Most martial arts students, on some level or other, are 'true believers'. They believe that their chosen art or instructor is 'IT' whatever 'it' means to them. It must be the best, of course… otherwise, they would be doing something else.

Sometimes it is naïve—can a six-year-old in a "Little Tigers" class really evaluate how good his training is?

The question of best can never be objective anyway. Best for what? There are world champions teaching MMA, or people with deep ties to...