Patrick

Congrats Bob.

Thanks for sharing that with us, Tzu-Logic. Congrats. Patrick

Thanks for sharing that, Kusotare. Patrick

Welcome Kusotare. What makes KarateForums.com special to me is the kind, respectful way that our members treat one another, no matter if they are discussing something as trivial as the weather or as serious as a sensitive martial arts related discussion that members are divided on. As long as that is a perspective you share, then I'm sure you'll have plenty to bring to this community. Why don't you tell us a bit about yourself? What arts have you studied? Thanks, Patrick

Hello, Thank you for visiting KarateForums.com. We recognize one member every month as the KarateForums.com Member of the Month for their positive contributions to this community. The February 2013 selection is... vantheman. Congratulations! Thank you for all of your great contributions to our community. Sincerely, Patrick

Hey lowereastside. Welcome aboard. Patrick

Congrats jaypo!

Hello and welcome, Mr. Tynan. Patrick

Welcome aboard, Tkd&bjj. Patrick

I went ahead and gave this it's own thread. Welcome aboard, Mr. Harbar! Patrick

Thanks for the replies, ps1, ShoriKid, TreeKicker, vantheman, Alex, Bob, Danielle, blacknebula, Brian and Bill. I've enjoyed reading them all and find this discussion really interesting. My point is asking this question was to see how people feel about martial arts instructors having nice things and, some would say, being successful in life, not just in the martial arts. Not so much for it to become another "what makes a McDojo," but maybe that is partially inevitable. What do you call it if an instructor gives poor quality instruction, gives belts out like they mean nothing and has a very cheap monthly rate? Is that also a McDojo? Bob, I actually think your position is probably pretty popular. How I read your post was: I am full time, I live a good life, I run my school like a business because that is what it is and I charge what I am comfortable with. I think most people probably identify with that - everyone just has a different comfort level as what as what they feel they should charge, based on the factors that go into it. I'm not really advocating for anything as I don't have any skin in the game, so to speak, I'm just fascinated by the discussion. Thanks, Patrick

Good luck with your research, Ted. Look forward to seeing your results. Thanks, Patrick

Hey all, We've had a rash of "am I in a McDojo?" type of threads pop up recently. In reading these threads, as a non-martial artist, one of the things I find most interesting is the opinions about how much an instructor or school owner can charge for classes while still being a "true" martial artist. A reasonable portion of martial artists feel that an instructor should only charge enough to keep the lights on and live a very basic existence. Low-end car, smallest house that you can get away with, etc. There seems to be an idea that is fairly prevalent which says that if you charge an amount that is deemed to be unreasonable, then you are greedy and not a "real" martial artist - you don't adhere to the values. I've seen people say things like "that's not a martial artist, that's a business man." It made me curious to find out, specifically, how everyone felt about this. In other fields, when we work with people who are at the top of the field, we expect to pay more. When we have more of their individualized attention (small class sizes, direct consulting, etc.), we expect to pay more. When they have a nice facility in a good neighborhood, we expect to pay more. When we live in an area with a higher cost of living, we expect to pay more. But it seems like, for some, the martial arts is immune from this and operates on a different standard of principles, which is one of the things that makes the martial arts interesting and unique. But the notion that a "real" instructor should only charge whatever they can to get by, to scrape by, makes me wonder what "real," highly talented martial arts instructors are actually allowed to have in life. For example: Are they allowed to have a nice car, for them and their family? Are they allowed to have a nice house, for them and their family? Are they allowed to put money away for retirement? Are they allowed to have an emergency fund for the unexpected stuff that happens in life? Or should they just rally for donations when it occurs? Are they allowed to give their kids what they might never have had? Are they allowed to help their kids with college (not even pay for, but help), at a top tier school? Or only lower end schools? Are they allowed to have an iPhone and/or an iPad? A big plasma/LCD TV? Are those luxury items? Are they allowed to take vacations a couple of times a year? I'm sure you can come up with other examples, but you get the idea. And if they are allowed these things, and running the school is what they do full time, where should the money come from? Some people say that no one should be a full time teacher. I get the point, but that seems to simplify to the point where it enforces a rigid standard on everyone. In some cases, I'm not even sure that is reasonable. For example: running a school can be a full time job. Is it only a job for volunteers? If someone wants that to be what they do full time because they are passionate about it, why shouldn't it create a good lifestyle for them if they are good at it? Furthermore, who are you to say it shouldn't? If you enjoy business and are passionate about martial arts, is it bad to combine those and use your business acumen to grow your school and your martial arts knowledge to ensure that your instruction is of the highest quality? If they are offering quality instruction they are proud of and their students are happy, why can't they charge $x? If they want to limit class size and charge a premium for that, does that simply go against the philosophy of the martial arts? For example, if someone wants to charge $1,000 (just to throw a figure out) a month in New York City and limit a class size to 3, meaning 3 people paying that, and everyone is getting value out of it, is that bad? Can a real, true, genuine full time martial arts instructor have nice things and still be a real, true, genuine full time martial arts instructor? I'd be curious to hear your thoughts. Thanks, Patrick

Welcome to KF, Gabrielle. Enjoyed reading the replies on this thread. Good contributions, everyone! Patrick

Welcome aboard, Pedro.

Welcome to KF, Mr. Phipps. Glad to have you. I like Orlando a lot. Patrick

Welcome aboard, Katileena. Patrick

Welcome kensei. Patrick

Welcome aboard, Mr. Waddington. Glad to have you. Patrick

Welcome aboard. Patrick

Hey all, Wednesday is the birthday of both Heidi (ninjanurse) and Brian (bushido_man96). Happy Birthday to both of you. There was a lot of great KarateForums.com contributions born on January 9. Heh. I am thankful to have you on my team and appreciative of all of your efforts and support over the years. Happy Birthday. Thanks, Patrick

Hello and welcome, wonderbhoy1888. Patrick

Welcome aboard, VeteranNinja. Glad to have you. Patrick

Hello, Thank you for visiting KarateForums.com. We recognize one member every month as the KarateForums.com Member of the Month for their positive contributions to this community. The January 2013 selection is... Evil Dave. Congratulations! Thank you for all of your great contributions to our community. Sincerely, Patrick

Welcome back, Soo Min. You mentioned you are in therapy. It might be a good idea to run this by the doctor, since they'll be fully aware of the situation from your time with them and, also, would likely be equipped to help you decide what the proper course of action is at this stage, since they have probably dealt with similar situations. They could be helpful. Patrick