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Modern pseudo-masters are super salesmen. They play on fear, cater to hope,and, once they have you, they will keep you coming back for more. Seldom do their victims realize how often or how skillfully they have been cheated.

Most people think that a pseudo-master would be easy to spot, but sometimes it difficult to separate fact from hype. Many pseudo-masters use scientific terms and quote (or misquote) scientific references. Many think of a pseudo-master as a weird, loud person with outlandish ideas, so they are fooled by the smooth talking, well dressed, seemly educated pseudo-masters. How many people do you know who believe in acupuncture, parapsychology, death touch, walking on hot coals, crystal power, pyramid power, the plants can communicate, astrology, etc.

Pseudo-masters are not promoting the quality of their arts, but their ability to influence people. To those who feel victimized by bullies, they promise relief. To those who feel victimized by crime, they promise to make you a killing machine. To the health-conscious, they promise good health. Pseudo-masters reach people by appealing to their emotions. The following are some of the ways they do it:

Appeal to vanity. Pseudo-masters appeal to your curiosity and persuade you give their art a try and see if it works. When you notice some results, then they appeal to your vanity to convince you to disregard scientific fact in favor of your personal experience. Anytime a person tries something new, he or she will notice some changes and results; that how fad diets work. Usually people notice results because they are desperate for some results. Pseudo-masters will tell you that traditional styles are outdated. They convince you that although their techniques have been proven not to work for other people, they still might work for you—because you are special.

• Turn students into salespeople. Most people, who think they have been helped by an unorthodox art, enjoy sharing their success stories with their friends. People who give such testimonials are usually motivated by a sincere wish to help their friends. Rarely do they realize how difficult it is to evaluate any martial art on the basis of personal experience. Many people experience the placebo effect (see the next item for information on the placebo effect), where a person feels better merely because he or she has taken a positive step in his or her life. Since we tend to believe what others tell us of their personal experiences, testimonials may be powerful persuaders. Despite their unreliability, they are the cornerstone of a pseudo-master's success. Some pseudo-masters systematically turn their students into salespeople.

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