Imagine going through the expensive teacher training process to become a Bikram Yoga instructor.
Imagine investing every penny you own to open your own studio, then slaving away at 105°F (41°C) with 40% humidity in class after class to make it financially viable.
Then you find out that the founder of your system, Bikram Choudhury, has a warrant out for his arrest and has fled the country after lawsuits by seven different women alleging rape, sexual assault and harassment.
As a Bikram Yoga studio owner, what do you do now?
Do you separate the knowledge you’ve received and the livelihood you’re generating from the terrible person who gave it to you, or do you throw the baby out with the bathwater?
Terrible, megalomaniacal behaviour by yoga gurus is widespread, but this ISN’T just a problem in Yoga.
There are many awful people in our sport as well, including some that compete at the highest level.
So it’s possible that you could face the same problem as our hypothetical Bikram’s Yoga instructor, which then begs the question, can you still learn from a terrible person?
I think that, yes, you can learn from morally reprehensible people. You’d be silly to ignore what they bring to the table, BUT you have to have a couple of guidelines in place…
FIRST GUIDELINE: “Don’t let them babysit your children.”
Just because someone has won ADCC, or the IBJJF worlds, or has a black belt, or runs an organisation, doesn’t mean they should be trusted with anything else.
High-prestige grapplers are really good at one thing: choking other people. That’s it.
Being a martial arts genius has no bearing on whether they are a good, moral, or compassionate person. They can do tremendous damage if they get outside their lane.
Don’t put them into a position of authority, don’t listen to them on political, medical or astrophysical issues, and don’t consult them on how to deal with the homeless problem. Definitely don’t let them hang out with your girlfriend or – as the guideline said – let them babysit your kids.
SECOND GUIDELINE: “Don’t put money in their pocket.”
This one is really simple: don’t support bad people financially. Vote with your feet: don’t go to their schools, don’t attend their seminars, and don’t buy their instructionals
More than enough free resources on YouTube allow you to dissect some black belt’s game without making them any richer.
I know people who left culty jiu-jitsu schools to train on their own and eventually achieve very legitimate black belts. They said no to the bullshit and stopped making bad people richer.
After the allegations of abuse started coming out, many Bikram studios rebranded as Hot Yoga, which allowed them to leave the organisation and stop paying the franchise fees and monthly tithings.
They found a way to continue teaching without sending money to his organisation.
Compared to Hot Yoga instructors, we have it relatively easy. We don’t need elaborate equipment and an insane heating bill: a few mats, some training partners, and the internet is enough in most cases.
Don’t let bad people babysit your kids, and don’t put money in their pockets.
Stephan Kesting
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