I was contacted yesterday on facebook by a very nice person whose name is Mijikai Mason. He is a chaplain in the US Army. Mr. Mason is looking for information about his biological father, who had kidnapped him and his brother when they were very young (cops later found him and returned him to his mother, but his brother he only found 37 years later). Apparently, this person had also previously operated many martial arts schools in the USA, and claimed the title of Shihan. He taught many arts and went under many different names. Mr. Mason had written a book about his life and the difficult times he underwent because of his father's actions. He is looking for information about his father, trying to find out who that person really was. It's a life-long quest for him, and I'm trying to help. Here's what he could give me concerning his dad:
"...Born late 1920s.....When he signed our birth certificates his name was Todd E. Mason and he carried the title of Sensei. In my searching I have found 9 aliases for my father and none are his real name...Died in 2003 as Shihan Calvin Neilson."
"...The level of training and martial arts proficiency demonstrated by him and according to former students under all aliases is unparalleled (Jonathan: note the guy writing this is not a martial artist) and lends to my dad working for the secret side of the government prior to 1963. I can trace him back to 1963 but no further.....I will say that many in the martial community knew my dad personally, knew of him, worked with him both as a martial artist and on the agency side but none are willing to come forward with the information I am asking for and every time I engaged the supposed historians of American Martial Arts I get a cold shoulder and told if he wanted to be known he would have been more public..... According to my mom and other students who trained under him, he taught: Kendo, Kempo, Hapkido, Aikido, Jujitsu, Juijitsu, Self Defense, Military Ops (sentry defeat), Knife and Gun Defense, Bokin, Tata Kubo (now, Bo Jitsu).... (Jonathan: again, please keep in mind the person writing this is not a martial artist)"
"...In Florida, he had 3-5 dojos operating at any given time from 1963-1971. In Colorado he operated two dojos from 1971-1973. Spring of 1973 is when the kidnapping happened. He resurfaced in 1974 in Oklahoma under a new name and operated 2-3 dojos there. He primarily taught military, police, youth and families. He was also known to entertain shaddy characters like a group of 100+ Muslims in the 1970, individual and couples from Africa, gang affiliated people and the like. And so it went until his paranoia got the best of him. Like I said, we know what all happened from 1963-2003 but have no clue about his pre-1963 life. This is the area we are trying to track down....One primary title that was carried with him everywhere he went either by dojo name, name on gi, or things like coffee cups he carried with him was Kuro Neko (Jonathan: 'Black Cat' in Japanese)"
Pensacola Florida around 1969:
In the second he is Shihan Calvin Neilson:
"The dojo or school in Pensacola was called Mason Karate School and was located on Navy BLVD. Currently the H.G. Robby Robinson runs his dojo from the same location. He has been very little help for me and very resistant. It is almost as if, any questions about my dad toward him are considered a threat. He is very protective of what he knows but is a known source historically. My dad predates him by several years and has a similar resume which might explain the resistance. Also the Black Belt historian was of little help. However, I did not know it at the time that he and H.G. were friends. I just talked to my mother and she said the rest of his schools were all held in YMCAs, Naval Air Stations, military bases and in his private business front. The last one was where he trained the Sheriff's department and undercover cops in Colorado Springs. One of his students was Lou Smit. Before he died Lou was considered the number one homicide detective in the United States. My dad trained him from 1971-1973. Darrel Cain, is another Student of my father. He learned from him in 1974 and in 2008 was inducted into the Black Hall of Fame in Germany. Another student was Paul Purnell. My dad trained from 1963-1971. Paul was a Navy Seal and later a CIA agent. His personal files contain pictures of my dad but I cannot post them. Some other Oklahoma students were Larry Herring and Pat Hutton of "Hutton's Edge" http://www.huttonsedge.com/ ....... he has some students in Japan and specifically a few at Kodokan in Japan. After taking from him they went on to be trainees and trainers at Kodokan. He spoke Japanese and Chinese and wrote both as well. ".
Mr. Mason tries to find out:
- Who his father was, "for real".
- What did he do prior to 1963?
- Does he still have family members who are alive?
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I should confess that I do not know Mr. Mason personally, but I trust he had good intentions. I do hope that my honest attempts to aid him are not misguided here. If this turns out to be an attempt to do anything wrong, please shut this thread down and delete it.
