We hate fake martial arts teachers.

At least with pseudo-fake (casual / McDojo) martial arts / schools, arguments can be made that these arts or schools are there for business and money making purposes, and your judgement may vary.

But meeting an actual fake martial arts teacher? As in, fake personified?

It is one of the worst things that unfortunately does exist in the world of martial arts, especially outside of Japan.

The reason why we’re calling out fake martial arts teachers is because they promote unsafe training environments that could get their students seriously hurt or even killed, scam innocent people out of their hard earned money, and contribute to a cult-like culture that is scummy and predatory.

Not only do these fake martial arts teachers profit off of unsuspecting students, they ruin the legitimacy and image of real martial artists who practice their art seriously.

Here is a list of the top signs or traits of a fake martial arts teacher. If your teacher or some other teacher you know matches most of the signs on this list – run away – as they are most likely a fake!

1. They Peddle Some Form Of “Magic BS”

The biggest and most obvious sign of a fake martial arts teacher, right off the bat, is if they are a snake oil salesman type who teaches their entire martial arts curriculum based on some type of “Magic BS” (unconventional beliefs regarded as having little or no scientific basis, especially those relating to spirituality, mysticism, or alternative medicine), such as:

1. Cultivating mystical energies or “internal” energies such as Chi, Qi, or Ki, that has never been proven by modern sports science that it exists.

   They perform feats of science fiction magic like pushing a person back 10 feet, getting out of an armlock or grappling position with no effort, or simultaneously defending oneself from 10 attackers at once with “Qi” force.

2. Mythology or unverifiable story of origin such as selling a story of a fictitious martial arts master or lineage that cannot be verified as historical fact.

   They’ll make up tales of Ng Mui, Miyamoto Musashi, or some other historical story, and say they were the “secret” “descendant” or “successor” of that “lost” art.

3. Way of movement that is highly strange, theoretical, or impractical for real world applications.

If this martial arts teacher constantly operates or talks about something that is only theoretical and cannot be accurately reproduced in the real world (ie. against resisting opponents, sparring, or any non-compliant scenario), or otherwise be proven as true, they are a fake martial arts teacher.

2. They’re Out Of Shape / Abnormally Frail

Now, we know not to ever judge a book by its cover, as famous and legitimate martial artists like Sammo Hung or UFC / MMA fighters like “Big Country” Roy Nelson are of the larger variety.

But, sometimes appearances do matter and can be a legit indicator of your martial arts teacher’s skill, knowledge, and / or level of dedication.

If your martial arts instructor looks relatively out of shape, or if they look completely frail, this can be a red flag.

Observe them closely in action, and if they can’t even walk up a flight of stairs without panting heavily, or they’re so skinny and frail (and not because of their age) that they can barely do any technique with any convincing energy, how do you expect them to teach you properly?

If they don’t even take care of their personal fitness / physical health, how can you trust that they’ll take care of your personal development?

Not all martial arts teachers are equal. If your martial arts teacher is severely overweight, or not in great physical shape, there might be a limit as to how much they can help you, especially if you are in much better shape than they are.

Or worse, if they cannot physically fight off an opponent or attacker themselves (practice what they preach), then how good of a martial artist are they really?

Exceptions are given to martial arts masters of advanced age (40+), of course, but if you had a choice, you should probably try and learn from someone who can actually kick your butt (at least a little and within reason), and not from someone who can only demonstrate moves on you but cannot actually do them to you for real.

3. They Don’t Allow You To Touch them

Fake martial arts teachers or “touch-less” masters will never allow you to touch them or try techniques with them.

At most, they’ll allow you to do so with one of their students instead.

The reason is obvious – if you actually tested their skill or did something they didn’t expect, they would immediately be exposed!

4. They Hide Behind Their Style / Teacher / Lineage

Instead of representing themselves through their own personal accomplishments in martial arts, fake martial arts teachers will constantly brag about how their style or discipline of martial arts is the best, and that their style / school is better than all the other styles / schools out there.

They will incessantly name-drop, make reference to, or use other more famous names, mythical figures, their teacher, their lineage, or otherwise leverage some other person they never met or don’t have close ties to, to represent their martial arts or to prop themselves up as important or legitimate.

For example, they might constantly brag about:

1. Who their martial arts teacher was (“my teacher was Ip Man / Ip Man’s disciple!”)
2. The fact that they trained with or knew of [insert famous martial artist] (“I trained with Bruce Lee’s disciple / classmate!”)
3. That their lineage is highly sacred, regarded, and revered

If all they can do is reference / piggyback other peoplebut have otherwise shown no proof or value that they are a quality martial artist themselves – then they are most likely weak, soft, and a fake teacher.

5. Their Martial Arts Is A “Brand” (They’re A Marketing Guru / Branding Expert)

Note: The following is a tricky one. There are many legitimate instructors who have went on to create their own systems and rankings. That is totally fine. But watch out for the cult leaders.

If a martial arts teacher has successfully marketed their own “style” or “brand” of martial arts, given it a modified or distinct name, or broke off of their original style or lineage and renamed it something else, beware, they could be running a cult-like entity (complete with a cult following) and their martial arts could just be fake (something they made up).

Examples: Mixing Asian Names for their style. Wong Katate (Chinese and Japanese)
Yamamoto Kung Fu(Japanese and Chinese)
Or personalized brand / terms:

1. Fighting (Joe’s Fighting Arts)
2. System (Joe’s Flow System)
3. First or Last Name (Joe’s Fighting Systems, Joe Jitsu, Johnson Jitsu)

Or modifying the name, abbreviation, or spelling of a martial art to stand out:

1. Wing Chun, Wing Tsun, Ving Tsun, Wing Tjun (watch out for made up terms – these are different English romanization spellings to differentiate their lineage, but in Chinese, it’s all the same word)
2. Hung Kuen / Kyun (they’re the same thing)
3. Boxercise (Boxing + Exercise)
4. Tae Bo (Taekwondo + Boxing)
5. Tae Kwon Dance (Tae Kwon + Dance instead of “Do”)

Or making something up by themselves and / or peddling it as an ancient art or mythical “lost” martial art form:

1. Snake Crane Tiger Wing Chun / Tai Chi
2. Ng Mui Secret / Original Wing Chun
3. Some kind of “Secret / Hidden” Kung Fu
4. Jailhouse Rumble Rock 82 Blox Revenge Style Boxing

6. They Have A Fake Belt or They’re Highly Ranked… In Their Own Style! Or Multiple Styles

Note: If the instructor has created a new system that is legitimate – they have combined several styles or refined their style into something new or made it more effective, then this is okay.

A martial arts teacher is most likely fake if they cannot tell you where they got their martial arts rank / lineage from.

They’re also most likely fake if they have a 10th “Dan” “black belt” in “Kyoukuten Karate” (an example of a style that doesn’t exist) or if they are a “Level 18 Master” of a “system” of martial arts they created for their own school.

In reality, martial arts that are the most realistic, do not have that many ranks or levels anyway.

In fact, many sport martial arts such as Boxing or Muay Thai don’t have ranks or belts at all.

The only reason fake martial arts / martial arts teachers invent so many levels of progression is because they want to force their students to train longer (but progress slower), pay more tuition fees or belt grading fees in order to achieve a perceived higher ranking in their respective martial arts discipline.

The longer they can hide things and make their students train longer with the false idea that they are progressing somewhere, the better (and more profitable) for the fake martial arts teacher.

7. They Give Themselves A Title… And Demand You Call Them By It

If a martial arts teacher gives themselves the title of “Sifu”, “Sensei”, “Kru”, “Master” in front of their names, especially in front of their social media names or handles, then this is a red flag (“coach” is acceptable for sports).
Titles are honorific in Asia, such as Mister, you don’t call yourself that. ie. I am a sensei. Or on Facebook (Sensei John Doe) FAKE!

Real, legitimate martial arts teachers do not need to give themselves these fake titles and demand that people address them by it. It is ok to say sensei or sifu to your teacher in class, but not demanded or necessary outside of class.

The ones who feel they need to shout it out from the rooftops that they are some sort of “Sifu, “Sensei”, or “Master”, instead of being called that title naturally by their own students, are the most insecure of their own skills and likely a fake.

8. They Don’t Teach Classes Themselves

They are never seen in the actual school or cannot be bothered to teach classes themselves.

They have a “black belt” student or some other kid / teenager student on minimum wage teaching their classes.

What this means is if the class is bad or poorly taught, they don’t have to be responsible for it, as they can always deflect it as their student’s fault.

They probably don’t even care, as their school is just a money making tool and they’re usually off somewhere slacking off anyways.

9. They Charge Exorbitant Fees For Seminars Where They Teach Basically Nothing

They travel and teach seminars at martial arts schools around the world, where at best, they teach “white belt level” basics of their martial arts, or at worst, use really ambiguous or vague terms when teaching their martial arts.

They might grab a compliant student to perform a demonstration, but ultimately is more of just a party trick or planned choreographed demonstration rather than real skill or technique.

They trick gullible students into thinking what they’re showing is real or that it really works, even though the demonstration might just be an exploitation of the students’ lack of knowledge.

Their “seminars” are basically glorified talking sessions, philosophical talk, or “motivational speeches” with very little actual practical application or physical practice involved.

They charge hundreds, if not thousands of dollars for a chance for students to “practice” with them, and maybe touch them lightly (“touch hands”, “feel my energy”), but never, ever are they allowed to spar them.

10.They’re a Sport Masquerading as Real World Fighting

Red Flags– Grappling, ground sports, can be effective in school yard alterations and other non life threatening alterations, it can be a fun physical “chess” game to some, but at the end of the day, it’s a sport.

– Many Strip-mall schools: Window trophies, mixed Asian language names, contracts, are other red flags of a sport or current fad-style.

In Conclusion: Beware of…

– Aggressiveness, bragging, lack of humility, claiming special powers, multiple style black belts, expensive, fast track black belt programs, and a general lack of a calm demeanor are signs of a fake teacher/master.

-In America, anyone can claim to be a master and teach what they claim to be martial arts, because it isn’t regulated and licensed by a legitimate Government approved Association.
However, it is highly regulated in Asia, especially, Japan and Singapore, designed to weed out the phonies and wanna-bes.

– Just because they’re Asian, doesn’t mean they are authentic. That’s a racial stereotype. Some try to jump on the bandwagon, some not very skilled, all in the name of appearing legit in the unregulated United States, where they’re many parents throwing money for their kid’s wellbeing, yet not knowing that some are not what they seem, and some could do more damage.

– Some instructors, claim to be almost Navy seal-like, or Special Forces-like, but only did basic training and served in general military and nothing out of the ordinary.
Remember, research your school.
Bad teachers make bad students and bad students make bad teachers.

– A false sense of security, taking a sport to a street confrontation, can get you killed.

– Trophies, Belts, Awards mean NOTHING in the real world. The trophy is your LIFE!

Master Plewes has lived, trained, taught in Asia for 22 YEARS. (Japan, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia) and can verify through demonstrations, photos, TV appearance, videos and witnesses.

Pay no mind to trophies, grand awards, fancy certificates, look for real functionality and research before you invest your time and money.