Are most people that practice martial arts losers?

Question by Barracuda: Are most people that practice martial arts losers?
Don’t hit the report abuse button yet.

I notice the more athletic, stronger guys train in jiu-jitsu or boxing, but a lot of dummies do tae kwon do or karate. I was forced to do martial arts for a while, and looking at the business side of the whole industry, and the sorts of sad people that come in, it’s just a very depressing industry to go into.

My old master had family that owned a big company, so he could afford to make it seem like his “martial arts empire” was doing so well. I guess I could’ve run a couple schools for people. I have been offered the opportunity, but I didn’t want to. It just seems like a lot of financial hardship to get imposed on you. I think that movie Redbelt, is probably one of the most accurate movies about the industry ever made. I had people come into the school who thought they were ninjas or something.

I think I got disillusioned with everything when I realized the whole belts system didn’t matter, only the fighting did. You can train someone to become a good fighter in two weeks if you push them hard enough. You don’t need a black belt to prove that to anyone.

I was forced to do it, but I just wondered about the people who came in under the impression they were going to become Ryu or a fighter from Tekken. For a lot of reasons, I don’t talk about my black belt a lot. I only bring it up when I tell people I used to teach it.

I’m just really uncomfortable with it all. I couldn’t imagine making a living out of it.
Paul, one thing I found is, everyone thinks the other is going to a McDojo. A buddy of mine that owns a school is VERY HARDCORE. His white belts kicked the butt of most of the best students from the school I went to. He’s serious. He ended up going to own his own school, with his own money, unlike the sort-of franchise system he was already in. He found his students would quit if he sparred them or went hard on them.

Like it or not, you have to go McDojo to make money. You’re better off training yourself if you want to get better though.

Best answer:

Answer by Paul
excuse me mate, i practice lau gar kung fu which happenes to be a traditional style

the “tough guys” are usualy posers or fassion followers

it seems that the “tradtional school” you whent to was ripping you off and was a mcdojo, it seems to me that you have had the wrong experiance of traditional martial arts

but yes you are right about the belt system, i have said many times, a black belt holds your robe together.

edit:

well im not shure what you are trying to say, to be quite honest most of the large chain martial arts clubs are bad, and i know i judged a little bit there really but you described that the traditional martial arts school that you went to or experianced was in it to make money which are tell tale signs of a mcdojo,

of course i cant be 100% shure weather or not the school is good without having personaly been.

and i your addition backs up what i am saying, if some white belts could beat the experianced fighters then it says somthing about the school you went to, that they probably arnt teaching you too much.

and i belive that martial arts are not to make money, my class is run in a no proffit fassion, we all pay our bit towards the court in the leasure centre we practice in, no proffit, the instructor goes because he loves it the art and is dedicated, i go and the class go for much the same reason

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