Don't place your bets on a fighter just because of a MT background.....

[Taekwonpro]

This is an excellent article on how an art can fall into disrepute. With people pushing for MMA to get into the Olympics and MT being watered down, this could very well happen.

http://taekwondousa.blogspot.com/2012/06/muay-thai-vs-taekwondo-is-taekwondo.html

Tl;dr
MT might very well be watered down the more popular it gets and lead to less and less quality fighters stemming from this style.

[poopoo333]

Yeah, I have seen "Muay Thai classes" be advertised at McDojos (semi) locally. Really hard to determine whether or not it's going to be a legit Muay Thai school with a legit coach or if it's just some guys trying to make some money.

[SPX]

I think the days of MT and boxing being considered the only legitimate stand-up arts are pretty much gone. Machida cracked the foundation of that belief with his karate and guys like Siver (who comes from a European kickboxing and TKD background), and Bendo and Pettis (who basically use a hybridized MT + TKD style), have swept it away. You also have your dutch kickboxing and kyokushin guys.

This is, of course, not to say that MT is not effective or that it's not a great style. But it's not the ONLY style that can be adapted for MMA. I think that training your particular stand-up style for full-contact fighting is far more important than what style you use.

As for MT McDojos, yeah, it's happening.

[SPX]

As droves of Americans left the dojangs, the instructors and owners had to think of new ways to appeal to their audience. The simplest solution? To drastically lower requirements and the intensity of training.

This is the real tragedy right here. In a large majority of MA schools, you WILL get a black belt if you just show up consistently and learn the forms/katas. I really think there should be some other requirements that separate the men from the boys, so to speak.

Sometimes I wonder if there should be a competition requirement, or at least some kind of requirement that demonstrates the practitioner's ability to use the art in a practical manner. If you don't want to compete then maybe you should have to go kick somebody's ass on the street. I dunno.

[SPX]

That quote from Lorenzo is fucking crazy, BTW.

I almost feel like I just watched Zeitgeist for the first time.

[Taekwonpro]

That quote from Lorenzo is fucking crazy, BTW.

I almost feel like I just watched Zeitgeist for the first time.

The one about seeking to create a friendly family environment?

[SPX]

Yeah.

It's predictable, but also seems crazy on so many levels.

[Ludo]

[SPX]

Dude, read the article.