Bullshido is a derogatory term used by some English speaking martial arts aficionados to describe fraudulent, deceptive, or inept martial arts teaching. It is a portmanteau of bushido, the samurai code of honor, and bullshit. Bullshido is considered to be the antithesis of bushido, and is generally applied to martial arts schools where their instructors publish pseudoscientific claims or unverifiable assertions concerning their lineage or training methods, or emphasize blatant commercialism over substance in teaching, training, personal conduct, or business dealings. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Hawaiian State Grappling Championships. ... Look up portmanteau word in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Japanese samurai in armor, 1860s. ... Japanese samurai in armour, 1860s. ... Honor (or honor) comprises the reputation, self-perception or moral identity of an individual or of a group. ... Look up bullshit in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Phrenology is regarded today as a classic example of pseudoscience. ...

Origin

The term bullshido was popularized by the Bullshido.net website. However, there is evidence that the term was used as early as 1996. In recent usage the bilingual portmanteau reflects a claim held by some in 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. Accused practitioners of bullshido are called “bullshidoka,” combining the term with the Japanese suffix “-ka”, meaning “practitioner” (e.g. judoka, aikidoka, karateka, etc.). Bullshido. ...

In the past, the traditional martial arts community had a system of references. This system of references between different schools would effectively vouch for each other's legitimacy, allowing the community to police itself. A tradition in East Asia was that when an unknown and unreferenced school would open in a community, it would be eventually shut down by other schools nearby through direct challenges - this was a way to develop references for legitimate schools, while exposing fraudulent or ineffective schools and forcing them to close before they could harm or defraud potential students. Today, however, such practices are illegal, and thus anyone could learn a few moves and invent their own style, or even claim to be the secret heir to an unknown and possibly fictitious style, and potentially defraud many people, all while under the protection of local law enforcement. East Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms. ...

School exclusivity

One traditional practice some at Bullshido.net consider to be bullshido is the demand that students not be a part of any other martial arts school of the same style during their tenure at the school, without permission from the instructor. ^[1] Some schools prohibit training in another style altogether. ^[2][3][4] Proponents of this regulation believe that learning multiple types of martial arts simultaneously will interfere with the clear transmission of information from the teacher to student. However, opponents hold that as consumers students have the right to pursue whatever endeavors they wish, and that they are only obligated by the school's code of conduct while taking classes at the school. Some opponents also point out that such a rule often exists to minimize the possibility the school's methods or quality of instruction will be seen as being inferior to others'.

Impractical training methods

Bullshido is also said, by proponents of the concept, to consist of training methods that are impractical if they are used outside of the context of the bullshido school. Noted martial artists such as Bruce Lee and Jon Bluming have asserted that board-breaking and kata (forms) are of limited benefit towards actual fighting proficiency and often used 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 students' current skill levels can be realistically evaluated. Bruce Lee (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: Lǐ Xiǎolóng; Cantonese Yale: Léih Síulùhng; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Chinese American martial artist, philosopher, instructor, and martial arts actor widely regarded as one of the most influential martial artists of the twentieth century. ... Jon Bluming is a well-known Dutch judo and Kyokushin Kai karate teacher was born 6 February 1933 in Amsterdam. ... Breaking is a martial arts skill that is used in competition, demonstration and testing. ... Kata (型 or 形) (literally: form) is a Japanese word describing detailed choreographed patterns of movements practiced either solo or in pairs. ... Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a recently emerged combat sport in which a wide variety of fighting techniques are used, including striking and grappling. ... A combat sport is a competitive sport involving the use of punch, kick, throw, joint locks, and/or a weapon for attack and defence. ...

Advocates of methods such as board-breaking assert that these training methods have a valid place in martial arts. Particularly with younger students, accomplishments such as being able to break one or more boards can serve as a tangible sign of accomplishment as they advance in skill or rank. In regards to kata, some advocates claim that kata serve a purpose similar to that of shadowboxing in combat sports; the solo practice of techniques can help focus a student's concentration on proper form and execution against an imaginary opponent. Modern practitioners of martial arts have less issue with these training methods when they are supplemental to intense sparring, rather than as a substitute (which is viewed as bullshido). Shadowboxing is an exercise used in combat sports, (especially, as its name implies, in boxing). ...

False/exaggerated lineage

A common but harmful practice considered to be bullshido is the use of a fictitious or exaggerated lineage to prominent figures in martial arts in order to boost the school's image. Such claims of lineage are typically unverifiable, whereas training under a legitimate school can easily be verified. A variation on this is where legitimate training under notable tutelage is exaggerated - for example, Matt Furey, a former wrestler who markets his own conditioning program, claims that he studied wrestling under the famous wrestler/instructor Karl Gotch for two years - but careful scrutiny indicates that his time was closer to five months, and that he had rarely been directly trained during this time. ^[5] Categories: American professional wrestlers | Professional wrestling stubs ...

Some schools of Asian martial arts in the West take advantage of the fact that few Westerners can consult people or verify documents in Japanese, Chinese, or other languages. A further deception in conjunction with this is claiming a lengthy lineage that cannot be proven because of a radical historical event that destroyed records or information (for example, a person teaching a Japanese martial art claiming that all records of their art were destroyed in WWII), so that when no record is found, there is a ready explanation.

Given these and other difficulties in verifying the legitimacy of one's claimed experience, many people have created their own styles of martial arts and declared themselves as the founder and master of that system. The widespread emergence of self-styled soke is pejoratively known as Sokemon, which is a play on the words "Soke" and "Pokémon". Soke is a Japanese title that means Headmaster (or sometimes translated as Grand Master or Head of the Family). It can mean one who is the leader of any school or the master of a style, but it is most commonly used as a highest level Japanese martial arts title... The official Pokémon logo. ...

Developing tremendous or mystical abilities from training

The conditioning resulting from rigorous martial or physical training can allow a person physical abilities beyond those of the average person. However, some will exaggerate the ease of gaining these abilities, or make outrageous claims that do not hold up in reality .^[6] For example, some martial artists will claim that their training can give them powers of telekinesis, creating an energy projectile to use against opponents (e.g.: Jacques-Jean Quero, pretending having telekinetic abilities) or the ability to become invisible. In Ashida Kim's book, 'The Secrets of the Ninja' he states: Psychokinesis (literally mind-movement) or PK is the more commonly used term today for what in the past was known as telekinesis (literally distant-movement). It refers to the psi ability to influence the behavior of matter by mental intention (or possibly some other aspect of mental activity) alone. ... Ashida Kim is a Florida-based American martial arts teacher and author best known for his books on ninjitsu training. ...

"Ninjitsu is not a magical technique that will enable you to disassemble your body and reassemble yourself somewhere else. It will not change the structure of the body, making it transparent. The Art of Invisibility consists of skills employed to make yourself unseeable."^{[citation needed]}

Some arts or systems claim to enable their students to successfully fight against multiple opponents, armed opponents, opponents much larger than them in size, against opponents in an unfavorable situation, or combinations of opponents after a very short period of training, ranging from hours to weeks to months. This belies the truth that, like any demanding discipline or skill, "mastery" of any credible martial art typically takes many years and that achievement is directly related to effort and time input.

References

1. ^ Cross-training permission requirement
2. ^ Cross-training prohibition 1.
3. ^ Cross-training prohibition 2a.
4. ^ Cross-training prohibition 2b.
5. ^ Exaggerated claims
6. ^ Randi Organization

External links

• Bullshido.net A site covering various frauds and scams in the Martial Arts community.
• Are You in A Martial Arts Cult? by Wayne Muromoto
• Real or Fake? Is Your Martial Arts School Legitimate? by Wayne Muromoto
• The Whole Legitimacy Thing by Karl Friday
• Bullshido.net article reporting on a belt factory