Hi,
Just wondering if you think I’ve got involved in some “bullshido” and what I should do about it.
I'm not sure if this is the right forum I couldn't find one to fit better. It's not really an investigation unless you think this club is worth investigating in which case I will name.
I joined a tae kwon do club about a year ago as recommended by a friend. I had done martial arts twice previously before, once as a kid and once as a teen, I trained for a couple of years but stopped both times because I was lazy and had no attention span. I was keen to try again and now I’m older and stronger and more dedicated and I really want to get a black belt.
The club seemed really sporty compared to my last one which concerned me a bit. I hadn’t heard of McDojos then but I have now. However, it doesn’t seem to have the hallmarks. All the black belts have obviously excellent technique, it also takes a minimum of four years to get to a black belt. The kids are kept separately, have different belts and are well-controlled. I didn’t sign a contract and it’s expensive but not exorbitantly so. They do lots of fitness exercises and everyone is strong and fit. They do less sparring than my last club and it’s more points-based, but up the higher levels it still happens (in special classes I don’t attend), and I see people with bruises sometimes so there must be some form of contact. They do well in competitions. Still, I was sceptical because it was more martial arts than self-defence, but I’m definitely getting strong and developing technique plus it’s fun. I don’t think it’s a McDojo, but I could be wrong.
Then the club announced they are running kyusho-jitsu classes in parallel, you can pay extra to attend those if you want, and get a second black belt in kyoshu in a couple of years. Who is grading them but…Mr Steve Stewart?! He has no formal connection with our club (I am not even in Canada) but apparently the instructors have decided that he’s amazing. They even wanted us to pay extra to see a demonstration by him.
I wasn't going to sign up or pay without finding out who the guy was, it’s clear from his web site he’s a total scammer, and there are multiple threads on here related to him which were helpful in my research. It’s obvious that he inflates his credentials (no MD or PhD), is into some rubbish like no-touch knock-outs with Dillman, and also appears to have conflicts of interest. His own web site mentions telling his students he’s a doctor and selling them homeopathy and acupuncture. Yeah wtf, I have a low tolerance for people like that.
I did not sign up for the extra kyusho classes or attend the Stewart seminar, my question is, should I still stay with the club and ignore the fact some of them believe in this rubbish, or is it a lost cause? I think the tae kwon do is very good and I’ve already invested a year in it. On the other hand, the fact the instructors can be into pressure points and qi and talk about “the doctor” without even googling his qualifications…it sort of makes me wonder what I’m doing there.
I'm in a fairly small town and most of the martial arts is tae kwon do, not sure what I'd switch to if I stopped.
Any advice?
Just wondering if you think I’ve got involved in some “bullshido” and what I should do about it.
I'm not sure if this is the right forum I couldn't find one to fit better. It's not really an investigation unless you think this club is worth investigating in which case I will name.
I joined a tae kwon do club about a year ago as recommended by a friend. I had done martial arts twice previously before, once as a kid and once as a teen, I trained for a couple of years but stopped both times because I was lazy and had no attention span. I was keen to try again and now I’m older and stronger and more dedicated and I really want to get a black belt.
The club seemed really sporty compared to my last one which concerned me a bit. I hadn’t heard of McDojos then but I have now. However, it doesn’t seem to have the hallmarks. All the black belts have obviously excellent technique, it also takes a minimum of four years to get to a black belt. The kids are kept separately, have different belts and are well-controlled. I didn’t sign a contract and it’s expensive but not exorbitantly so. They do lots of fitness exercises and everyone is strong and fit. They do less sparring than my last club and it’s more points-based, but up the higher levels it still happens (in special classes I don’t attend), and I see people with bruises sometimes so there must be some form of contact. They do well in competitions. Still, I was sceptical because it was more martial arts than self-defence, but I’m definitely getting strong and developing technique plus it’s fun. I don’t think it’s a McDojo, but I could be wrong.
Then the club announced they are running kyusho-jitsu classes in parallel, you can pay extra to attend those if you want, and get a second black belt in kyoshu in a couple of years. Who is grading them but…Mr Steve Stewart?! He has no formal connection with our club (I am not even in Canada) but apparently the instructors have decided that he’s amazing. They even wanted us to pay extra to see a demonstration by him.
I wasn't going to sign up or pay without finding out who the guy was, it’s clear from his web site he’s a total scammer, and there are multiple threads on here related to him which were helpful in my research. It’s obvious that he inflates his credentials (no MD or PhD), is into some rubbish like no-touch knock-outs with Dillman, and also appears to have conflicts of interest. His own web site mentions telling his students he’s a doctor and selling them homeopathy and acupuncture. Yeah wtf, I have a low tolerance for people like that.
I did not sign up for the extra kyusho classes or attend the Stewart seminar, my question is, should I still stay with the club and ignore the fact some of them believe in this rubbish, or is it a lost cause? I think the tae kwon do is very good and I’ve already invested a year in it. On the other hand, the fact the instructors can be into pressure points and qi and talk about “the doctor” without even googling his qualifications…it sort of makes me wonder what I’m doing there.
I'm in a fairly small town and most of the martial arts is tae kwon do, not sure what I'd switch to if I stopped.
Any advice?