# What are your opinions on Jake Mace?



## Manwithquestions (Feb 23, 2018)

I dont practice Chinese Martial arts but I do practice Karate. I see that theres some controversy on Jake Mace and I was just Curious on what your opinions are  I'd also like to say Kung Fu looks very practical and I would love to train in it one day


----------



## Anarax (Feb 23, 2018)

Manwithquestions said:


> I dont practice Chinese Martial arts but I do practice Karate. I see that theres some controversy on Jake Mace and I was just Curious on what your opinions are  I'd also like to say Kung Fu looks very practical and I would love to train in it one day


This topic was already covered, here's a link


----------



## Martial D (Feb 23, 2018)

Jake Mace is..uhh. He is very flexible and appears to be in good shape. That's about all the positives I have on this one.


----------



## Headhunter (Feb 24, 2018)

Never heard of him


----------



## VPT (Feb 24, 2018)

I don't believe anyone has ever taught him the stuff that he *claims *to know. In the world of traditional martial arts, where things depend heavily on informal verbal transmission, it often means that you come up with the stuff by yourself.

You should refer to the previous discussion.


----------



## Headhunter (Feb 24, 2018)

VPT said:


> I don't believe anyone has ever taught him the stuff that he *claims *to know. In the world of traditional martial arts, where things depend heavily on informal verbal transmission, it often means that you come up with the stuff by yourself.
> 
> You should refer to the previous discussion.


That's not always a bad thing though. It can be but it can also still be good


----------



## Flying Crane (Feb 24, 2018)

VPT said:


> I don't believe anyone has ever taught him the stuff that he *claims *to know. In the world of traditional martial arts, where things depend heavily on informal verbal transmission, it often means that you come up with the stuff by yourself.
> 
> You should refer to the previous discussion.


He was a student of Shaolin-do, headed by Sin The.  They had a falling-out and Jake does whatever he wants.

Grandmaster The has made claims about his Shaolin-do that probably cannot be supported, such as he is the current grandmaster of the Shaolin temple.  His method was probably a legitimate kuntao before he began making grander claims about it.


----------



## mdavidg (Feb 25, 2018)

Umm, I follow his gardening channel but his martial arts has never "spoken to me". And, not sure if this makes any difference, but he clearly isn't teaching any longer since he, and his new girlfriend are about to start hopping all over Europe to stay at various permaculture places. And he and her gf have been asking for kickstarter money to help make their dreams of doing this come true. So clearly he's not in the money. Not that this makes any difference but I just don't see him as any kind of a master of Kung Fu at all.


----------



## Eric_H (Mar 6, 2018)

Pretty sure I dropped by his school once while looking for a secondary art. His students were doing some kind of screaming chi kung that looked and sounded ridiculous. I couldn't help myself from laughing and left before they thought I was too rude.


----------



## mdavidg (Mar 6, 2018)

Ha Ha.


----------



## VPT (Mar 11, 2018)

Flying Crane said:


> He was a student of Shaolin-do, headed by Sin The.  They had a falling-out and Jake does whatever he wants.
> 
> Grandmaster The has made claims about his Shaolin-do that probably cannot be supported, such as he is the current grandmaster of the Shaolin temple.  His method was probably a legitimate kuntao before he began making grander claims about it.


I actually put a big effort trying to find that one video of him doing a form that popped up some years ago, but to no avail, couldn't find it. It was... not pretty. In any kind of way.


----------



## vince1 (Mar 15, 2018)

I thought he was a jazz dancer.


----------



## Tames D (Mar 18, 2018)

I thought he was a jazz singer.


----------



## Finlay (Jul 31, 2018)

A very low opinion.

Maybe in the past he was duped into studying some fake forms. However he has chosen to continue to fool other people.

His youtube videos are full of 'wow' 'amazing skill' etc. 

My favourite is where he pretends to show how to train forms in order to be a forms champion. This , according to him, involves doing a section of the form then doing some chin ups. He then continues with the form and alternates with chin ups.

He is a fool


----------



## mdavidg (Jul 31, 2018)

n/m


----------



## MFC__2020 (Dec 4, 2020)

Ive watched a fair bit of his stuff.  He is a very graceful mover IMO.  For me where I was when I came across his videos a lot of his not martial arts martial arts advice was very life changing for me.


----------



## MartialHermit8 (Dec 14, 2020)

I have nothing against Jake Mace, obviously his Kung Fu looks self-taught, most likely from books, McDojo, or just by watching YouTube videos. However we have to admit that he is in a great physical condition for his age, both being well muscularly developed and possessing good flexibility, and he is encouraging a healthy life style and promoting TMA, so overall he is not that bad.


----------



## Gerry Seymour (Dec 15, 2020)

MartialHermit8 said:


> I have nothing against Jake Mace, obviously his Kung Fu looks self-taught, most likely from books, McDojo, or just by watching YouTube videos. However we have to admit that he is in a great physical condition for his age, both being well muscularly developed and possessing good flexibility, and he is encouraging a healthy life style and promoting TMA, so overall he is not that bad.


There's nothing inherently good or bad about promoting TMA. Particularly nothing inherently good if the promoter isn't actually versed in the TMA they promote.


----------



## Koryuhoka (Sep 7, 2021)

He has some muscles. 

But on a serious note, to expect that no one should have anything negative to say about him is a detriment to martial arts. Him and his "teacher" - Sin Kwang The', engaged in a legal battle where Sin had to admit that his "art" - Shaolin-Do, was made up by himself. He had to make this admission, or else, he would not have been able to keep Mace from teaching it. Why would anyone teach it is another sideshow altogether. 

Mace is committing fraud. He has convinced people that he is teaching real martial arts, when we all know he is not. He is taking money for something that is not real. 

You walk into a restaurant, and there was a display of pictures showing food. You point to what you want, and they bring out a picture of what you ordered and placed it on the table for you to eat. Let me know how it tastes.


----------



## Buka (Sep 8, 2021)

Koryuhoka said:


> You walk into a restaurant, and there was a display of pictures showing food. You point to what you want, and they bring out a picture of what you ordered and placed it on the table for you to eat. Let me know how it tastes.


God, I love that line.


----------



## Buka (Sep 8, 2021)

Shows you what I know..... 

Going through this thread I'm picturing Jesse Enkamp in my head for some reason. (I get young guys mixed up sometimes.)

I'm thinking, "The fellas are being kind of hard on him, he seems like a nice kid."

Then I google him. Duh. I'm not sure I've seen Jake Mace. I guess I'll check him out.


----------



## Tony Dismukes (Sep 8, 2021)

Buka said:


> Shows you what I know.....
> 
> Going through this thread I'm picturing Jesse Enkamp in my head for some reason. (I get young guys mixed up sometimes.)
> 
> ...


Yep, Jesse and Jake are very different people. I’d actually enjoy attending a class with Jesse Enkamp. Jake Mace … probably not so much.


----------



## Tony Dismukes (Sep 8, 2021)

BTW, speaking for the moderation staff here, I should note that fraud busting is against the MartialTalk terms of service.

It’s okay to note Jake Mace’s documented training history. That he trained in Shaolin Do under Sin Thé. That Sin Thé testified in court that he (Sin Thé) had personally created the unique forms taught in Shaolin Do. (I don’t know what additional training he has picked up since leaving Shaolin Do, but if you have knowledge of that you could pass it on.)

It’s okay to offer your opinion that the body dynamics embodied in Jake Mace’s demonstration of various Kung Fu methods don’t match the body dynamics that you have learned in your experience of CMA.

It’s okay to offer technical criticism of a particular technique he demonstrates on video. (Although I would recommend against that unless someone has a specific question regarding that video. MartialTalk isn’t intended to be a forum for randomly picking out people on YouTube to ridicule.)

It’s okay to allow people to draw their own conclusions from the above. However explicitly calling people out as frauds is not allowable under MartialTalk rules.


----------



## Koryuhoka (Sep 8, 2021)

Buka said:


> God, I love that line.


That is the simple explanation of Jake Mace, Sin Kwang The, Calasanz and the many other charlatans out there.


----------



## JowGaWolf (Sep 8, 2021)

Calasanz is the best though.  I didn't think he was still teaching.


----------



## Koryuhoka (Sep 8, 2021)

JowGaWolf said:


> Calasanz is the best though.  I didn't think he was still teaching.


I believe he is still committing fraud. The guy is in peak form. I don't take that away from him. And he could do well just being a fitness coach. But martial arts? I read an interview where the Master he claimed was his Sensei, Sakamoto, said that Calasanz was a green belt when he was taking a few seminars with him. He was never his student.


----------



## jks9199 (Sep 8, 2021)

ATTENTION ALL USERS:

Please refer to the Rules regarding fraud busting.  As was clearly explained above, we do not permit fraud busting.  There is room to debate qualifications and legitimacy but, especially if the person is not present to defend themselves, accusatory postings are not permitted.

jks9199
MartialTalk Administrator


Rules said:


> *4.16.1 Fraud Busting*
> 
> Due to its nature, this forum encourages the asking and answering of questions. Many times one member will have questions and concerns about the history, skills, lineage, or paperwork of another member. In other cases, things may be stated on a webpage, flyer or article relating to a member that raises some questions. Sometimes, comments will have been made elsewhere and those issues carried over to MartialTalk.
> 
> ...


----------



## kfman (Dec 14, 2021)

jks9199 said:


> ATTENTION ALL USERS:
> 
> Please refer to the Rules regarding fraud busting.  As was clearly explained above, we do not permit fraud busting.  There is room to debate qualifications and legitimacy but, especially if the person is not present to defend themselves, accusatory postings are not permitted.
> 
> ...


Unfortunately, beginners may look at these "teachers" and think they look enticing to learn from. I look how they move and do their forms to know what bad is. Bottom line is buyer beware.


----------



## Terrible Tim Witherspoon (Dec 22, 2021)

Terrible Tim Witherspoon 2X Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the World here. I have seen this gentleman preform his art. It seems lots of people like him and enjoy watching his videos. I think if it helps people get fit and think of health, I support it. I have never heard him put down anyone, so I respect that. I do know there are lots of people that also dislike him and what he is teaching. As to what he is teaching I can say this. As many arts I look at, I would modify somethings. I often see great techniques in traditional arts that need some slight tweaking, and they can be highly effective. I like many of the exercises and movements in his videos. They can be useful at improving your power, balance and explosive movement. I don't discount the traditional arts, but I am also not an expert on them. So, what I am saying here is far from an expert opinion on Kung Fu


----------



## JowGaWolf (Dec 22, 2021)

Terrible Tim Witherspoon said:


> I often see great techniques in traditional arts that need some slight tweaking, and they can be highly effective.


Biggest problem of traditional martial arts is. They show what to do, how to do it, but not how to use it.  There's a big difference between teaching a jab and showing someone how to use a jab.  This is where I think traditional martial arts get into big trouble.  There's a difference between copying a recipe and cooking.  Traditional Martial Arts practitioners need to do the "actual cooking"  even if it's just a little.


----------



## Terrible Tim Witherspoon (Dec 22, 2021)

JowGaWolf said:


> Biggest problem of traditional martial arts is. They show what to do, how to do it, but not how to use it.  There's a big difference between teaching a jab and showing someone how to use a jab.  This is where I think traditional martial arts get into big trouble.  There's a difference between copying a recipe and cooking.  Traditional Martial Arts practitioners need to do the "actual cooking"  even if it's just a little.


Yes you are 100% correct. Every technique needs to be pressure tested!


----------

