Fake Martial Arts Instructors: Sociopathic, Psychopathic and Potentially Dangerous

When it comes to Fake martial arts instructors, in every case that I have encountered over the years, they all exhibited sociopathic and psychopathic behavior. Most frauds are not impressive in any sense of the word. Not successful in life or their life choices. Unimpressive physically and they often exhibit below average level intelligence. But their delusional believe is they are smarter than everyone else around them. They didn't and couldn't even graduate high school. They had poor grades and even poorer social skills, a lot of them bullied and victimized girls and weaker class mates in school, this made them feel superior.   

As for being productive adults they can hold only down menial dead end kind of jobs such as a janitor or night time security guard, positions with little supervision. The only accomplishments they have are one that they just make up. Like developing their own martial art style or claiming some sort martial art superiority. 

Every fraud I have encountered and dealt with all were previously early on in life (as in high school or early on in the military), professionally diagnosed as being mentally unstable ie. sociopathic, psychopathic, pathological, delusional, and having a lack of empathy. 

These traits  are ultimately dangerous to students that they can take advantage of and those they feel that they can victimize. 

When you look these fake martial arts instructors' behaviors, what is scary is they fit the same psychological profiles of serial killers, This includes having a lack of remorse or guilt, impulsivity, and a need for control, predatory behavior, a fantasy life, self-delusion and interpersonal traits. The same as serial killers these BS instructors may exhibit superficial charm, a grandiose sense of self-worth, pathological lying, and the manipulation of others.

The one major sign that a instructor is fake:

The so called "master" is under the age of 50. For example, a rank of 6th degree black belt and above will require 30 plus years of training….after receiving the rank of 1st degree black belt. So, if a 30 something year old instructor is claiming a rank of sixth degree black belt or higher in anything or multiple high ranks it should be a glaring indicator that you could potentially be dealing with a fake instructor. 

 Here are some behaviors that are exhibited by a fake martial arts instructor who may be sociopathic and psychopathic:

 1. Exaggerating Skills and Experience 

 Fake instructors may claim to have high-level certifications or experience in martial arts that they do not actually possess or are too young to possess. This could be done to gain respect, authority over others (even their own teachers), or financial profit.

These instructor's are known to fabricate grandiose claims about their abilities or past to manipulate others. They may claim to have trained with (even from an early age) some mysterious Japanese master or a famous well known martial artist like Chuck Norris, Jean Claude Van Damme or Jeff Speakman.

 2. Manipulation and Deception

 They often manipulate students by portraying themselves as all-knowing or infallible. This behavior serves to establish control and intimidate their students, making it harder for people to question their methods or ask for verification.

 They use manipulation tactics to create an environment where questioning their authority is discouraged or punished. Sociopathic individuals excel at controlling others through psychological manipulation. They often will groom vulnerable students coming off as charming and caring they often prey on students who are new to martial arts or looking for a sense of belonging or self-esteem.

 3. Lack of Empathy and Disrespect for Students

 A fake instructor can come off as charming and caring but in actuality he may not actually have genuine concern for the well-being or growth of their students. Sociopaths often lack empathy, so they may not care about the harm they cause to others, as long as they benefit.

 4. Aggressive or Exploitative Behavior

 Fake instructors might use aggression or intimidation to maintain authority. This can manifest in physical bullying, emotional manipulation, or even psychological abuse to those who are weaker than they are. Sociopaths often use these tactics to assert dominance over someone who they think is weaker or to get what they want. 

They may disregard the feelings, personal or family obligations and boundaries of the students. 

A.) This may include the instructor taking a student's non attendance of a class as an affront. They may attempt to discipline the student, strip them of the rank that the student bought and paid for, suspend them from class for a period of time, or dress them down for missing a class. 

B.) They may take it as an affront when a student quits and leaves the school. They may even threaten the student with litigation, especially if they deem that their "authority" or background are questioned.   

 5. Victim Blaming and Gaslighting

 When confronted or questioned about their qualifications or behavior, a fake instructor may resort to gaslighting—convincing others that they are wrong or imagining things. They might blame their students for not "understanding" the martial art, or accuse them of being disloyal or disrespectful for questioning their methods. And will go so far as to threaten to sue the student, kick them out of the school and later tell grandiose lies about that student.

 6. Avoiding Accountability

 If their teaching methods are ever questioned or challenged, a fake instructor may avoid accountability by deflecting blame or denying any wrongdoing. Sociopaths are typically skilled at avoiding responsibility and are quick to project blame onto others.

 7. Chronic Lying

 A fake martial arts instructor may be consistently caught in lies—whether it’s about their rank, training background, or personal history. These lies are often intended to bolster their reputation or manipulate students into continuing to follow them.

 8. Pathological Lying

Stories that contradict reality: Pathological liars are skilled at weaving complex lies that appear convincing on the surface. Their stories often shift, and their claims change and or evolve over time. When challenged, they often deflect by accusing others of being jealous or ignorant as they have a inability to accept criticism or scrutiny. Fake martial arts instructors can be very convincing due to their ability to weave intricate lies, and their pathological nature can make them difficult to confront.

 9. Creating a Sense of Dependency

 Fake instructors may deliberately cultivate a sense of dependency in their students, making them feel as though they cannot succeed even in their own personal life, personal choices or personal careers, outside the dojo without the instructor’s approval or guidance. This manipulation ensures the instructor retains control over the students.

10.) Psychopathic Intimidation Tactics 

Using intimidation tactics to control students outside the school environment is not normal behavior and is a good indicator that the fake instructor is also a psychopath and potentially dangerous. 

When a student leaves his school for any reason and the instructor may resort to threatening to sue the student if he talks to anyone about his school or leaves a bad review. 

The instructor may lie about the student to others in the school and even harass the student outside of the school, such as stalking the student by driving across town to where that student lives and driving by his house multiple times to intimidate the student. He may even attempt to ruin and interrupt the student's personal life by trying to get them fired from their job.  

 11. Money and Power Focus

 Fake instructors often prioritize financial profit, using students as a source of income rather than focusing on their development. They may promote and sell unnecessary and dubious products and services (e.g., special uniforms, equipment, or seminars, memberships into shell organizations that that the instructor himself manufactured) that add no real value to students or their ranks but only inflate the instructor’s income.

Conclusion

A  "instructor" who deliberately misrepresents their martial arts abilities to exploit or manipulate their students and exhibits concerning personality traits, including a lack of empathy, a grandiose sense of self, a willingness to deceive and the use of harassment and or intimidation tactics of any kind are red flags that a fake instructor has serious psychological issues.

I heard personally from several former students of a fake martial arts instructor that the instructor upon putting forth a challenge to fight. It seems the instructor tried to get his former students to gang up on and kill the guy who had agreed (and signed a waiver) to show up for the challenge. Plotting someone's murder simply because he didnt want to risk potentially being exposed as a fraud is a serious indicator that the fake instructor is indeed a psychopath.