Is a "mcdojo" really all that bad a thing?

Question

after all, mcdojos, yeah they take business from the traditional schools, but mcdojos arent all bad are they? you can still get some good from them. a mcdojo still teaches the philosophy to an extent. and true, they may only be in it for the money, but the students still put in time, and they still have to progress. there are many bad things about them, but it's still better than nothing. and the people at mcdojos still learn.

by the way, i'm not saying this to justify going to a mcdojo. my school is legitimate, just so the people who constantly feel the need to criticise on here don't say that I am just justifying.

Answer 1

I have to agree with some of the other answers and you as well. Mc Dojos are not bad in that they teach younger students good values and character building skills that will better prepare them for the challenges in life. Unfortunately some misrepresent themselves to the uneducated public and also to their students.

Not only that but it is literally easier for me to teach a ten year old from the beginning the proper skills, standard and quality of technique required and all that goes with that than to teach and change a ten year old's perspective after he has studied martial arts at a Mc Dojo and been promoted. The other problem with this is that it tends to lower the overall quality of martial arts in general since there is such a proliferation of these schools and their students who in turn open up other schools and turn out even more inferior and uneducated students. So you literally have the situation that you have now.

Answer 2

McDonald's is not real food. McDojo's are place where made-up crap is taught... like Shaolin-Do and the likes.

The fact that a school consists of 100's of branches across does not make it a McDojo.

Take Ed Parker's Kenpo for instance. He has practitioners around the world and they are not McDojos.

There are other factors that decide whether or not they qualify as McDojos.

Answer 3

It depends on how they present themselves. To a greater or lesser extent some themes I see in McDojos are:
Do not train with contact, and if they do it's very scripted "You come at me with this exact strike". (a technique or combination of techniques are useless unless you can apply them in a combat situation)
The instructors do not spar with their students. (this shows that they are complacent and comfortable in their role as instructors. NO ONE IS SO GOOD THAT THEY DON"T NEED TO CONTINUALLY TEST THEMSELVES AND IMPROVE!)
They claim that their art and instruction will make practitioners untouchable and unstoppable. (not in those exact words typically but that is the general theme)
Practitioners progress at warp speed to black belt. (unrealistic timelines to reach instructor level without really mastering anything themselves)

If you're going to advertise your art as one for self defense then there had better be some substance rather than just going thru' the motions to make people feel good about themselves. I understand that a school is a business and some comprimises must be made. There is no definite line that marks one school a McDojo and another the "Real Deal", but usually a McDojo is at such an extreme already it's easy to see the difference.

Answer 4

Money aside...
I believe McDojo's aren't all that bad. While I wouldn't personally choose to train at one because I know the difference... I think that those that do not know the difference are not doing any "harm" by attending or having their child attend a McDojo.
I say that because in the end they or their child is learning discipline, some sort of self defense and simultaneously building character - how can any of that be bad?
Many, Many, Many states in the U.S.A. lack good or even credible instructors so often the choice is ONLY a McDojo.
In my opinion treat it much like one might their own job...
We show up every time because of what we do and learn, but that doesn't mean that everything we believe or dream about in life rests in that one job/school.

Answer 5

first off, what, in your mind warrants a "mcdojo?" That should be key, b/c then that is your personal definition of "mcdojo."
To me, getting belts, and competing just for the sake of competing sounds mcdojo. I personally feel that without the philosophy and feel behind it, it's a mcdojo, whether they are a top competing school or not. The martial arts are there to better ourselves, and we can't better ourselves without first focusing inward. That is a mcdojo to me, if it helps "spriritually" then cool. If it is just to gain rank and pummel someone else, then no.
Yin is better than Yang.

Answer 6

There is nothing good about a McDojo. They are fraudulent. they are advertising things that they can't deliver.
They give students false confidence in exchange for money.
If you accept what they are doing then you accept fraud, lies and deception as ok too. Be careful of the company you keep.
No good can come of McDojo.Doing nothing is better than doing the wrong thing.


PS. In our town the McDojos are kenpo karate, tae kwon do and made up styles like tang so do/karate/ tae kwon do.

Answer 7

If you know you are getting fast food and it has low nutritional value that is fine with me. I eat at Micky-D's some times.
Just don't expect your black belt to save your but when the chips are down.
The worst thing about mcdojos is that you have no way of knowing you are in one until they have your money and you believe you actually have more than you got.

Answer 8

The problem with McDojo's is that they tell their students that they are now blackbelts and can whoop anybody. In a serious school pupils are told, now you are a blackbelt, the real learning will begin.

Answer 9

If your purpose is purely to get in shape then no harm done.
However if you are being led to believe you are learning a viable means of self defense that may save you from serious injury or death then you are being misled or misleading yourself. .
A TAE BO course will get you in the same good shape maybe better without selling you the illusion you are doing self defense or having to learn kata.

Answer 10

mcdojos are great if you dont plan to compete in tournaments