Paying Martial Arts Instructors Like Sh** is WRONG

What does bullshido mean?

"Bullshido" is the more general term used by some martial arts aficionados to describe what they see as outright fraud, deception, or ineptitude in the teaching of martial arts by modern instructors. The word is a portmanteau of "bushido", the samurai code of honor, and "bullshit". Bullshido is posited as the antithesis of bushido, and is applied to situations or schools where martial art instructors publish unverifiable assertions as to their lineage or training methods or emphasis what is described as blatant commercialism at the expense of substance in their training, conduct, or business dealings.

Coined by Neal "Phrost" Fletcher, the founder and site director for the Bullshido.com website, the bilingual play on words reflects an assertion by some of the martial arts community that there are those who train to learn how to fight, those who train to pretend they know how to fight, and those who claim that they can learn how to fight on the street without ever having fought in the dojo.

Formerly in East Asia, the tradition was that when an unknown (the traditional martial arts community had a system of references), fraudulent or ineffective school would open in a community, it would eventually be shut down by other schools in the neighbourhood through direct challenges before they could harm or defraud many potential students. If the established schools were impressed by the martial ability of the newcomer during the encounter, then they would, by tradition, be allowed to stay open. If the new school couldn't defend themselves effectively, they would be disgraced by being publicly defeated. This traditional political encounter between different schools became a favourite motif of martial arts movie makers. In modern, Westernized society, such practices are considered illegal, and therefore this kind of self-policing of the Martial Arts community is generally prevented. Consequently, almost anyone can learn a few moves and invent their own style, or claim to be the secret heir of a heretofore unknown ancient tradition going on to teach as many gullible souls as possible under the protection of local law enforcement.

Bullshido is also said, by proponents of the concept, to consist of impractical training methods if they are used out of the contexts for which they were originally intended. Noted martial artists such as Jon Bluming, Bruce Lee, along with many (though not all) members of the Bullshido.com forums have asserted that board breaking and kata (forms) are of limited benefit towards actual fighting proficiency and often used by alleged McDojos as "filler" to occupy class time. This view is very common in modern mixed martial arts or "combat sport" circles as well. These critics maintain that such ancillary activities often become the focus of one's martial arts training at the expense of learning how to implement the techniques in a realistic situation. They suggest that the best means to prepare to use one's skills in a realistic situation is through the use of full or hard contact, non-stop sparring with which their current skill levels can be realistically evaluated.

Have a great day,

Martial Arts Tutor

P.S Check out Mcdojo FAQ (a quick google search) to find the full article

The Importance of Grappling In Martial Arts

Back in the days before the UFC, cage fighting, or any other events that consisted of two styles going against each other, people really thought that the only way to fight was to do crazy spinning kicks or fancy kung fu moves to beat somebody. It's not anyone's fault necessarily; hollywood portrayed young asian actors like Jackie Chan, Jet li and many others as small short asian men who could beat up anybody who came their way using ancient styles of kung fu or the equivalent. For me personally, I took up martial arts as a child because I wanted to look cool; specifically I wanted to be a power ranger. All the fancy and crazy kicks and the sweet flips, I thought that stuff was cool (and i still do to an extent). I mean, why give the people something boring and unrealistic to watch on television; people already immediately start booing at UFC events when fighters "stall" on the ground when to the trained eye, they are actually attempting to get in a better position to end the fight.

Grappling, in my opinion, (you don't have to believe anything I say you know) is by far one of the most underlooked aspects in many martial arts today. Now, it's not as bad as it was before, where people thought that their ultimate stiking style (typically taekwondo, kung fu, and karate guys claim this) would not allow them to be taken down to the ground. Still, there are some people today that think the same reasoning and feel like grappling is a waste of their time. Those people should do themselves a favor and actually....test their theory. That is a major problem with alot of martial art systems today (especially those of traditional systems) that they don't test what they "think" will work. As I mentioned in a post the other day, one step systems kill martial arts. They literally are interpretations of fighting that never get tested and don't work quite frankly. But I digress. Grappling is essential to martial arts as 90% of street fights end up on the ground. Still, you never want to be on the ground in a street fight, but you don't want to be clueless right?

Have a great day,
Martial Arts Tutor

Is Sparring Necessary in Martial Arts?

I get it. Some people don't want to take up martial arts (mma in particular) because they are worried they have to spar. In my own personal experience, I remember as a kid, dreading sparring because I knew that I wasn't very good at it; so I stuck to getting really good at forms. Not only was I not very good at it, my Taekwondo school at the time wasn't a very sparring heavy school, and my instructor often made bad remarks to Taekwondo schools that did nothing but spar. "They may beat you in sparring, but they don't even know poomse" he would say.

What is wrong with this thinking?

For a long time, I used to think the same exact way. I felt that there was more value in forms and that it truly defined a martial artist. It took years of realizing that thought was foolish to realize the reason why I took martial arts in the first place; to fight. Poomse, or kata whatever you call it, will NOT make you a better fighter. I practiced poomse for years and years, and only when I sparred and practiced did my sparring get better, not by practicing poomse. Some even make the arguement that ITF (international taekwondo federation) practioners just practiced poomse and then just sparred with that. This makes me chuckle because having experienced boxing, I do believe that they did that now; they have some of the worst punches i've ever seen! The whole sideways stance greatly limits a cross...but I digress.

So to answer the question, yes. Sparring is necessary, and alot of it. While I do think Taekwondo sparring is very limited and unrealistic and think that you'd be better off taking a kickboxing striking art or grappling art, I'd take a guy who Taekwondo spars for years rather than a guy who practices punching and kicking the air.

Have a Great Day,

Martial Arts Tutor

Are Martial Arts Meant For Self Defense Anymore?

Imagine in your head, for a moment, a big martial arts school. Everyone is lined up, people are bowing to the instructor, and immediately break off into sections and practice their blocks in front of a large wide mirror. The instructor yells "hana!" and the students perform a low block. The instructor then says "Dool" and the students perform a middle punch and so on and so forth. As this happens before you, you notice that all of the students are punching and blocking in unison. This goes on for about 20 minutes.

Later, the instructor tells everyone to relax and face partners with one another. Excited, you watch intently to see if a match between students will take place before you. Once again, the instructor says "Hana!" and one student steps back and performs a low block. The opposite partner says "GO!" and the other student with the low block immediately steps forward and throws a lunging punch, as the defender moves to the side and performs a middle punch right at the solar plexus. For the next 30 minutes you watch as the instructor, perform a series of many attacks defending against the lowblock followed by a punch. As he does these attacks, he uses words like "self defense" and "technique" and you see him making corrections to students who aren't using their stances correctly. He pushes the legs wide to make sure all the balance is felt in the hips and core and that the arm is low and on the hip.

To your dismay, you realize that once again, you just witnessed a Mcdojo in practice. This is the major problem with alot of martial art schools today; the practice doesn't become about realistic self defense, its all about how to "look good" and theorize without sparring live resistance. Hundereds and even thousands of martial art schools use this "low block, punch" system that doesn't even resemble anything close to realistic attacks or even a martial arts fight with rules. It's much easier to make a group of people do something stupid than something correct; thats the thought of alot of martial art school owners. Many instructors especially those with 7 or 8 degrees feel like they have spent their entire lives devoting themselves to bullshido and can't shake the fact that modern martial arts would destroy them and their students. So as a warning advice to you today, if you are considering taking up martial arts, join a school that doesn't practice one steps. That's the number one sign of a Mcdojo (as well as kid blackbelts)

Have a great day,
Martial Arts Tutor

Why Are There So Many Kid Blackbelts?

This is a controversial question in the martial arts. In our world today, we see many schools opening up, claiming to have children be blackbelts and make parents pay a large amount of money for it too. We see these kids perform memorized long forms, break boards, and often times show confidence in themselves. While this is not necessarily a bad thing (the forms, confidence, and board breaking) it does become bad because that means the standards for a blackbelt are now very low.

I was a victim of this thinking myself.

When I turned 10 years old, I became one of the youngest blackbelts at my Taekwondo school to test for "junior" blackbelt. Mind you, a junior blackbelt is essentially the same as a normal blackbelt, just a way to not make people freak out that a kid is a blackbelt. This is ironic because when I turned 12 I earned a full 2nd degree blackbelt. Further on, when I turned 14 a 3rd Degree blackbelt, and finally my "mastery"4th Degree was attained when I was 18 years old. 

All these years, there was something....something I knew was wrong about this. Still, for 15 years I trained TKD to the point where I was teaching, giving belt promotions, and even signing up students to this system in which I gave my whole life into. I wouldn't count out that TKD was an absolute waste of time; I learned confidence, I kept myself in shape, and it allowed me to pursue other sports relatively easier because I could control my body. However, I always knew that being a kid blackbelt was a weird concept. 

In one of my old schools that my instructor had me teach at, the population for kid blackbelts (and blackbelts in general) was super high, and the school consisted mostly of them. My instructor would boast and be proud saying we have the most blackbelts in the area. Alot of these kids took only as little as 2 years to become a blackbelt, and often times had their belts taken away for misbehavior in school or even at the dojang. This disgusted me. I knew at that moment, this was all about the money. Which really, running a school with a system like TKD that has become so impractical compared to modern fighting systems such as Muay thai (which is also very old however), boxing, BJJ and more. 

So why are there so many kid blackbelts? Simple. The owner wants to make more money. Giving a kid a blackbelt will yes, make him VERY confident. But ask yourself this question (assuming you are a parent) which is better in the real world today; real confidence, or forged confidence? I would take your children to BJJ. No kid blackbelts there; just real confidence from the start.

Have a Great Day,

-Martial Arts Tutor

A Martial Arts Poem

I came across this poem the other day, thought I'd share it with you all.

"I am a martial artist." I see through different eyes. 
I see a bigger picture when others see grey skies. 
Though many can't conceive it, I stand...facing the wind. 
My bravery, not from fighting, but from my strength within. 

I am a martial artist. I'll walk the extra mile. 
Not because I have to, but because it's worth my while. 
I know that I am different, when I stand on a crowded street. 
I know the fullness of winning, I've tasted the cup of defeat. 

I am a martial artist. They say I walk with ease. 
Though trained for bodily harm, my intentions are for peace. 
The world may come and go, but a different path I'll choose. 
A path I will not stray from, no matter, win or lose. 

-Karen Eden

To Roll or Not to Roll ; Should I Do BJJ With A Cold?

So this morning (and the last few days unfortunately) I've been dealing with a series of headaches, sore through, stomach ache's , light headness; in other words you could say that I'm sick.

But I thought to myself, isn't exercise good for a cold? (which being macho, I assumed I only have a cold and not the flu or something) After a quick google search and coming across webmd, I came to the conclusion that working out when sick is only recommended if you "feel like it". They say people can do light to moderate activity when sick and still get away with it.

So in my head, I'm like "yeah, i can just roll light." Then I realized.... rolling with even just a cold is a bad bad idea. Think about it. You're in close proximity to someone and very sweaty (if you don't sweat at all when you roll....then you're either really efficient or you don't train hard enough) and the likely hood of spreading germs is like an STD on jersey shore. (Not that you're spreading STD's rolling....I hope)

So that being said, I hope if any of you are considering rolling with a cold; just don't. Do everyone a favor and take a break until you fully recover. Your training partners would appreciate it.

Have a nice day,
Martial Arts Tutor

Royce Gracie vs Ken Shamrock

Wow...that was quite a “fight”.

If you were able to see the Royce Gracie vs Ken Shamrock fight (unfortunately I did not have access to the channel, so I had to rely on online sources to see the fight) you either were absolutely shocked at the stoppage of the fight as you saw history repeat itself, realize you just wasted your money on a bad fight, or truly thought that Royce won that fight and won fair-and-square.

At first, I was on the fence after the fact on who's side I was on. At first, I was on Royce gracie's side because from what the replay showed, it only showed Royce giving Ken a solid knee to the temple shortly followed by Ken collapsing and the fight ending there. Soon after, I see Ken bitching and moaning about it and him complaining to Royce “You did that on purpose!”, and all I could think in my head was, well, of course he kneed you in the head ON PURPOSE dude!

However, after witnessing the replay (the correct replay) where Royce in fact did knee Ken right in the family jewels, my views shifted once again. How could he have won that fight? That was a dirty move, and there should have been a break from the action by the referee to continue that fight. However, there was one thing remarkable that Royce did say after the fight. He mentioned how both him and Ken did fight in the days where low blows were allowed and there were no gloves, people just fought with whatever they could.

This is why I believe that Royce did deserve that win. While yes, he technically “cheated” with a low blow, the purpose of MMA's creation was to discover which martial art was the best. That includes groin shots, which were legal in MMA for a period of time. While I don't believe in sparring/competition that involves getting kicked in the nuts, getting hit in the back of the head, fishooking, ect I do see the value in vale tudo matches, which is what Royce was known for. And we all know those matches mattered the most; it created the UFC. Still, I wanted to see a good fight, and I'm sure many of you are upset because you probably spent money on it. And of course, a knee to the balls really really hurts....and who knows, maybe if the fight went on it would have ended up like the Dada 5000 vs Kimbo slice fight, and we all know how boring that fight was.

Comment below your thoughts!

-Martial Arts Tutor

Future Posts

Hello Everyone,

Radio.... Silence. That's what our blog had for the past 5 or so months.

That is no longer the case

In addition to our Youtube Channel daily videos (mon-fri) we will be writing daily blog posts related to martial arts frauds, bullshido, insights, and much more. If you like our Youtube videos, we highly recommend you follow our blog as we will have posts every day, 7 days a week (or at least we will try to). That is an additional two days of content! *shouts of joy

Have a great day,
Martial Arts Tutor