Editorial

Let's cut the crap and get right down to it - we hate fake martial arts teachers.

The reason why we're calling out fake martial arts teachers is because they promote unsafe training environments that could get their students seriously hurt or even killed, scam innocent people out of their hard earned money, and contribute to a cult-like culture that is scummy and predatory.

Not only do these fake martial arts teachers profit off of unsuspecting students, they ruin the legitimacy and image of real martial artists who practice their art seriously.

Here is our list of the top signs or traits of a fake martial arts teacher. If your teacher or some other teacher you know matches most of the signs on this list - run away - as they are most likely a fake!

The definition of a "McDojo" is a martial arts school that is solely established to make money instead of genuinely teaching martial arts.

Are you concerned that you, someone you know, or your child may be stepping into a McDojo to learn martial arts?

Read on to find out the top signs of a McDojo, and if your school has checked off the majority of these boxes, your school might very well be a McDojo!

In the world of martial arts, most of us were first exposed to it through movies and media - such as Kung Fu classics made by the Shaw Brothers' studios, Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, the Karate Kid movies, or some similar combination of the above.

The romanticized idea of martial arts was always presented to us more or less in a very classical way: Learn martial arts, defeat the bully, exact revenge on the bad guy, win the tournament, and become the hero.

To us, martial arts was about training as hard as you could, winning the most amount of competitions as you could (in forms or fighting, or both), becoming a tough, hardened bad ass with world class martial arts / fighting skills, and becoming the best version of yourself that you possibly could be in the process.

Former Two-Division UFC Champion Georges St-Pierre, the definition of a model martial artist and champion.

The mindset of a true martial artist was to continue to train for life as an eternal student to keep bettering oneself on the path of perfection (perfection of course, doesn't exist), and continue to seek new challenges, conquer new plateaus and reach ever new heights - as long as the body was able and the circumstances allowed it.

We had always thought this was the way of the warrior, and the "hardcore" path that everyone took to mastering their martial arts.

Then we realized, we were in the minority that held that mindset or belief.

Continuing with our trend of analysis into the Chinese Martial Arts world, we decided to share our insight into just why is it that you don't see Chinese Martial Arts (A.K.A. Kung Fu) in modern fighting.

This is a loose continuation of our earlier article - Sanda: When Kung Fu created a solution to its problems - then threw it away, and Is Kung Fu On The Cusp of a Modern Fighting Resurgence?

But wait a minute - is what you're about to read a list of excuses on why Chinese Kung Fu "doesn't work" or be presented with the overused simplified explanation of "it's not the system but the practitioner" (even if it is partly true)?

No, we're going to try to share exactly why, with legitimate reasons, you simply don't see Chinese Kung Fu in modern fighting arenas or combat sports.

This article was generously contributed by Mason Zhong of the Chinese Martial Arts Reformation Society.

Horse Stance (馬步/马步, or 騎馬立ち,  or 주춤 서기) is a pillar of many traditional martial arts (TMA) training regimens.

The concept seems simple. You step your feet out a bit more than shoulder-width apart. Then you lower yourself downward until your thighs are parallel to the ground and your knees are flexed 90 degrees. Keep your torso straight and up, looking straight in front of you. You can hold your arms statically by your sides, or you can throw alternating straight punches. All while remembering to control your breathing. You then proceed to hold this position for as long as your instructor tells you (or when you fall over in pain, whichever comes first).

So what is going on when you perform this exercise?

In recent years, the combat sports landscape has started to feel the influences of Chinese Kung Fu.

But is it just a ripple, or will it become a wave?

We take a look at some of the most prominent combat sports athletes and fighters that are doing their part in "Making Kung Fu Great Again".

We also give a refreshed outlook on Chinese Martial Arts in the combat sports landscape as it stands today in 2020.

On June 22, 2019. Artem Lobov (30-15, MMA), an MMA journeyman managed to edge out former World Champion professional boxer Paulie Malignaggi (36-8, Boxing) in a bare-knuckle boxing match at Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship 6: Malignaggi vs. Lobov.

The unexpected result sent shockwaves throughout the combat sports world and “exposed” the sport of boxing.

We take a look at the Okinawan Karate techniques utilized in a world class competitive fighting environment, (ie. the Ultimate Fighting Championship / UFC), and mainly the only man who is able to make use of such techniques in former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and UFC Middleweight contender, and current Bellator MMA contender, Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida.

We will breakdown the most important moves that the rest of the MMA world or new school fans unaccustomed to Karate will find "elusive" and "weird".

Being the birthplace of Asian martial arts (as the Chinese phrase goes: "all martial arts come from Shaolin" - albeit with influences from India), China (a.k.a. The Middle Kingdom) possesses over five thousand years of history, and is the central origin of all Asian people and culture that can be traced back to the ancient times. While they won't openly admit it, neighbouring nations such as Japan, Korea, and all of South East Asia owe their historical and cultural roots to China, in one way or another.

Why is it then, in a society of more than 2 billion ethnic Chinese people scattered across the globe combined, we have not had any successful Chinese fighters (so far)? Why is it that Japan, a tiny island comprised of only about 125 million people, has produced some of the sport's most legendary MMA fighters, and Korea is taking the lead in pushing the next wave of successful Asian fighters, while China (and its neighbouring Chinese populations in and of Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau) is still the odd country out of the party? Why have Chinese fighters failed to find success at prize fighting and what is it that makes Chinese people "different" than other Asian fighters?