Bullshido

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Bullshido is a website dedicated towards martial arts and entertainment related to martial arts. The name comes from a fusion of the words, "bullshit," and, "bushido." The site hosts reviews for everything from actual training gyms/dojos to UFC fights and movies. The majority of the activity of the site is on the forums, where members work together for one goal: Exposing martial arts frauds and promoting realistic training methods and techniques. The site holds the concept of "live" training against an uncooperative opponent to pressure-test techniques that are taught. The main concerns Bullshido holds with the martial arts communities are as follows:

  1. Martial arts instructors with false credentials charging absurd training fees for skills they are not certified to teach.
  2. Martial arts schools with unverified or made-up lineages that serve to create a false mystical image for that school/art.
  3. Instructors that teach unrealistic training methods and fighting techniques that may endanger a student should they actually need to rely on them during a real confrontation.

Bullshido forum members routinely launch investigations into suspected "Bullshidoka" martial arts practitioners/instructors that are guilty of one or all of the above concerns. Investigations tend to focus on the instructor's martial arts history, method of instruction, and overall competency in their claimed martial art. Members conducting the investigation are expected to do fact-checking and avoid making baseless claims of incompetency.

The site has an abrasive relationship with other martial arts forums due to their perceived prejudice towards traditional martial arts (TMA), such as styles of kung fu and karate, and accused of being obsessive Mixed Martial Arts fans that are convinced of their superiority. This is not the case, as the community has no problem with TMAs and their practitioners, and only take issue with the heavy reliance on solo katas, "air-punching" line drills, overly compliant drills, and lack of sparring that appear to be heavily ingrained into most TMA styles. Counter-arguments of "bullshidoka" consisting of claims that their style is too deadly to spar, or relying on anecdotal stories of their style's effectiveness are usually looked upon with contempt.

Tropes used in Bullshido include: