Because Martial Arts are, in many countries and cultures, still a niche sport, there isn’t as much awareness surrounding them as there is around, say, football.
If a football coach is a hack who can’t kick a ball to save his life, you’d know straight away. You’d know he’s a con artist and you’d stay away.
But with Martial Arts, there just isn’t as much solid know-how and exposure going around for a layperson to take one look at a self-professed ‘black belt’ and figure out if he’s the real deal.
And over the years, a number of people have tried to exploit this ignorance to try and make a quick buck or two. Inevitably however, if they stick around for too long or buy into their own hype, chances are that they do catch the eye of a legitimate martial artist. And if there’s one thing a true blue martial artist doesn’t like, it’s for the fake ones to tarnish their beloved discipline by propagating fake knowledge.
And then, this happens.
“Shaolin Kung Fu Grandmaster” Bruce Silva
“Shaolin Kung Fu Grandmaster” Bruce Silva went on TV to try and pull off the age-old, classic martial art exhibition move of smashing a concrete slab – only, with a twist. Silva would be using a glass to hit the concrete slab, while aiming not to break the glass in the process.
Sounds bogus right?
But when Silva actually does it (with a ridiculously less amount of force) the interviewer is so impressed that he is moved to further legitimize what he had just witnessed by confirming with the audience that those are real concrete blocks.
Big mistake. Watch the awkward series of events unfold as the interviewer slightly pressures the ‘concrete block’ and it crumbles under his touch.