Trash Talk Tuesday: Appeal to Pity

Trash Talk Tuesday:

Time once again for us martial arts bloggers to learn:
1) How NOT to make a case for or against someone or something
2) Why certain comments set our teeth on edge
3) How to stay focused when discussing our arts

TTTues
It’s Trash Talk Tuesday!

In an interview for an obscure martial arts blog podcast, Sensei Rockum Sockum had this to say:

“Hey, I’m the victim here.  Those guys who badmouth me and my Home Study Karate Kourse – they’re just jealous.  I ask you, is it fair to judge my training methods just because they’re different from the so-called traditions?  I have the right to train my students however I want.  To top it all off, there’s a rumor going around that I got my black belt in a Cracker Jacks box!  Geez, that’s really low.  So hey, tell you what.  Don’t listen to those bullies – listen to me and give my Home Study Karate Kourse a try…”

Yeah, Sensei Rockum Sockum is laying it on really thick.  Do you notice the lack of supporting evidence in the case he’s making for himself?  He didn’t say who trained him, he didn’t refute those who question him with solid evidence of how well trained his students are…  We’re supposed to buy into his Home Study Karate Kourse just because we feel sorry for him.  Yeah, right.

If you’d like to learn more, you can follow along in the book The Fallacy Detective by Nathaniel Bluedorn and Hans Bluedorn

Author: Joelle White

I began training in Karate in June of 2014 after a 27 year hiatus.

2 thoughts on “Trash Talk Tuesday: Appeal to Pity”

  1. Happy Friday! If one is going to try and sell you something, you better have the facts to back it up. As they say, The proof is in the pudding. Mmmmm, pudding! Just can’t put much trust into someone or something without any previous feedback, positive or negative. I’d rather stick to visiting actual dojos, have a looksee and talk with the sensei about their cridencials (SP?). Have a great weekend and as always, good luck with your training. All the best and full respect.

  2. Happy Friday to you too, Steve!
    Yep, the proof is in the pudding (which is ridiculously easy to make, BTW). Seeing for oneself is the best way to choose a dojo – my daughter started at the community college so she had the option of dropping the class and taking something else. She loved it, so she stayed. The rest is history. Have a great weekend!

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