Actually, fighting skills do not automatically equate to communication skills needed to teach, or even a deep technical understanding.
Who would you have rather taken boxing lessons from - Mike Tyson the champ or Cus D'Amato?

Jam

I think that is an excellent point....at the end of the day, your not really paying someone for THEIR ability to beat people up---your paying htem to teach YOU how to do it.

In context, I rather tell people that Mike Tyson was my personal boxing coach--people would be impressed.
BUT--if I knew I was going to have to box someone for real---I'd be begging for Cus DAmato to teach me.

Another thing that often gets overlooked is that the marketing claims used by scam-a-rei seldom revolve around their personal arse-kicking abilty...but instead focus on other areas--such as persoanl ranking and line of decent of the art.

Which brings up another problem---at least in the weapons sections of the koryu--and some Chinese systems--maybe others for all I know.

Students are often just as serious about the legitmacy of the teacher as they are about his abilty to kick butt.
If a teacher is claiming to teach say Shinkage Ryu, then his abiltity to "fight good" is more than beside the point.
They are interested in the history of the art and its direct links to it past as well.

I'm sure there are lots of opinions here......I just think that there are some other aspects to consider....IMO.

There are other things to be considered here......IMO.

People who teach out of their homes or community centers are just as capable of being fakes as anyone else. Plus, people who train out of their homes are few and far between.

However, you are dead right about the belt ranking system. If the belt ranking system is so important, how is it some martial arts (e.g. boxing) can get along without it? The truth is belt rankings = promotion tests, which in turn = testing fees.

Ronin,
I explain things to students all the time, but they must first have developed the basic skill to understand the criticism or instruction. I've told some students repeatedly, the same information over and over again... and it doesn't "stick"... others, I teach one time, and they "do it".

There has to be understanding "between" teachers and students... and the proof of it is on the floor. Many instructional methods involve thousands of repetetive actions to build "muscle memory"... some involve hesitations or redirection... not all instructions are the same or with the same intent. How well the instructional process is going is shown "on the floor" during randori and free practice.

Sometimes, but not often, you simply have a student that "doesn't get it"... no matter how much instruction you give them, or how you craft the information. Martial arts are physical skills learned through a combination of mental exercise and physical exercise... teachers are "information in motion".

My back limits me from teaching skills I once taught, but I have students that can teach them, as they were taught. When I first started training, I tried to pay my sensei for lessons... his answer was simply to "pass it on" to others... which I have done, and have been doing for 45 years. How well it's worked out is "on the floor" with anybody I've trained... not confrontation, but "before you" in either randori, free practice, or instructing.

What about "reputable" orgs. that send letters stating that you have been nominated into a "hall of fame" then add "send a check for X amount of money and you will be inducted into the hall of fame" ? Isn't that Fraud?
Also, what does that say for the martial arts instructor that goes for it? Isn't that Fraud?
I was always under the impression that there could only be ONE PERSON inducted into a "Hall of Fame" as "Instructor of the year".
I always thought that Martial Arts was about Honor , not Ego .
I see nothing wrong with making a living by teaching. But to take advantage of the publics "lack of knowledge" is sinful.

Name one. A 'reputable' one that sends an invite to a 'hall of fame' for money. I'm curious to hear if such exists.

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What about "reputable" orgs. that send letters stating that you have been nominated into a "hall of fame" then add "send a check for X amount of money and you will be inducted into the hall of fame" ?

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I think its fairly easy to spot frauds and bad teaching in terms of what they are training you to do.
Drill it against non-complient people to see if it works often and see if there is any an example anywhere on the planet of what your being shown working in some kind of fight or assault,especialy against the best fighters.

If it cannot be proven in those ways then,for me,its a bit iffy.