Tony Jones (65) has been teaching Martial Arts for over 40 years, which means he knows full well the instructor code of ‘Thou all other styles are shit,’ which is why he stunned a Thursday night Kung Fu class when he spoke well of a Tae Kwon Do club three streets over.
“No style is better than another,” said Tony to a room full of stunned silence.
Unsure how to respond, the open mouths and wide eyes let Tony know he had committed a major Martial Arts infraction – an infraction that may cost him his club.
“Mate, it’s just not on,” said Grandmaster Phyiuck Yiu (71) from a Shaolin temple in southern China. “There’s no style better than ours and that bloke needs to pull his head in.”
Immediately dispatching an email, Tony has been severely reprimanded by Masters Phyiuck Yiu and Phyiuck Yoff (71).
The email read:
‘In order to continue teaching Martial Arts, you MUST adhere to the instructor code:
1. Thou all other styles are shit.
2. All tournaments held must consist of only our style, and each tournament must be followed by declaring our style is the best.
3. If you do have to invite other styles, change all the rules to favour your club and then, when your style wins, declare your style is the best.
4. If another style invites you to a tournament, do not attend; if anyone asks why, see rule 1.
Learning his lesson, Tony has since walked back his comments, saying he meant to say, “No one style is better than ours.”
Tony hopes this will be enough to keep his job, but knows he is on thin ice.