Guided Chaos Code of Conduct Posted and Implemented 1/22/10

INTRODUCTION

To All Guided Chaos Instructors, Students and Enthusiasts,

2009 was a good year in which a number of great things took place, from the
outstanding seminar given by Grand Master Carron, to our first overseas
seminars as well as the promotion to the rank of Black Belt for many of our
students, including some of our long-distance learners.

As we move forward within the art of Guided Chaos, we have
felt the strong need to now clarify the roles, responsibilities and conduct
for students, enthusiasts and instructors alike.  For the vast number of people
who are a part of the Guided Chaos family much of this is self evident; some
may even think it is long over due, nonetheless in order to reach the next
series of milestones there are a number of things that you all must be made
aware of.

Over the past few years it has come to the attention of Grand Master Perkins
from a number of sources both in and outside of our schools, and direct
personal correspondence to him, that there have been individuals within the
art who have engaged in what can only be defined as unprofessional, unethical
and inappropriate behavior.

In some instances people have overstepped their bounds and mistakenly or deliberately
misrepresented their rolls within the art by making claims and statements (both inside and outside of Guided Chaos) as if officially speaking for the art itself. There have also been instances of people issuing "challenges" on behalf of Guided Chaos, opening Grand Master Perkins not only to personal ridicule but, had these incidents resulted in someone
being injured, exposed him (as well as the instructors in his schools) to civil and possible criminal liability, based solely on the misguided actions of a few.  Such conduct is not only unprofessional and foolish but illegal in many states and demonstrates a severe lack of judgment and maturity no matter how helpful these actions may appear to some of these individuals.

In other instances there have been individuals who have denigrated other arts
by attacking the veracity of those systems on their school's web pages, forums
etc., as well as with personal attacks directed squarely at instructors of other
systems of self-defense.  As Grand Master Perkins can attest, he himself has been the
subject of a number of such attacks over the years so he is very sensitive to
this issue.

Additionally, there have been recent instances of people linking Guided Chaos
to their personal web pages such as MySpace and Facebook,  using (and creating altered
versions) of the Guided Chaos name and/or logo, Attack Proof, Martial Realists
and promotional materials, without the express permission of Grand Master Perkins.
Such associations (especially with the way some of these pages are designed)
create the impression that these pages are sanctioned and supported by
Grand Master Perkins as well as Attack Proof Inc.

It has also come to our attention that some of these individuals have posted
offensive photos and allowed others to post offensive photos and links to offensive sites.

What people do on their private pages is their business, however when they associate it
with Guided Chaos they make it the business of everyone who has a stake in
this art, be you master level, distance learner or a novice, and no one has
the right to associate others with what they do in their personal life,
especially where the outside parties might find such conduct offensive.

This list above is but a fraction of the incidents that Grand Master Perkins
has had to deal with over the years--and the incidents are growing more numerous.
This has caused not only personal embarrassment to Grand Master Perkins but has served to damage his reputation as a professional trainer and pioneer in realistic/reality based martial arts and quite possibly has cost him untold thousands of dollars in lost revenue as a direct result.

Many of these things have been done in an attempt by some individuals to
aggressively promote themselves and not for the betterment of the art.  Such behavior not
only cheapens the art which Grand Master Perkins has dedicated his life to
develop but dishonors every student and instructor as well as discourages
potential students (as Grand Master Perkins has discovered) seeking to learn
an effective system of self defense for their own personal protection or that
of their loved ones.

Our past and future connections and work with military, religious, youth, womens' and other groups in the areas of training, investigation and protection is of paramount importance to our organization and we must keep a healthy, moral and appropriate presentation on the part of all our members.

There is enough for us to deal with from outside sources who constantly try to steal and otherwise use our concepts without our express permission. Any internal weakening of our presentation to the world at large only adds to this burden.

All of the above has been verified though personal accounts which have been well
documented. This is stated in order to place the following action in context.

Effective immediately, Grand Master Perkins is implementing
The Guided Chaos Code of Conduct.

As you read through the Code please keep these things in mind.

Adaptive Defense Incorporated:

John Perkins
Grandmaster, Founder, Guided Chaos

Al Ridenhour
7th degree Master, Guided Chaos

Matt Kovsky
6th degree Master Guided Chaos