how to detect a McDojo?

Question

How would you find out if a place is a Mcdojo? Do you think this is a.... Mc Kickboxing Studio? www.brokenrythm.net

Answer 1

I'm sorry. Your link doesn't appear to work (Doesn't for me, anyway).

Generally speaking, a McDojo is what is called a place that mass-produces belts and where the education is sub-par.

-Places where they demand you sign lengthy contracts before training
-Places where where they won't let you observe a class to see if you think you'd like training there.
-Places where they tell you they teach secret, ultra-deadly techniques that will make you better than anyone studying anything else (dead givaway).
-Places where belt levels have been added in order to promote students more often (i.e. they divert from the traditional colors - white, yellow, orange, green, blue, brown, black (or red) and have more levels).
-They have a bunch of hidden fees for taking tests, attending special exam preparation classes, etc...
-They demand you buy a bunch of equipment from the school and insist the equipment must be from the school.
-The qualifications of their teachers are unclear. You do a search and you can't seem to find which school they got their black belt from.
-Lots of children have advanced belts. (Some exceptional 12 year olds may be able to earn that grade, 2? Highly unlikely, more? They probably might as well just die a white belt.
-Lots of very overweight, very out of shape people have advanced belts. How did they manage to do all the requirements without getting in shape?
-Classes tend to be very large.
-All training is in katas (i.e. there is no actual physical contact, no sparring, not even testing of the techniques with a punching bag) - maybe boards.

So these are all things to look out for. Just because a school as one of these characteristics, it doesn't necessarily make it a bad school, but the more of them it has, the most likely you're in a McDojo. The kids with the black belts, the refusal to let you see lessons, the extra belt colors, the hidden fees and the promise of secret deadly techniques are particularly blatant signs..

The problem is these schools tend to not be very upfront about how they do things. If they want you to sign a contract, make sure you read all the fine print. The idea of these things is generally to get you legally obliged for lengthy periods. (My dojo charges a monthly fee and that's it). If you can talk to students about how training is at that school, that is a great way to learn about the way they operate, altough some schools go so far as to instruct students not to discuss teaching methods with outsiders. (So that tight-lipped students can be another sign).

Answer 2

I beg to differ a little on the belt opinion. In my own school I have introduced "half ranks" in between the solid color belts. I've also taken a little freedom and offered them a belt that matches, half white, half yellow in between white and yellow, half yellow half orange, in between yellow and orange, etc. It's not because I'm a Mc Dojo. It's so the quality of instruction does not become sub-par. In this way I can actually trick the students into spending more time at a rank and getting in more focus and study while still keeping the younger kids encouraged and progressing. Ten year olds don't tend to like spending 7-10 months moving from white to yellow, but unless they do, they're missing something and I fail at my job. So while those rules are general, I'm guessing there are exceptions. At least I hope there are.. otherwise.. I have at last joined the others, and am a McDojo...

You can tell a McDojo by whether or not they offer to "super-size" your training. Or whether they are about fast service with a smile. If it doesn't take you at least 4-5 years, and some blood, sweat and tears, to earn a black belt.. then you got robbed. Also, if the goal of the school is to get your black belt, and then they offer little else afterwards.. you got robbed as well.

Good Luck

Answer 3

first and for most I see a lot of this, people saying that because you have to pay fees for testing and such that its a mcdojo. well if no body payed how would you have a dojo to train at.
my # 2 point is just because there are some really crappy tkd schools out there doesn't mean that all of them are like that.

and finally my opinion on a Mcdojo is if they have any one between the ages of 5&9 with black belt you should stay away. Having a black belt is more than just money or skill. it involves life expereances and growing as a person, and thats not some thing that any body 5-10 can start doing.

just to add one more thing for all those tkd haters in Korea (wtf) you cant wear a black belt until your 16.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
you hold the rank of poom until then. So there for nobody should knock another style an dthats how I run my school in florida.

Answer 4

didn't work for me either. For me a McDojo : The "teachers" are there for the cash, and no other reason. There may be a chain of them across your town or state. They produce black belts like McDonalds produces fries. There will be a good amount of kids 3-8 that run around with black belts as well. In fact it is belts that keep the school going. If you have trained for more than a month and still have no clue what's going on. You learn more about how cool the instructor is than how to defend yourself. They have you do silly rituals and mottos. The school has "motivational" artwork that reads : We are a Black Belt school. The focus is on the instructor and not the students. The "instructor" leaves all the training to the "lower" ranked black belts. Please stop me.

Answer 5

If they tell you you can get a blackbelt without training for A MIN of 3 Days a Week and for 5 years then it's a Mcdojo

Answer 6

What Opinionatedkitty said is mostly right. I wanted to add some things however...

1) There are no traditional belt colors, Usually you go through 10 kyu(1st kyu will be whatever is before black) and most schools have seven belts spread out through those ten kyu, some of them have a belt for each kyu. If they have more than that it's fake.

2) I have trained in small dojos where I was asked for fees for the grading exam because damn... The dojo was located in the third floor of a shared commercial building, was the only source of income of the two senseis and trust me the pine used for tameshiwari is damned expensive. (Do not run away in disgust only because you might be charged for grading)

Answer 7

You maybe at a McDojo if....
there are a gaggle of 10yr old black belts running around.
they ask you to sign a contract.
they try to charge you for rank testing.
you look around and everyone has there belt tied a different way.
the kids wear their belts on their waist outside the school.
they have martial art themed birthday parties.
the instructor has studied a million different arts and then invented his own.
the people have more patches, stripes, stars and other decorations then they have free space on their uniform.


I could keep going but you get the picture.

Answer 8

If its not BSLDS ( Barny Style Love Defense System) it is Mcdojo

Answer 9

Because they have a McCoach teaching.

Answer 10

If they teach TKD, they are a McDojo.