mcdojos; agree or disagree?

Question

do you think that fairly soon if UFC and stuff like that continues, that there will be more mcdojos in the arts that are "supposed" to work than the ones everyone stereotypes as having all the mcdojos? after all nowadays people make one hour tapes of MMA and sell them to people who then claim to be experts and teach people. and now people are bashing the old arts so some of the new people who come to train hear that an art sucks, so all the money will go to muay thai and BJJ schools and soon those will have the most mcdojos. agree or disagree?

someone said there would be a TMA vs. MMA war before that happens. what is TMA?

Answer 1

I generally oppose McDojos.

But I wonder if, like restaurant culture, there will be enough discerning folk who will seek out the smaller trainers.

I think that UFC and MMA and the publicity that goes along with this sort of martial arts contributes a little bit to decline of smaller martial arts teachers, however I think that some McDojos have very aggressive recruitment policies and a franchise structure. I think that this has much more impact on the more traditionalist schools who just have their doors open and let students seek them out.

Particularly bad are: GKR Karate, some schools of Tae Kwon Do, among others.

To my knowledge we have only got one BJJ school in Adelaide. We have a few different Muay Thai places. They aren't looking like taking over quite yet.

But we are generally a lot more isolated than other areas in Australia.

Answer 2

There's mcdojos in every style (Albeit some more or less than others). That being said, I don't honestly think BJJ, Muay Thai, and the like are going to go down too easily for example: The training from the beginning has been very intense, and that's pretty much the reason why styles like those thrive in MMA.

I think there will be a TMA vs MMA war before that happens. Too bad I wouldn't choose a side. :p

It's possible though. Every style already has it's mcdojos and authentics already, however. I guess with the situation you've listed: There will be more mcdojos that are likely to pop up in those styles.

Answer 3

Its hard to have a McDojo when there exists a real way of testing the art in competition. The reason why McDojos get away with what they do is because they have no real test in place that will show a person what their skill level is, so they fill the persons mind with false confidence that is only tested when a person gets into some real danger

As long as BJJ and Muay Thai schools spar full contact and enter competitions its would be hard for them to become McDojo since it will become pretty obvious that what the school is teaching is not working

There are however what I call "fitness" Muay Thai schools poping up that are like TaeBo, but they dont claim to produce fighters and tell you that its fitness orientated and not fight orientated so the people that go there know what they are looking for. Im sure there will be schools that are not so good out there for Muay Thai and BJJ and who knows what else will happon in the future, but it will never be as bad as the karate and kung fu McDojos there are simply due to the fact that there are tests in place to show a person how good their skill actually is

Answer 4

Well, of course, and it's already starting with a whole bunch of "real combat" systems and what-not. The more popular an idea is, the more people will try to make money off it. And with this particular crowd, it becomes particularly easy for snake-oil salesmen to make their pitch, because they show a great willingness to believe all the myths that such a system is sold as, such as the idea that a system is the best, or that it will make them invincible, or that this is really the absolute real thing, or that this is what the Russian secret police uses, or whatever.
Of course, it comes from distorted expectations and a belief that somehow, the system will work on its own, without one having to put much effort into it.
These schools are already popping up all over the place.

Answer 5

One of the issues that will always exist, and hell why be a judge. It would be far better to simply show and be the best we can and let that be the reason folks seek out quality teachers. The saying fits, you can always tell a teacher by their student (s). Look at the student (s) and see what results the teacher offers, as you may like or dislike what it all boils down to. Some like this and some that, and always know that what is a mc dojo to you may be a benefit to another. Then look at if the simple codes are followed, honor, truth, compassion and courage. Those are some of the best lessons a teacher can give and so they should have these themselves. If these are lost, well it is simply well educated fighting.

Answer 6

Of course. It's basic economics. Any time a particular art or two becomes popular, there's more money in those arts, and mcdojos will pop up to take in that money.

Answer 7

It totally depends on the teaching and overall ability of the sensei.

Ultimate fighting is hardly martial arts though, it is street fighting with money for the winner.

I've fought two guys that came down from ultimate fighting and was able to take them both down with modified lethal attacks, very quickly. Okinawan Karate is rarely matched by basic fighting.

Answer 8

I kind of agree, there are money hungry people out there who will use anything to make a buck.

TMA - traditional martial arts.

Answer 9

i agree