that it's been 40 years since this video was made and things have really changed since then.
you are right! anybody can see this
Grandmaster HugoThat is what makes the video funny how none of this would work and the narrator saying that his elbow strike could brake your neck thats funny stuff we know what works and dosn't now karate is largely not effective some have adapted some of it like wonder boy but this stuff is funny
good stuff Sir.
EdParker's Kempo would be incredibly effective against a dept. store mannequin
Care to be the mannequin ???
kal Desjarlais
Yes, McDojos will take your money and hope you never have to fight anybody. If you want something that works watch the best at MMA and UFC. Specially the legends like Benny the Jet, Wallace or the Gracies, who never refused a fight, because they knew their stuff works in any situation.
I love it
Excellent! Thank you..
Emilo Farcas was one of the people that trained Elvis for his black belt as I understand it. Someplace out there is footage of him training Elvis in the Graceland yard.
I think he was probably out of it on painkillers here. Note the infected right hand... it got worse... a month later he had the hand bandaged on stage. Then there was the lost nail on his big toe. Probably had a fair bit of pain and took more painkillers than was good for him. My own view is that this is when he actually became dependent on painkillers, and never got back off them. Happens to a lot of people.
I so wish the audio was better. I would really love to hear what he's saying. Thanks for posting this! :)
wen he performes het makes Some karatemoves love it
I gaurentee a Whole new fan base if you plug Elvis and his karate!!!
Thank you very much for the reply ! That would of been wild to see Elvis and bruce lee in a film together !
I love u Elvis ..
Do you possibly mean Kenpo? It's the martial arts style that amalgamates several others. Elvis learned it from Ed Parker.
Yes. The sunglasses were actually his prescription glasses. His eyes were light sensitive, partly from glaucoma and partly from the spotlights shining in his face on stage.
They were tinted prescription glasses. He wore them all the time except on stage.
He was protecting his injured foot, where he'd lost a nail. Wayne Carman (narrator) seems oblivious to the bandaged big toe.
elvis is doing all right, just a part-time activity --- cool it with "he's not an expert like me". he's participating and demonstrating a degree of skill and that's good enough.
That is the original audio. The person narrating is Wayne Carman. It's certainly not me (I'm female). This is the way it came.
Elvis is some cool guy you can't copy that . Wow his boot s glasses I wish I could look like elvis .we will never see the likes of him again a one off. I would give anything to be elvis for a day .
+Joe Black anybody can put a pair of boots and shades. what matters most is on the inside.
This is from around September 1974 and he was in bad shape physically. He was also on alot of pain meds at this time as this is when his twisted colon started really giving him fits.
He had great interest in sport, it's unbelievable he didn't look after himself . why he was so depress and lonely
Depression will cause you to stop looking after yourself.
Jenny Maher 👍
Miss the king for ever . Nobody is even close to him
Love my BABY too death and back he was excellent and handsome,and humble!!!
This is definitely 1974. The major cause of his health decline was the twisted colon he battled for years. The steroids used to treat that is why he looked bloated sometimes in his later years.
He was wearing his built up shoes. He'd lost an ingrown big toenail, which was bandaged... Kang Rhee removes Elvis' shoe and sock during the video to show his bandaged toe. He was wearing shoes to protect the toe.
Wonterful
Only Elvis would do karate in his white boots!
Elvis looks so high in this video.
sensacional..
It wasn't a tournament. It was demonstrating specific moves for an audience. But, given that... I consider all martial arts to be akin to square dancing. I can never work out why "the bad guys" just don't jump on the martial artist together. Seems logical to me.
Bill Wallace looks like Ryan Reynolds, lol. This is really interesting though and thank you for uploading it.
people complain how he was dressed, coman, like the man was saying in the video, (He was Elvis) Elvis could do whatever he wanted to do! He didn´t want to look like everyone else bitches! .)
+saine414 As I said in the description, they were shooting background footage for the documentary movie that Elvis intended being involved with. He had that outfit made for this occasion. It wasn't what he normally wore. It was strictly "for show" The shoes were to protect his toe, as he had lost the nail. The "sunnies" were his prescription lenses, which were tinted to protect his eyes from light, as they were sensitive to it.
It turned out that the fabric in the outfit wasn't suitable for purpose, as very early in the piece he split it right down the left leg. Some still frames from when he was meditating show a bit of thigh indicating how badly it split. That severely restricted what he was able to do, so he went to just demonstrating a few moves.
Given some of the negative comments that are on this video, from people who obviously aren't fans and just want to judge, I often wish I hadn't uploaded it. I am considering deleting it.
Jenny Maher Dont do that! Fuck all the haters! You are doing a great thing to upload this video :)
Thank you. It's just depressing to see all the negative comments when my intention was just to share some rare Elvis footage with other fans.
Jenny Maher Dont waste your energy to the negative comments, focus on the positive ones :)
The great pleasure that you gave to me with this vidéo have just as équal your own comment .
Thank you a lot & may God give you a wonderfull Christmas .
TCB
cool tcb man
Really enjoyed this. I've seen bits and pieces of this over the years but never in full. Thanks for uploading. I've been into martial arts since 1988 and mma since 2006. That girl at 29:15 is hot
Red and especially his brother Sonny West were tough good ol' boys. I see MMA people training at the gym all the time kicking and punching in the air. This is show too, but these techniques were taught in the Army back in the day. I don't care how good an MMA figher is, if he gets hit hard he's going down. They have to play by rules just like Karate. Like Steven Segal says.."I don't have rules when I fight".
I'm sure many people commenting on this video don't realise that this is demonstrating individual moves, not an actual match.
Notice when the king is talking every one STFU lol that's awesome
legendary. some I know inside, proud said. Best is, they know me. :)
Elvis is wearing a CelebriGi
Was Elvis on par with Chuck Norris? Probably not. But then again, Chuck Norris cannot sing like Elvis.
Quote from Chuck Norris:
And as far as his martial arts abilities, he truly was pretty impressive, flexible and tough. He may not have been a Bruce Lee, me or other notables in the field of professional competition, but then again have you ever heard about any of our singing careers?
Actually Chuck is a respected baritone and can yodel with the best too.
"he is passionate yes he is,but one cannot do everything" -me...alright let's get back to "that's the way it is
This reminds me of the movie Foxcatcher.
Oh I see..that explains a lot. Had his health not detoriated I think we would have seen him as we see Tom Jones or BB King an elder states man of music
Por gentileza, coloque a legenda,se possível.Obrigado!
If he was high then he must have been really good, because having the speed and control he showed here is difficult ,even if you are straight as an arrow.
I got it when it was first released. I just checked Amazon, and they have it for only $22.75 at the moment... which is lots cheaper than it was when it came out. Go to amazon and search "elvis presley gladiators" Good luck... they also have some second hand if you miss the new sealed copy.
Yes, Al. I said all that in the "About" section. Some people just don't want to believe anything...
Okay, I know almost nothing about karate. But I do know thirty-six years worth of knowledge studying Elvis, as I am a huge fan. All I can say is that yes, Elvis was probably heavily medicated here. This was filmed just thirteen days before Elvis gave possibly the worst performance of his life at a concert in College Park, Maryland, where he was so out of it on meds he could barely function. I'm sure Elvis could more than hold his own in a fight because of his karate skills, but he is simply not in good physical shape here. Sorry folks, but the truth hurts.
I'd still like to see Elvis doin a Kata.
Watch " On Tour.'
mark brandum
-tried looking it up. Couldn't find it?
+MrOphachew Elvis On Tour is a documentary movie made in 1972 It won a Golden Glove as Best Documentary. You can buy it on Amazon.
Starting in 1969 he incorporated kata stances , and moves in his show. In 1974 he did do katas as a segmented part of his shows. Later on when his health started to go , and he got larger it became less a part of his show.
interesting to see this again, I don't really know what the idea was behinfd its filming, if they had an idea to put together a documentary ? Elvis is slurry & obviously medicated again...but karate was obviously a great passion of his and went some way to keep him fit
+richard lawless In the description area above, click on Show More to find out about it.
About the "slurry & obviously medicated"... he had an infected hand and had just lost a toenail. I'm assuming they overdid the painkillers. It was about this time that the use of painkillers got out of control and never got back under control.
Yes he always had an excuse for being loaded
looks good for video that long ago. He died only two years later.
No. She left him for Mike Stone.
I once met Ed Parker, and he said he got a panicky phone call from his mother when Priscilla left Elvis as she heard that she'd left him for his karate instructor and was worried that it might have been him!
any Jui Jitsu black belt or Muai Thai fighter could clean up that whole room..
It was a different time and era for BJJ or Muay Thai. Back in those days Judo was the king martial art of grappling and kickboxing was for standup guys. This style of Karate is effective and there wasn't MMA fighters in every city. Bruce Lee was the first MMA fighter to show his skills on the big screen.
Hard to believe , by this point Elvis was way in over his head in his drug addiction
Saphire Blue he was high every day by 1974
Saphire Blue i have read tons of stuff about the man . A great man , but like all of us, a very flawed man . by 1974 he was in over his head in his drug addiction and was doctor shopping for heavy narcotics. His drug use was a daily habit and his personality had drastically changed . by 1974 he was a dead man walking . just sharing what I have learned about him .
Saphire Blue yea, he just happens to be the only one in the room sweating profusely like he is in a sauna .
Narrated by my good friend Prof. Wayne Carman who actually owned the rights to this video.