Is Matt Fiddes running a McDojo?

Yep, that's my beef. My mom called it "honesty." When you're not honest, the law calls it "fraud." It's actionable both in civil law and criminal law, though I agree with someone above that the govt should not be in the business of deciding what is or is not "self defense."

I hate frauds. I really really really hate frauds.

 

You got that right. (And you dig up the scariest videos, Hannibal!) I didn't watch the Choi Kwang Do video until just now. This is going to sound over-the-top fake, but honestly, if it wasn't labeled "Choi Kwang Do" and/or I didn't know that was the name of a martial art, I WOULD NOT have known what they were doing. Er, I mean, rather, what they were pretending to do. That's my sincere reaction. I would not know what they are doing, except to say that every one of them in the video moves like a little boy imitating Power Rangers. :Alien:

That must be it. It's an adult fan club of Power Rangers. Double " :Alien: ", wow.

I'm also thinking that in WMAA, the belt colors must be different, because those were not "black belt" students. :Alien:

 

I must be missing something. I am not saying Fiddes is good, but the other stuff Hannibal pulls up looks MUCH worse to me.

At least some of the the Fiddes people fully extend their kicks and look like at least a little power might be behind them - they put a little hip power into it - a little snap and energy. Those other videos don't even have that.

That flash dance and the fool people below that - I am far from a great MAist, but I wouldn't even be remotely scared of one of those people (even the black belts) having even a touch of power in any hit. No body behind it, not even full extension, nothing............

I once pulled up some Aikido school where the form was put to country music. It looked like a line dance, not a MA form.

Then there is the Kaia master who hit people with magic chi energy in the air and they fell over, but got slammed by a mid level fighter.

BTW, I pulled up a Fiddes video of him training one of the other Jackson brothers. Guy wouldn't take off his hat during the "workout." How can it be a workout if you hat won't even fall off? So I am not endorsing him.

I am just saying I have seen worse. Am I essentially agreeing with Hannibal here? The coffee hasn't kicked in yet. My brain is foggy.

 

I, and one of my assistant Instructors, spent ages tonight explaining to parents that we wouldn't let their children grade at the weekend because they hadn't been training over summer and weren't ready.

I could have taken their money and let some fail, thereby saving us a lot of grief and earning me a few more quid. It's Christmas soon, I'd like that money to buy my own kids presents.

"My son/daughter hasn't graded in a year, surely he/she can do this grading?"

"No, because they don't train consistently enough to improve and they're just not ready yet."

Meanwhile, down the road, is a Fiddes-alike set up who will give you your free introductory lesson then charge you £300+ up front, but that gets you a uniform and GUARANTEES your child passing their first & second grading.

Most parents know nothing about MA and frankly don't care. They think of gradings as like exams they can buy. If they can pay for little Tommy to be a black belt and feel more confident, regardless of actual skill, they'll do it.

Mitch

 

El Mitcho, what you describe is why I lean towards PGsmiths attitude.

I am not one of those people too worried about bad MA out there. I think very few people are truly victimized by going to a bad MA school. I think they are too lazy and don't care enough to find a good one. The ability to find a good school with proper information is out there. If people don't put the work in to find a good school, that is on them.

It is like my co-worker who bought a used car, didn't take it to a mechanic for inspection before buying it, then complained when it had repair issues right away. I like her, but I really didn't feel much sympathy for her having to spend money on car repair bills.

I am all for information being out there for people to make informed decisions. But I have seen people on variious MA boards over the years take on bad schools as their personal crusade to "save" people from bad MA schools. I don't get it. If people want to do bad MA for ego, or laziness, or whatever, I don't respect it, but I don't waste too much time worrying about it either. I do feel bad for the kids who's parents do this to them, but that is the responsibilty of the parents.

I also have seen a lot of people on other boards who act like they are concerned about others training, but it is really a way to boost their own ego to think they are superior to any other school/ style/ etc.

I have enough on my plate working on my own training to worry too much about others training.

 

I respect your integrity here.

I have seen this at my school. I have seen parents who enroll their kids in so many other activities, they can't come in to train much in MA. Then they complain and take their kids out of the school because the kid hasn't gotten an advanced level sash after a certain amount of time. Showing up once a week for your private lesson doesn't cut it. Being a member a long time, but not practicing doesn't cut it. But some parents seem to think that is enough. It doens't work like that at my school.

 

This is the point though. Parents making bad decisions for their children based on poor information. And it goes back to the question of fraud.

A parent might go to a Fiddes-esque school and ask if their 8 year old will learn how to defend themselves. "Yes!" might be the answer.

A parent might come to me and ask the same question. Answer? "No, your 8 year old cannot learn techniques that will let them physically overpower an adult. We will mostly teach them a sport that will increase their confidence, fitness, flexibility, all of which will change how they carry themselves and make them look less like a victim. "

Guess which answer parents prefer

I'm overstating the case now, but you take the point.

Mitch