One asked me to co-sign $40K bank loan. Neither of us had collateral, but I had a regular job.
One promoted his black belt students, but didn't submit registrations to Kukkiwon.
His brother tried to sell school to another instructor. Agreement: students (and their remaining contracts), equipment, and dojang become the new instructor's assets. Days before they signed, the 1st instructor made a deal with his senior students: "Pay $2000 now and I guarantee black belt in 2 years.", or some varied adjustments for those ar or near black belt. Result: new instructor had a school full of students who'd already paid for 2 year memberships (meaning, no income).
One took over my, turned it into a sparring (and belt) factory. No self defense. No breaking. For me: no sparring (only sparring drills). No classes (because I was already leading classes). When I left, the reason I gave was that I wanted a more traditional curriculum. He seemed puzzled that, having taught 40-odd years, coached an Olympic team, and Korean military, that he - above anyone else - was qualified to label his instruction as "traditional".
Several I know left their school to start their own just after getting 1st dan.
Two only teach children (where it is easy to hide low quality instruction and lack of knowledge depth - parents are happy no matter what if their kids come home tired and happy).
Two tried to mix hard-core religion into the instruction: prayer before/after class, before sparring, weekly bible readings, a religious testing requirement.
One has only half-hour classes - adult and children classes - and annual contract allows to come only 2 or 3 times a week.
One advertised Hapkido training: it works like this: sign up for TKD ($1800/year) then sign up additionally for HKD ($600/year). After 1-hr TKD class, the next half hour was HKD. Students make two lines facing each other, then, try to bend each other's wrist and elbow in different directions to see how much control could be exerted. Meanwhile, the instructor sits in his office on the phone, apparently arguing with his wife.
In my Aikido class, it's very common to hear a conversation in the changing room about crap styles.
Style bashing EVERYTHING - from taekwondo, muay thai, mma, bjj. But the "great" styles were always karate, jujitsu, judo. Get the hint? I'm glad I say nothing of my experience.
Egos: In Aikido, sensei was demonstrating a technique with his chosen uke. The class was then told to practice the technique. The partner I was paired up with constantly corrected my technique, saying sensei was wrong to show it "this way" and should have shown it "that way".
In one of our schools, not the one I regularly attend, two Aikido students got into an hour long fist fight and screaming match - over a technique. The argument began half way into the two hour class, were calmed down by the instructor at the time, but throughout the remainder of the class began to use excessive force on each other, including face punching atemis, groin kicking, an all-out haymaker demonstration, filthy vocabulary that would make a 6th-grader embarassed, and - after being tossed out of the dojo - spill the fight into the parking lot. Their fight resulted in typical high-school fighting with name calling, haymakers, headlocks - and a broken side-view mirror and a broken car antenna.
One instructor awhile back kept hitting on all the women in class until he was asked to leave.
Yeah, I've seen some nasty stuff out there. Martial artists are no dumber or more intelligent than the rest of the population. Sh!t stinks no matter who produces it.
I worked in a cafe for a while and there was a really nice guy who mentioned the person he trained under as being a great martial artist. He had given the son of founder of the style he taught a black belt so I figured he would be worth looking into. I went in and he was trying to show me how my art did not work and started by asking me to get into my "fighting stance." As I do a traditional Karate we begin from a natural position and train to strike from there but knew that he meant zenkutsu dashi (formal stance). Ours is more natural than the mainland Japan style. He corrected me to what he believed the stance should be first. Then he showed me how impractical the stance he put me in was. I kept quiet as I "Trained" with him for an hour 1/2. He taught me to slap my opponent to get his attention and to kick him in the chin to "attack the gallbladder" (gall bladder is in the upper right quadrant of the abdomen). He then asked me to show him how I usually train which made me feel bad.
I stood toe to toe with the guy who had invited me and did a drill which you hit the person as hard as you can in the abdomen and chest then kick both legs. He bruised his tibia when he kicked my thigh and hurt his wrist when he punched. I did a soft punch which knocked the guy back a little and a soft kick which he said dug into his nerves. I did not even hit him as hard as the 8 year old I teach would have!
I was told that they would want me to do a seminar for thier students but never got back to me. The guy who invited me later told me that his Master had told him that I was a person who stole his Chi so was not welcome back. This was about 8 years ago and the fraud is still doing seminars
Plenty.
1. A karate instructor once told me karate was the noble art of the samurai, ignoring kenjutsu and everything.
2. A teacher once claimed that cross training is bullshit and he can offer everything, and that everything else is a sport. Aikido is a sport because it is grappling and on the street you can only strike not grapple, that's why jka banned strikes. Judo is a sport because it looks like hugging. Kung fu is a sport because it was not samurai enough. Krav maga was sport because its history was 'made up.'
3. The same karate teacher told me kata was for fighting more than one imaginary attacker. That's why you turn all the time.
4. Someone once said ninjutsu is the best.
5. Seniors often freely punched juniors full force but juniors cannot punch full force to seniors.
6. Bow 20 times every class.
7. Turning in the kata represent you elbowing someone you can't see. Yet you somehow magically feel them.
8. Silly joint locks by holding out someone's arm and try to apply pressure to elbow. Nothing's wrong with the techniques. It's a great technique. Just the instructor didn't teach it well. When sparring with someone in aikido background with a greenbelt in judo. I got murdered. Fault was that my partners would often submit when I apply that much pressure but I didn't get them on toes. Thing is when I tried it on the aikido girl, she simply spun around and did some weird thing to my jaws. She later said I need to put her on her heels or toes so she can't spin.
9. JKA is the ultimate martial art because it was affliated to Enoeda. All other organisations are not real karate. Will get us killed. Do not get it mixed up. I love Enoeda. But they say only he is the real karateka because all the other's cannot punch using speed and power.
Added: Super inflated gradings. I got to purple belt in just 1 year. The instructor did this by jumping me up from orange. But the instructor as a person is actually someone I like. No extra fee were involved in that grading. But LOL. Every grading costs like more than 20 quid and happens every 3 months or so. There are some junior blacks.
One time an instructor opened a school, made fake black belts & certificates when they actually were a low level color belt student who never got near a high level color belt.
I once had an instructor who taught me the wrong stuff for my color belt.
I just turn around and leave when my BS detector goes off.
Have you ever encountered a shoddy martial arts school or instructor. Can you describe instances of poorly skilled and unqualified instructors, dishonesty, overblown egos and stye bashing?
