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→Personal life
===Army service===
===Army service===
At the age of eighteen, like all young American men, on January 19, 1953, Presley registered for the Selective Service system. At the time, there was a draft and all young men in good health were to be able to serve two years in the military, and then spend four years in the reserves. Presley, after signing up, became the sensation he was. Then Presley received a draft notice, No. 40-86-35-16 on December 20, 1957, but sought deferment to finish his film ''King Creole''. Presley went to the Memphis Draft Board on March 24, 1958 to be processed into the Army. He then spent 10 weeks in advanced tank training in Fort Hood, Texas. Presley returned soon after to see his mother, Gladys, who was gravely ill. She died on August 14, 1958. Presley served for two years and was assigned as an M48 Patton tank crewman to Company A, 1st Medium Tank Battalion, 32nd Armor Regiment of the 3rd Armored Division. He was stationed at Ray Barracks in Friedberg, Germany.
At the age of eighteen, like all young American men, on January 19, 1953, Presley registered for the Selective Service system. At the time, there was a draft and all young men in good health were to be able to serve two years in the military, and then spend four years in the reserves. Presley, after signing up, became the sensation he was. Then Presley received a draft notice, No. 40-86-35-16 on December 20, 1957, but sought deferment to finish his film ''King Creole''. Presley went to the Memphis Draft Board on March 24, 1958 to be processed into the Army. He then spent 10 weeks in advanced tank training in Fort Hood, Texas. Presley returned soon after to see his mother, Gladys, who was gravely ill. She died on August 14, 1958. Presley served for two years and was assigned as an M48 Patton tank crewman to Company A, 1st Medium Tank Battalion, 32nd Armor Regiment of the 3rd Armored Division. He was stationed at Ray Barracks in Friedberg, Germany.
===Martial Arts===
It was while stationed in Germany that Presley first developed his lifelong interest in martial arts. He was a student of Hank Slemansky, a German Chito Ryu master, and became a black belt upon returning to the United States in 1960. His [[gospel music|gospel]] album "His Hand in Mine," released in 1961, features Presley on the cover, sitting at the piano wearing a black belt pin.
He later came under the tutelage of Kendo master Ed Parker, who said that Presley was an excellent martial artist and actually knew the contents of the IKKA manual for Kendo better than he did. Presley was able to achieve a 6th degree black belt in Kendo by 1973.
Elvis Presley is credited with popularizing martial arts in the United States through the use of exciting fight sequences in his movies, for which he did not use a stuntman. In 1960, while filming the movie GI Blues, he accidentally injured his hand with enough force to cause it to swell up noticeably. He finished the filming regardless, and was known among other martial artists for his high tolerance for physical punishment. <ref>http://members.tripod.com/beyondthereef__1/tigerman.html</ref>
===Marriage===
===Marriage===