What's maddening about Garland, many people say, is that there's no need for him to fabricate stories. It's not like he's been holed up in a Maryland Farms office building for the last 10 years. Garland has lived an exciting and compelling life, rife with danger and far-flung adventure. He trained special operations soldiers, including Navy SEALS, in Kuwait from January to May of 2003, while scud missiles were landing perilously close by. He worked with 5th Special Forces for nearly two years, teaching them the intricacies in hand-to-hand combat. All of that makes it that much more curious why this young local talent would advance a series of untruths about his life.
"Your willingness to deploy to a high-threat country in order to continue to train our soldiers reflected the highest standard of patriotism and selfless service," wrote Brigadier General John F. Mulholland in a letter Garland shared with the Scene. (A Fort Campbell spokesperson confirmed the letter's authenticity.)
Garland has also worked as a military contractor in Iraq, providing personal protection services for government officials, a hazardous and thankless job. And he's not only a gifted martial artist, but also a dazzling showman. Finally and most incredibly, Dolly Parton is a close friend of Garland's and even wrote a song about him called, "I'm Gonna Miss You."
Parton met Garland through his grandfather, Vassar Clements, a country fiddle legend. In an interview with CMT.com, Parton recalled Garland's trips to Afghanistan to conduct special training. "The first time he went over when the war first started, he said, 'I doubt that I'll ever come back from this, and so I want you to write a song and sing it at my funeral,' " Parton recalled. "And that made me very upset. Because I said, 'Don't talk like that. You're going to be coming back.' "
It's a sunny Sunday afternoon at Garland's Executive Martial Arts Studio, located in Hillwood Plaza along a stretch of Charlotte dominated by struggling strip malls and fast food restaurants. Paper with Asian lettering covers the windows of his studio. Inside, a few students are quietly practicing in the corner. A proud father captures images on a digital camera. Cloaked in a standard white robe, the bearded, shaggy-haired Garland is prepared to answer a series of questions about his past and his proficiency in Hapkido. He's equal parts charming, defensive, gracious and irritable.
Garland again insists that he never misled anyone about his military background, and he wants to make it clear that he's not just a strip mall sensei. In an earlier interview, he claimed that as a military contractor he was just as well trained as Special Forces soldiers. When asked about that comment, he reconsiders it. "I'm better trained than them," he insists sternly.
Later, he clarifies his remark, saying that he's better trained only in protecting ambassadors, U.S. government officials and other VIPs. That's what he does as a military contractor, often toiling in Iraq and other dangerous locations. Garland says that he works for several military contractors, although he won't name which ones, citing confidentiality requirements. He notes that he's been trained in special weapons and how to handle bomb threats. He also knows how to drive a range of vehicles and has received medical training. To corroborate his claims, he shows a Department of Defense Civilian Contractor Card. He also displays dozens of photos of himself carrying grenades and guns and official-looking documents clearing him to carry a weapon. He says he has protected John Negroponte (the first-ever director of U.S. intelligence), Colin Powell and Paul Bremer.
Later, Garland again reconsiders his earlier comment about his training. "My job is protecting people, and I'm an expert in that. My job is not to hunt people," he says, referring to real-life Special Forces soldiers. "I never wanted to make me sound like I'm better then them."
While some stories about Garland can clearly be debunked, his work as both a military contractor and a combat trainer is not in doubt. Major Sam McPherson, with the U.S. Army Special Forces Command, writes in an email that Garland has supported the Department of State's Diplomat Security Mission. In addition, he has received the Department of the Army's civilian equivalent of the Army's Commendation Medal for his deployment into a combat zone, McPherson says.
"Where other martial arts professionals talk about how they would love to deploy to such hostile areas of the world during this time, he sacrificed his successful civilian practice to deploy and train our Special Operations soldiers in a combat zone," McPherson writes in an email verified by a Fort Campbell spokesperson. "Mr. Garland is highly respected by the officers and soldiers of our Command for his bravery, knowledge, skill and professionalism."
Which isn't exactly true. There were some soldiers in the 5th Special Forces Group, whom he trained in hand-to-hand combat, who bristled under his instruction. They regarded him as a top-notch martial artist, who nevertheless struggled to relate to the real-life demands of their lives.
Much like he is in military circles, Chris Garland is a polarizing figure in the martial arts world as well. Many of them scoff at his claim that he's a master at Hapkido, a designation that means different things to different people. Garland dismisses those critics, showing a certificate with Korean lettering that appears to corroborate his master status in Hapkido. And he says none of his critics have the technical expertise he has. "I can slice a cucumber on your arm without hurting you," he says excitedly, referring to his swordsmanship.
At the same time, Garland says that he doesn't falsely promote himself. "Have I ever called myself a master? No," he says. But, interestingly, the domain name for one of Garland's websites is, you guessed it, MasterGarland.com.
In fact, few people doubt Garland's considerable talents. A former student, who is not one of his supporters, recalls a class where he lit a half-dozen concrete blocks on fire and shattered them with his head. Parents whose children study under Garland also praise his instruction and, interestingly, peaceful manner.
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