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.
“IBJJF Recognized Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt” Jay Queiroz
Unlike most other entries on this list, Jay Queiroz knew he was a phoney and did everything he could to not be exposed outright.
He did run a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu school in New York of all places, but when his name card caught the attention of a legitimate Brown Belt (who upped and showed up at Queiroz’s gym with his friends and a camera), the man tried his best to weasel out of the situation without actually putting his skills to the test.
See for yourself.