Was my so called Sensei a fraud?

[Harkon72]

The truth of the matter is in the linage of about 4 or 5 prominent teachers here in North Wales. A self proclaimed Master cut corners and developed an easy to teach watered down version of Shukokai Karate. They have been very successful with parents and students who know no better. However hard these Sensei work, they can't get away from this sham of a system. You can see the attempts on Youtube, they are pitiful. For me, the grading certificates they give out aren't worth the paper they are written on. My original Sensei and his master would not recognise this rubbish. Basically, they make a profit from ignorance. I'm moving on, I feel sorry for those who are left there, but they will live and learn as I did.

[jaypo]

I had reservations about my instructor before I started training. He wasn't part of a "governing body", and many of the forms we practiced weren't traditional forms. However, I discovered thru my own research that he obtained his black belt from Master Okazaki who was a direct student of Master Funakoshi. And after that, while in the Marines, he trained extensively in Okinawa. Upon returning to the states, he opened classes on his own, but struggling to pay rent on a facility, he grew tired of "sending his money overseas to support an organization when he couldn't even support his own classes". So he kept training students under his own system. I was affiliated with a JKA and SKIF Shotokan school previously (the instructor switched while I was there), and my current instructor does still teach the traditional art of Shotokan. However, he trained Shorin Ryu in Okinawa, and he also instructs based on his knowledge of that style.

I compare his teachings of bunkai to countless other examples online and with other styles, and it holds water. So even though he isn't a member of any worldwide organization, his instruction is comparable to everything else I can find.

So if you feel that the instruction you receive is adequate to help you meet your goals as a martial artist, then you have accomplished what you needed to from your instructor. If you feel that you haven't obtained the knowledge that you should have, then, it may be time to second guess it.