Jerry Partain: Kung-fu-phooey
AverageNCO sent us a link to this wonderful article about a true American hero, Jerry Partain. He says he retired from the Marines and that he’s one of the greatest ninjas of all time;
The 66-year-old Partain, who retired in 1992 after 25 years in the Marine Corps, and then retired again from the brokerage business about 10 years ago, is something of a “secret gem” from the martial arts world in Alexandria.
“Contrary to wide perception from TV or the movies, it’s not just punch-kick-block,” said Partain, who served four tours in Vietnam, including 31 days as a prisoner of war, retired from the Marines as a major.
Yeah, well, since we’re featuring him here on TAH, you probably already know what the upshot is going to be;
Here’s the “limited” information that folks at the NPRC had to work with, just a name and a social security number;
It’s rare that we get one who has no military service at all, but here’s one. His name is all over the internet as some sort of master kung-fu dude, so, if I was going to have him teach me any of that stuff, I’d vet every single word he says if he thinks he can get away with being a Marine major with 24 years and he hasn’t ever seen the inside of a steel pot.
September 14th, 2012 at 6:39 am
Rex Kwon Do.
BOW TO YOUR SENSEI.
September 14th, 2012 at 6:57 am
I think we should put him and our buddy the 0th Dangerous man, Stephen Burrel, in a deathmatch cage fight.
September 14th, 2012 at 7:05 am
you know why they couldn’t find his records right? Classified. Or maybe the were burned in the fire back in 72….
September 14th, 2012 at 7:12 am
Maybe he taught his record how to be a ninja and no one can find his record because his MPRJ is a ninja too…
September 14th, 2012 at 7:33 am
(Sigh. . .)
Just shoot him and get it over and done with. . .
September 14th, 2012 at 7:34 am
Not in any POW data base that I looked at. His numbers don’t add up. If he’s 66 y/o he was born in 1946, that means the earliest he could get a commission would be 1969. If he retired in 1992 w/25 years he would have had to have entered in 1967. Hmmm…
September 14th, 2012 at 7:38 am
“Rex Kwon Do”, indeed. Who wants to bet this Pei Mei can do the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique?
September 14th, 2012 at 7:46 am
He obviously learned his techniques well from arcade fighting games. I bet he could throw a hadoken with the best of them.
Seriously though, why the hell does it look like he’s wearing the Hawaii Five-0 Kendo Outfit?
September 14th, 2012 at 8:11 am
Wax on, Wax off, wacked out. Mr. Kung Fu Grip can’t tell you about his military service. He could, but then…well, you know the rest.
Four tours in Viet Nam, indeed. He probably did four tours with the Village People, dressed as a Marine.
September 14th, 2012 at 8:12 am
This guy is combatives level Chuck Norris.
September 14th, 2012 at 8:22 am
For starters, the punishment should begin with their making an audio or written recording (in their own voice or hand, respectively), reciting the name of each MOH recipient followed by an apology, thusly:
To (name, rank, and branch of service), awarded the Congressional of Medal of Honor for actions on (place and date. I apologize to you, your family, those with whom you served, and all of the men and women, living and deceased, who honorably served in the Armed Forces of the United States
September 14th, 2012 at 8:24 am
*hauls a huge sack of popcorn into the room*
I’ll just leave this here.
*kerflump*
September 14th, 2012 at 8:24 am
…wax on, wax off…paint fence…
September 14th, 2012 at 8:37 am
The article says he is: “A commercial transportation professional with a local car dealership,…”
What is that? Service van driver?
September 14th, 2012 at 8:39 am
Real, live, Kung-Fu Panda…
September 14th, 2012 at 8:40 am
Yat Yas 1833: theoretically, the dates could be plausible if he was (1) prior enlisted, (2) went to OCS, and (3) managed to complete his degree before getting RIFed post-Vietnam and stayed in. The Army had a lot of OCS officers w/prior service and no degree right after Vietnam; some managed to do exactly that and serve a full career.
That said, it’s theoretically possible – but isn’t reality. Given that the FOIA request on him included his SSN, assuming the SSN was accurate it’s a virtual certainty he never served at all. By the end of Vietnam, all branches were using the SSN in place of Service/Serial Number. His records would have come up under that SSN if he’d retired in the early 1990s.
September 14th, 2012 at 8:46 am
He’s a used-car salesman, eh? Figures.
You couldn’t make stuff like that up and get people to believe you.
September 14th, 2012 at 8:59 am
Hondo, I didn’t think about that. My last CO was a mustang, did four & got out as a Cpl then went to school. Mustangs make the best officers, no offense intended. The ‘Skipper’ understood exactly what NCOs dealt with day in and day out. My last Plt Ldr was the other kind of good officer, he kept his eyes & ears open, his mouth shut and learned.
September 14th, 2012 at 9:09 am
My Marine serial number was replaced by my SSN in I think 1971. I entered in 65. Joe
September 14th, 2012 at 9:17 am
http://www.fc-shorinryu.com/people/hanshi.html
Hmm, I wonder if he got his black belt while he was a POW?
September 14th, 2012 at 9:25 am
I wonder what these clowns think when all of a sudden they start getting hits on all their social media accounts from the bubbas/bubbetts from here?
September 14th, 2012 at 9:46 am
#14,the answer is service van driver.
September 14th, 2012 at 10:15 am
I just sent this link to a buddy of mine who’s a PAO at Army G1 and also owns a martial arts school in town. He’ll send this around to all his contacts to make sure that this toolbag gets pounded.
September 14th, 2012 at 10:23 am
Chump.
September 14th, 2012 at 11:25 am
Anyone surprised that I can’t find anything about him on the 1964 US Olympic Wrestling Team?
September 14th, 2012 at 11:28 am
“Partain got involved in the martial arts as a teenager in 1960, first with judo and then with karate classes in San Diego at the Pacific Beach Judo & Karate Club, which is one of the oldest karate clubs in the nation. He wrestled for the United States in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and was a three-time California Interscholastic Federation wrestling champion at San Diego State.”
http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/countries/USA/summer/1964/
He doesn’t seem to be on the list of athletes at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, either. Shocking.
September 14th, 2012 at 11:32 am
I just checked Team USA and Wrestling USA and no Partain in 1964 … No Partain ever.
Other than that he seems legit to me!
A legitamate friggin’ moron who lives in the moronosphere and who speaks morononese.
September 14th, 2012 at 11:44 am
Oh wait. I know this guy. He’s an ultraviolet belt in Wan Dum Fuk.
September 14th, 2012 at 11:53 am
The upper garment that he is wearing looks like the bathrobe that I stole form the New Sanno Hotel back in 1985. I was wondering what happened to it. They probably still have an international warrant out on me. That’s why i can’t go back to Tokyo. That, and my wife won’t let me.
September 14th, 2012 at 11:59 am
Now, now, now, MCPO… Be nice. There are some good morons out there. Don’t be discriminatory.
September 14th, 2012 at 12:08 pm
@26
“three-time California Interscholastic Federation wrestling champion at San Diego State.”
CIF is high school. Almost sounds like a reporter/editor change to ensure the inaccuracy of the article.
September 14th, 2012 at 1:42 pm
Interestingly enough, his bio here makes no mention of military service. And the dates/locations don’t seem to support a 24-year USMC career ending in the early 1990s, either.
http://www.fc-shorinryu.com/people/hanshi.html
Photo sure looks like the same guy, though.
September 14th, 2012 at 2:18 pm
@SGT Awesome, he got his black belt personally delivered by a very dead Ho Chi Minh (Uncle Ho).
If you guys land one on his Facebook page, ask him for the recipe for Khe Sanh hash.
September 14th, 2012 at 2:20 pm
Look, he doesn’t like to talk about it but you know the stuff Audie Murphy did in WW II? Right. It wasn’t really Audie. It was Jerry. Yes, it’s true. He has lied about his age all these years. He was born in 1943 and enlisted when he was 2 1/2 months old.
September 14th, 2012 at 2:32 pm
Mr. Partain was the owner/instructor of the La Mesa, California branch of the Okinawan Shorin-Ryu Karate and Kobudo Martial Arts School from 1974 to August 1980. During this time he held the position of Vice President of the Martial Arts Institutes Association – California Branch, which is headquartered in New Jersey.
The Martial Arts Institutes Association – California Branch is headquartered in New Jersey? That must be a hell of a drive for their meetings. That may explain why I watched the America Off Road Motorcross Championship in Vancouver, British Columbia.
September 14th, 2012 at 3:46 pm
I fight Gangnam style… I’m a plaid-belt.
September 14th, 2012 at 5:52 pm
Okay. This phony, no service record MF’r has my BP up and running. I know you Marines have MOL accounts, he *should* be listed, since he claims he *retired* in 1992-93? So, one of you fine gents get on it, thanks! In the mean time, the only Alexandria I find where he has resided is, Alexandria, LA. (not VA) with addys in Morrison, CO & Lakewood, CO. His reported age is 62. His *home crew* consists of wife Wanda O. Partain and listed as relatives are: L Partain, Dee O. Partain and Danielle E. Partain. Now, unless any of you want to pop for a full tilt investigative report, that is all this highly pissed off Army MP brings to the table.
September 14th, 2012 at 7:01 pm
Sic Dan Gable on him. Old body and bad knees, Gable will tear into him. Gable was unbeaten in HS, lost one match in college and did not give up a point in freestyle at the 1972 Olympics. Won all kinds of NCAA championships at Iowa.
Unreal. Eight PH? MOH? I am not a vet but even I would know, eight PHs is probably way too many. What is the record, if there is such a thing. Three maybe?
Andy in Peoria
September 14th, 2012 at 7:07 pm
Andy Kravetz: as I recall, there are several individuals who have achieved the rather dubious honor of qualifying for 8 Purple Hearts. They are listed on another recent discussion here.
September 14th, 2012 at 7:19 pm
The eight purple hearts discussion was here.
September 15th, 2012 at 12:34 am
Just dropped an email to Mr Tompkins of the Alex. Daily Town Talk. How is it that for so many years, newspapers were able to print correct movie showtimes, even in towns like Alexandria and Leesville, but now can’t get a freakin story about a POW claim back checked?
September 15th, 2012 at 12:47 am
@38.
Dan Gable was the man. And still is.
September 15th, 2012 at 12:49 am
He looks constipated in his picture
September 15th, 2012 at 12:50 am
@38.
Dude has a purple/black two-hole from being pounded so much.
September 15th, 2012 at 3:18 am
George–because nobody had a reason to lie about when “Expendables 2″ was playing at the local Cineplex.
Then again, most NORMAL people wouldn’t have a reason to lie about their service, either.
September 17th, 2012 at 10:11 am
It’s funny, I had been so focused on the POW claim, I completely overlooked the Olympic fable. This guy is a piece of work. I had traded e-mails and spoke on the phone with the reporter who wrote the orginal piece the week it came out. He was very apologetic and told me he was going to follow up on Partain’s claims. I know he was in contact with Mary when she filed the FOIA request. I’ve sent him another e-mail asking when his follow-up is coming out. We’ll see.
September 17th, 2012 at 11:44 am
As another funny side note…….should we be shocked that he is now working as car salesman?
September 20th, 2012 at 5:55 am
This assclown is a joke.
October 8th, 2012 at 11:26 pm
Trying hard to pull off that Richard Chamberlin “Shogun” look.
I wonder if he bats the same way?
Probably need to check with “Ranger” Burrell…
October 26th, 2012 at 9:25 pm
Breaking the monotony.
This dude is a clown. Think he could whip William Blake, “Ranger” Burrell, or “LTC” Backdoor H. Austin, though?
Any bets?
Curious?
December 6th, 2012 at 6:16 pm
[...] sends us a link from the folks who did the original article on Kung Fu Phooey, Jerry Partain who we wrote about in September and they found the things that we doubted. He’s never been a Marine, so it follows that [...]
December 7th, 2012 at 12:22 am
My comments speak for themselves.
December 30th, 2012 at 10:23 pm
In a flurry of kicks and chops, the “Kung-Fu Phony” worked his way up to the top of the martial art world….
But alas, he became bored. A challenge he needed so he decided to sell used cars in the inner-city.
January 7th, 2013 at 9:34 pm
What’s his Black Belt in, Chop Suey or Egg Foo Yung?
January 7th, 2013 at 9:37 pm
The only belt he has is the one he removes before he bends over….
January 7th, 2013 at 9:38 pm
My bad.
To many beers.
January 28th, 2013 at 6:01 pm
As someone who is a formerly interested party in Jerry Partain, I’ve known him since 1962, I was shocked and amused by the lies he is perpetuating. He was born in 1950, in 1964 we were in the 8th grade in San Diego, CA. Yes, he did start karate in 1960, at age 10. He graduated from James Madison High School in 1968, San Diego, CA. He NEVER was in the Marines, went to VietNam or any other military service. He used to say he was a federal agent, a narc, a hit man, etc, etc. The man is a narcissitic, compulsive liar who has always had delusions of grandeur. Not only that, but he is a dead beat dad, who has 2 families. I could go on and on, but he’s not worth it. I wish there was some way to prosecute him for all the lies about the miitary service. It’s a slap in the face to all who have served honorably.
February 3rd, 2013 at 10:09 pm
Maggot.
March 3rd, 2013 at 9:40 pm
Kung-Fu Pussy.
April 6th, 2013 at 1:44 pm
I don’t know much about the above, but I can tell you what he did for my husband and I. We went to San Diego in 1979 to teach martial arts, but it was a gross miscalculation. We arrived on a gray hound bus with no money, no house, no food, no phone, no car etc. My husband knew Jerry from when he lived in San Diego in the 60′s. Jerry & his wife Desi found a house for us to live, fed us, let us use their truck & found a construction day job for us. We were homeless, jobless & hungry and for Jerry & Desi’ help I will always be grateful. I won’t say that stolen valor is honorable or even that he shouldn’t be called out on his statements, however, he couldn’t be all bad because of what he did for us. I can tell you that when he & Desi pulled up in our drive on their way to Colorado, I cried.
April 6th, 2013 at 3:16 pm
Loser.
April 6th, 2013 at 3:21 pm
@60.
Actually, if you still keep in touch with this poser, ask his punk, fake ass to come on here and explain himself.
A true martial artist would.
April 7th, 2013 at 1:13 am
I have had no contact with him for over 32 years. Looking at the posts it sure seems like what he has told people about his life is not true. I’m not disputing everybody’s post, I’m only acknowledging how he helped 32 years ago. After reading these post I researched him a little more and found out he is (or was) living in Alexandria, LA and the local newspaper did a piece on him. They ran the piece before researching the facts, then has to run a retraction because his story didn’t fly. I don’t really know what would make a person tell all of these lies. His ex wife’s could probably tell more.
April 7th, 2013 at 1:26 am
Jerry, if you are reading these post please respond. Prove that what people are saying about you is either true or not true. The web is a very powerful tool for people to find things out. If you have lied to the above people, state the truth and move on. You can’t escape the web. Just look at me. I haven’t seen or spoke to you in over 32 years, but I typed your name into Google and find all of this crap. Very sad.
April 11th, 2013 at 10:39 am
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For you Jerry:
Everybody was kung-fu fighting
Those cats were fast as lightning
In fact it was a little bit frightning
But they fought with expert timing
They were funky China men from funky Chinatown
They were chopping them up and they were chopping them down
It’s an ancient Chineese art and everybody knew their part
From a feint into a slip, and kicking from the hip
Everybody was kung-fu fighting
Those cats were fast as lightning
In fact it was a little bit frightning
But they fought with expert timing
There was funky Billy Chin and little Sammy Chung
He said here comes the big boss, lets get it on
We took a bow and made a stand, started swinging with the hand
The sudden motion made me skip now we’re into a brand knew trip
Everybody was kung-fu fighting
Those cats were fast as lightning
In fact it was a little bit frightning
But they did it with expert timing
Turd.
April 17th, 2013 at 8:16 am
It’s amazing how Wikipedia & google can inspire the imagination…
At least he isn’t in federal contracting…right?
May 6th, 2013 at 8:35 pm
I knew Jerry many many years ago, it’s sad to hear he has gone so far astray from the very principles he valued. There is no excusing the claims he’s made about a military career, record, perhpas he felt so guilty that he was not one of the guys he hung out with or admired who did take the call and serve. He was a chanpion wrestler in high school, and a dedicated martial artist in those early years. I saw him years after high school in a bar where I worked with several other old friends and he appeared to be doing quite well, he was not nor had he served. I can not speak for any of the rest of the stories that are told or his account. I also attended the San Diego Judo & JuJistsu school in PB, under Al Holtman who held black belts, in aikido, judo and jujitusu, he had no use for “karate men” he would say, and he did not allow it at his school at this time. He was an honorable man, smoked god awlful cigars off training hours, played his opera music loud. I never saw Jerry at the school during the time I was there. The school years later, and Mr. Holtman continued with his second school on San Diego blvd by SD State, where he continued to teach. I visited him there one time thanked him and never saw him again. He reserved judgement, and when he voiced an opinion it was usually blunt and to the point but not overly hurtful. It’s sad to see Jerry has drifted away, and adopted what he wanted to be not what he was. It’s a shame for him and an affront to all who served, and it negates the career in the martial arts he’s chosen for 40 yrs.a
May 6th, 2013 at 8:49 pm
Martial artist. That’s fighting. Charges fees. That’s contracting for a service. Been doing it a long time. That means he’s a veteran. Hey, he’s a combat veteran!
May 6th, 2013 at 9:47 pm
Clown.
Maybe he should fight “Ranger” Burrell.