I worked with a guy who was training at a kung fu place. The teacher did all kinds of gimmicky fake crap, like standing on one leg while 20 of his students tried to push him over but "couldn't."
This guy I knew was perfectly reasonable and intelligent in every aspect except this one. When it came to his Kung Fu, there was just no convincing him. He still believed that his teacher could beat MMA fighters but he just didn't lower himself to fighting for sport.
Crazy how smart people can be so dumb about certain things