Is Matt Fiddes running a McDojo?

I have to say I feel you're overestimating the intelligence and capability of people to apply critical thought when making decisions in fields of interest they have no clue in.

Yes, the tools are out there to help people make a decision. But those tools are not always entirely helpful. Nor does every prospective MA student/parent/friend of MA student have the knowledge to google/read the right books. Ask Jimmy's mum if the "Kyokushinkaikan under Shihan John Doe, former WKF kumite national bronze medallist and five time porn star" club is any good, they're going to pull a blank. So they end up having to trust the people they are talking to who run the classes to give an honest opinion.

They chose the one they felt would be best for their kid given the limited information they were provided with. I grant you, in that example the parent chose poorly, but we can say that because we know better. I would argue the parents were still victims for being manipulated by the deceptive bravado and bullshido of the Fiddes-esque dojo down the road who knew what to say to get the right sales pitch, rather than El Mitcho who had enough integrity to be honest.

But how do you define a "fraudulent" MA school? Can fraudulent MA schools and crap legitimate MA schools be considered in the same light or not? As a non-MA'er, how do you figure out if the techniques you/your child/whatever might end up learning or the training methods are actually practical? Can you know if the dojo you attend will give you training methods that might cause you greater injury or not from chatting to the dude who takes the class and watching once or twice?

In my eyes, as past/present/future students/instructors, we all have a responsibility to act with enough integrity to be honest, not to mislead "simple joe" who walks in thinking your Lao Gar kung fu club is the same as the Shotokan club next door. So when you get guys that can't practice to save their lives, nor teach very well, who prioritise money over the quality of the teaching...it makes me want to kick puppies.