Lineage trees are used in the breeding of animals where they act as a means of selecting characteristics.

Monarchs have used them to prove that their bloodline is pure enough to assume the throne.

Unfortunately, many martial art teachers fall into the trap of the latter use, and neglect the importance of the first.

Students who are more concerned with the development of a martial art than the legitimacy of a particular teacher’s practice, can follow the lineage tree of certain teachers and see how the martial style developed.

Unfortunately, martial artists that use lineage trees to legitimize their practice are known to exaggerate, or even falsify their lineage. Others become so insistent that a certain lineage is the only one of worth, that they will denigrate the practice methods of other lineages. This makes legitimate research of some martial styles difficult, if not impossible.