5 Martial Arts Frauds Who Tried To Pass Themselves As Masters
Updated Nov. 9 2018, 11:02 a.m. ET
When it comes to karate masters who embody ever facet of the martial arts: it doesn't get much better than Mr. Miyagi. Self control, discipline, and only wrecking someone's s**t when they totally deserve it.
That kind of stern love, care, and dedication is what a true karate master must embody in order to become as respected and effective as Miyagi. Otherwise, you're just another chump in a karate gi who's trying to stroke their own ego and get a few kids from the neighborhood on your subscription plan.
But that hasn't stopped deluded and self-proclaimed "karate masters" from going out into the world and convincing people their hot stuff. Trouble is, when it comes to fighting, it's pretty clear to see in two seconds whether or not you've got skills. And these guys possess no skills whatsoever.
1. The "No touch" martial arts master tries his intimidating BS on an actual fighter and, well, it goes exactly like you'd expect.
This guy convinced people he could beat them only with the power of his mind - he's a master of deflection who mastered the art of no one being able to hit him. Apparently, there's at least one person in the world who can. Ryuken the "Psychic" bet Iwakura Goh $5,000 he would beat him in a fight using only his mind. He not only loses the fight, but the cash as well.
2. This Taekwondo Instructor who can't even break a board.
Not only does he not break it - he ends up kicking in the air and hitting a girl in the head with it, making her cry. Yeah.
3. This Brazilian Jiu Jitsu "expert" who claims to have a black belt from a prestigious team gets called out by head instructor of that prestigious team.
The Jay Querioz saga is an interesting one. Jay was not only a whack martial artist, but a whack instructor and an absolute conman. Plus, I'd see that the second someone walked into a dojo with their black belt wrapped around their t-shirt and shorts.
4. This Fake Black Belt tried to train at a gym filled with UFC Champions.
There was a time when Blackhouse MMA guys pretty much ruled the UFC. Lyoto Machida, former Light Heavyweight Champ and Anderson Silva, former longtime Middleweight champion of the world, had insane sparring sessions there, along with former featherweight champion of the world Jose Aldo (who's only ever lost two times in his career and is an absolute savage). And this guy thought it would be a great idea to pretend like he was a black belt at this gym where the best of the best train. Wonderful.
Ruben Alvarez the BJJ black belt, instructor, and competitor gives more context to the incident in a video below.
5. The Legit Karate Champion who made up a BS "no-touch" knockout.
George Dillman was a national karate 4 years in a row. He trained with Bruce Lee. He trained with Muhammad Ali. He is a 10th degree black belt. The man is an amazing pioneer and karate legend in his own right. He might've gone a little loopy over time, however, because he had people convinced he could knock people out without even touching them. He couldn't use his "Qi" power to knock anyone out on camera in front of a National Geographic camera team. He tried to explain his failure as best as he could.
“The skeptic was a totally non-believer. Plus — I don’t know if I should say that on film — but if the guy had his tongue in the wrong position in the mouth, that can also nullify it [Qi power]. You can nullify it — you can nullify a lot of things. In fact, you can nullify it if you raise those two big toes! If I say I’m going to knock you out, and you raise one toe, and push one toe down… I can’t knock you out. And then, if I go to try again, you reverse it. If you keep doing this, I won’t knock you out.”
Yikes.
