Frauds, Fakes, & McDojos

As with any activity, there are frauds and fakes in the martial arts world, and it's often hard for the beginner to know whether an instructor and his martial art are legitimate. This is a quick guide to help you determine whether the instructor and martial art you're dealing with are legitimate.

Let me start by saying that every martial art has something to offer. Boxing, wrestling, karate, kung fu, tai chi, and many others are all legitimate martial arts. Some focus more on the martial aspect (i.e., boxing) and some focus more on the art aspect (i.e., tai chi), but all offer exercise, mental engagement, and some element of self improvement. However, there are people who offer themselves as instructors who have little or no knowledge in martial arts, and are looking to either take your money or inflate their egos, or both. After a couple of years of experience in a legitimate martial arts, it's pretty easy to spot the frauds, fakes, and McDojos, but people inexperienced in martial arts can be taken in by false claims.

Here's a short list of things to be wary of when evaluating an instructor or school, with some discussion below.

Evasiveness or secrecy about personal background, history in martial arts, and/or affiliations, or any cult-like behavior
Instructors claiming black belts in more than two martial arts
Ranks of 6th dan or above for anyone under 50
Titles like Grandmaster, O-Sensei (great teacher), 10th dan, etc., indicating the highest possible level of mastery
Claims of "deadly" techniques, instant kills, insurmountable or unstoppable techniques, no-touch knockouts, secret powers, etc.
Excessive and repeated testing and other fees
Guarantees of black belts in a certain period of time
Excessive badges, patches, colored belts/stripes, and other uniform bling

Evasiveness & Secrecy

The moment that an instructor or anyone associated with him starts being evasive or secretive about his or her history, his or her affiliations, or starts talking about hidden/secret techniques, run for the hills! Double that if there's any hint of cult-like behavior. Legitimate instructors who have dedicated years of their lives to studying an art form and who are confident in what they do have nothing to hide. They will usually gladly explain to you what they do, and how it is similar, to or differs from, other martial arts. Some instructors may not be interested in investing a lot of time and energy in you until you've stuck around for a few months, but this is not necessarily reason for concern. These instructors are usually not hiding anything, but have had a lot of people come through the door who have left after a brief time, and they're more interested in spending their time on the people who stay.

The one exception to the secrecy rule is for Japanese koryu (feudal-era Japan martial arts) instructors, who may honestly and truly have pledged to keep certain techniques secret as part of a tradition. These instructors are very, very rare, however. It's best to check with other members of the martial arts community about that instructor's reputation if this issue arises.

Multiple High Ranks and Other Exaggerated Claims

Claims of high black belt ranks in multiple martial arts, extremely high ranks in a single martial art for someone relatively young, titles of Grandmaster and the like, are almost always bogus. It is quite possible to have a black belt in two martial arts (the author of this website does), but it is extremely rare for both of those ranks to be of very high level. If the ranks are both of high level, it's often because the martial arts are very similar (e.g., two different styles of Aikido). The reason is that it takes 20+ years of study in a single martial art to legitimately gain a high-ranking black belt. The odds of anyone having the time to do that in two or more martial arts is very, very low.

Claims of insurmountable or unstoppable techniques, no-touch knockouts, secret powers, etc., are always a reason to run for the hills. Claims of "deadly" techniques, instant kills, etc., warrant serious further research. Sure, you can learn to break somebody's neck and kill them, which is a legitimately "deadly" technique. But, in the vast majority of cases, those terms are used by con-men trying to inflate their abilities.

McDojos

A "McDojo" is a martial arts business run by someone who has little or no skill in martial arts, and is either in it for the money or for the ego-inflation of being a martial arts instructor. It's hard for beginners to recognize a McDojo, because they simply don't know what legitimate martial arts look like. McDojos tend to have sloppy, undefined technique. The instructor may talk a big game, but when he demonstrates something, it's usually pretty unimpressive. His students are all unimpressive because, well... their instructor doesn't know anything. In order to make up for a lack of real martial skill, these dojos may have lots of badges, patches, posters of Bruce Lee, nunchucks, and similar decor. Guarantees of black belts, monthly testing, excessive testing fees, payment contracts, and an emphasis on money-making are indicators of a McDojo.

Generally speaking, the more emphasis on money, flashy decor, frequent testing, and uniform decorations, the more likely the place is to be a fraud. Legitimate martial artists need to keep the doors open, and people teaching full-time will need to have monthly fees that allow them to make a living, but you will often find that excellent martial arts instruction can be had from people teaching part-time at the local gym, or out of spartan accommodations located in an industrial warehouse space. If you show up at a martial arts school run out of a barely-decorated warehouse space, where everyone wears white uniforms, where there are no more than 5 belt colors, where it takes 5 to 7 years to get a black belt, and where the students leave the class sweaty and tired, it is almost guaranteed that the place is legitimate. Those people aren't there for the ego-boost. They are there to train, and they wouldn't show up to that place week after week, year after year, if they weren't learning legitimate martial arts.