I know this has already been discussed in another thread, but just to clarify on the original post: "Shinan" John Sharpe is not a "master" of anything but his own ego. Please do not waste time trying to figure out why he took the title of Shinan. I will sum it up for you (his early "career" was talked about in another thread). Mr. Sharpe moved from NY to Tucson, AZ in the mid-80's and made a name for himself as a martial arts instructor, and even won some awards from the city for an anti-gang program he ran (I was part of that program). That is where the "good" runs out on Mr. Sharpe. He moved his schools from one building to another in the middle of the night to avoid paying back rent. He lied to EVERYONE he met about his past. I was there the day he sat down with a Tucson Police detective (that he called) and gave him his "expert" opinion on the tactics that a local rapist was using to abduct women. He loved to brag about his (nonexistent) Special Forces background and even wore a green beret around town for a while.
About ten years ago, he moved to Sonora, Mexico. I found him about 3 years ago and talked to him (as I was a former student that he manipulated at a young age, he was eager to talk to me). I asked him how he ended up in Mexico and his answer was "I was moved to Mexico as part of a CIA anti-narcotics task force...". I'm no genius, but I've been affiliated with intelligence agencies for the past 10 years (I'm still a civilian contractor at CENTCOM in Tampa), and there is no way his claims can be true.
Mr. Sharpe took the title "Shinan" because that's the title his instructor took. The meaning of the title is moot. Mr. Periera was obviously a respected martial artist, but I can assure you, Mr. Sharpe is not. I've spent a lot of time de-bunking this fraud, just to be sure that no one else gets fooled by him. I think my efforts have paid off, as his website has had no activity on it for over a year. Hopefully someone in Mexico realized what a phony Mr. Sharpe is, and shut his operation down.
Anyone who wants more detailed information can feel free to e-mail me.
Sincerely,
Eric Wagner
wagsintampa@yahoo.com