TKD calls out MMA

**Kempoist** · Posted On: 4/27/2007 8:26pm

I'm a member of a martial arts business e-mail group. We exchange ideas and gererally help each other grow our schools. One member posted this article and for some reason it really stuck in my craw. I just wanted to share with the group and see if others felt the same (particluarly about the MMA secton.

The link to the report is:

http://www.all-american-tkd.com/refI...efDownload.pml

The web page for the instructor/school is:

http://www.all-american-tkd.com

**Ronin.74** · Posted On: 4/27/2007 8:58pm

First of all I want that 10 minutes of my life back.

So let me see if I can give a basic run down of that 12 pages of **** I just read.

-MMA students are all thugs. If you don't want your kid to become a thug they should take TKD at my school. If they take MA at a school that has a separate MMA program it won't matter that it's separate, they'll still become thugs.

-MA is about a bunch of hippy crap (philosophy, traditional values, ethics, conflict resolution) it's not really about being able to fight or heaven forbid actually defend yourself if necessary. His school is great because he teaches the hippy crap.

-Contracts are a good thing!! They make your kid stay even when he hates it (yeah right). Any school that doesn't have contracts and lets you pay month to month is BAD!!!

-Schools that compete a lot are BAD!!!

He did at least get a few things right.;

-Watch a class first and see if it's the kind of place you want your child learning in.
-Check out the credentials of the instructor
-If the art being taught sounds exotic, google it! Again research it before you sign up to make sure it's not bullshit.
-Does the instructor seem capable of teaching the skills that you want your child to learn.

It basically came off as it was supposed to, as a marketing pamphlet. I hope some "thug" MMA guy steps in and crams one of these pamphlets down his throat.

**KenMasters** · Posted On: 4/27/2007 9:27pm

I'll kick this guys ass myself for making TKD practitoners look ignorant.Such statements are disgraceful.Thugs indeed.

**Kid Miracleman** · Posted On: 4/27/2007 9:46pm

An excerpt from the article:

9. Will Your Child Be Exposed To The Brutal and Dangerous Martial Arts Fad Known As “MMA”?

It stands for “Mixed Martial Arts” and you may have seen it on Pay Per View shows like
“The Ultimate Fighting Championships”. What is it? It’s a “no holds barred” mix of
different styles, most often Jujitsu and Kickboxing, where very few rules apply, where
blood flows freely and bones are often broken. Winning is by knocking out one’s
opponent, choking them into unconsciousness , or having them “tap out” in pain, kind of
like saying “uncle.”
The true martial arts values and traditions are no where to be found (and are often
ridiculed as “B.S.” by the MMA schools) and you can only imagine the type of individual
who is attracted to this sort of training (picture a cross between the characters of professional wrestling and a skin-head biker gang member.) Not exactly the kind of
example you want your impressionable child to emulate, is it?
Now to be fair, most schools that have an MMA program have enough sense to keep it
separate from their children’s program, but the influence and attitude spills over and
permeates the culture of the school, and reflects where the instructor’s priorities and
values really are. It’s unavoidable.
Whatever you do, DO NOT enroll your child in a school that teaches MMA!

Darn those skinheaded MMA thugs! Everyone knows that REAL martial arts are about NOT fighting!

Seriously, who is this guy to judge what the "true" values and traditions of martial arts should be? It seems like someone has watched "The Karate Kid"* too many times and/or has had a lot of business taken away by boxing/kickboxing/MMA schools.

*On a side note, I think someone needs to go back in time to 1984 and stop the release of "The Karate Kid," thus preventing the hippie/passive nature of many TMA schools today (as well as the general public's perception of such schools).

**bodhistate** · Posted On: 4/27/2007 10:07pm

Originally Posted by kingmiracleman

Seriously, who is this guy to judge what the "true" values and traditions of martial arts should be? It seems like someone has watched "The Karate Kid"* too many times and/or has had a lot of business taken away by boxing/kickboxing/MMA schools.

I read that outtake (I'm not going to bother reading the entire thing), and found it quite funny, and your above outrage as the cherry on top. People posting on Bullshido spend most of their time doing the EXACT same trashtalking of every MA style that doesn't hold the same values as MMA and the like do. I think it's mighty funny that someone took that same things that people say about TKD and spun it around to fit a stereotype of MMA! I bet you could find a lot of MMA guys who fit the description that guy gave and is blanketing over all MMA practioners and schools, just like people here do about other MAists who don't spend all their time training "alive." Please. Self-righteous indignation is not suited to people on this site. Because seriously, who is (anyone) to judge what the "true" values and traditions of martial arts should be?

**International W** · Posted On: 4/27/2007 10:21pm

I wrote the guy an email. I'll keep you guys updated.

**Hidama** · Posted On: 4/27/2007 10:45pm

I wonder if using the name consumer report in the title of that "clever" marketing piece could be an infringement? At first I thought I was going to read something from Consumer Reports.

**kendamu** · Posted On: 4/27/2007 10:53pm

bodhistate:

Who is to judge?

Anyone wanting to study a martial art. Seriously. No judging means blindly walking into crap that really doesn't fit your adgenda.

**ironlurker** · Posted On: 4/27/2007 11:18pm

"Words like 'Extreme' "Freestyle' 'Combat 'Ultimate' or any of those in combination are a strong indication that the style doesn have a long history of the Asian roots that makes martial arts what they are"

Very interesting document there. Just the right dose of good advice (MA is not babysitting, watch out for made up styles) to season a heck of a lot of propaganda (only "Asian" MA's are good, MMA thugs etc.) and hardcore McDojoism (humongous classes and "professional level price"= quality, don't pay by the month).

This link has another sales pitch, with the 8 yr old black belts etc.

http://www.trykaratefree.com/site/vi...nid=h72i8omnz7

**Kid Miracleman** · Posted On: 4/27/2007 11:23pm

Originally Posted by bodhistate

I read that outtake (I'm not going to bother reading the entire thing), and found it quite funny, and your above outrage as the cherry on top. People posting on Bullshido spend most of their time doing the EXACT same trashtalking of every MA style that doesn't hold the same values as MMA and the like do. I think it's mighty funny that someone took that same things that people say about TKD and spun it around to fit a stereotype of MMA! I bet you could find a lot of MMA guys who fit the description that guy gave and is blanketing over all MMA practioners and schools, just like people here do about other MAists who don't spend all their time training "alive." Please. Self-righteous indignation is not suited to people on this site. Because seriously, who is (anyone) to judge what the "true" values and traditions of martial arts should be?

I apologize if I seemed "self-righteous" or "outraged" ('cuz I wasn't! Srsly.) but I do believe I have the right to be somewhat offended by what the guy said; I find it a bit alarming that you think I basically have no justifiable reason to feel this way, and that I should simply take my "just desserts." I am of the opinion that there is no one set of (seemingly peaceful and non-aggressive) values that martial artists should adhere to, as the author of the article seems to believe. I just don't think that any one man or school should decide what martial arts in general "are all about," or that they should be responsible for instilling "proper" values in other people's children. I think it's disengenuous for the author to preach that martial arts are really about non-violence, and that parents shouldn't take their kids to a place where they might actually get punched or kicked or wrestled by someone else (otherwise it's not "martial" at all). It's his opinion, yes, but it's one with which I wholeheartedly disagree.

You're right... who is anyone to judge what the "true" values and traditions of martial arts should be? The term "Martial Arts" covers many different styles that encompass many different countries, cultures, and people. No one person should appoint themselves as the defender of nebulous, vaguely Eastern philosophies that play into the stereotypes that many people hold regarding these different martial styles, nor should any one person force these philosophies onto young children. I think it's good for an instructor to tell people to respect and adhere to basic laws of society, but I think it's bad for them to tell people how to run various aspects of their personal lives and to adhere to various ethical principles. I also believe it's wrong for such instructors to claim that they and their students hold moral superiority over the practitioners of Style X simply because they themselves teach and practice Style Y. A lot of people here at Bullshido (including me) rag on a lot of different TMAs for one reason or another, but rarely do we attempt to place ourselves on some sort of moral and ethical plateau.