bluetiger

I have a difficult decision to make. My 3 boys are currently taking a Shotokan based Karate at a local school. The main reason I chose the school is because of the main instructor. However, it appears that he is happy turning his school into a McDojo. He rarely teaches anymore and belts are handed out to non deserving students every test. My wife and I joke that if your check clears the bank, you can get your next belt. It is no laughing matter. My boys are half way to black belts and are not happy. They watch the end of the class before theirs (all higher ranked belts) and are not impressed. 2 of my 3 boys will continue training at another dojo. The other one is too much in to football and will probably not take martial arts anymore. I guess my question is this: does anyone have any recommendations? I am really apprehensive about where they go from now on. I guess you can't base it off of reputation anymore.

I just started in Shotokan about 2 months ago. I'm just a sponge soaking up knowledge right now. After all the great posts in this thread, what could a white belt contribute? You guys keep talking. I'm learning as fast as you can type.

From what I understand, the filipino MA's kali, escrima and modern arnis are all very similar. I'm not sure about kuntaw. Some of the arnis guys may argue this point, but if you do a search on one they all come up. I'm not exactly sure, so don't quote me. However, my wife's cousin is an instructor in Modern Arnis. I'm sure you could e-mail him and he would be happy to answer any questions that he possibly can. I'm sure it would be best to talk to someone that knows what he's talking about. Here's his website: http://www.modern-arnis.com/ Hope that helps.

Yes. A bad one, but still a joke.

I found a new style of MA I would like to study. Just wanted to get your opinion of whether or not it would be effective SD. It's called Sum Ting Wong and apparently a lot of us on here are very well versed in most of the aspects of this style. Any advice?

Yes you are. Best Wishes!

Same as Chi, biblical passages, and God. Hmmnnnnn Don't bring religion in to it please.

Somebody please make him stop. It's painful.

Tennessee's pretty big. Do you want to pick a city or something?

Just to clarify my statements: 1. It is better to avoid fighting if at all possible. From the original post it sounded like this one's going to happen. 2. Being the aggressor is not always obvious. I meant more like have that state of mind. If she goes in scared and not wanting to fight, she'll fight that way---and lose. The only thing you can do is prepare in case it does happen. A lot of good advice in this thread.

It's really hard to say with such limited information. Do these 2 people live close to one another? Attend the same MA school? Same high school (because that what it sounds like)? Can she avoid this person without it being obvious? Is the other person an accomplished fighter? Having been the big guy that all the punks with "little man's syndrome" decided to try their luck with, I have a little experience in this matter. If she "has to" fight, have Jackie make it on her terms. Advise her to pick the time and place and to be the aggressor. Not one of those "Meet me here at 1:00" deals. I mean that she needs to make up her mind and just do it. When she's ready, she needs to go up to whoever and just do it. No mouthing off or saying I'm going to kick your butt. Just kick her butt. 9 times out of 10 whoever gets the first good strike in wins the fight anyways. Keep in mind that it is always best to resolve matters peacefully. However, if that cannot happen, then Jackie needs to control the situation. Make the decision to fight, decide when it will happen, be the aggressor and strike first.

It all depends on what you are interested in and what you are trying to achieve by taking MA. I suggest, as will most here, that you attend an introductory class or 2 at each of these schools and see what suits you best. See what instructors you really like. Hope that helps.

Man, that's one of the funniest things I've read in a while! Thanks for the laugh.

Man, that's one of the funniest things I've read in a while! Thanks for the laugh.

Uuuuuuuhhhhh... I think that's what I said I was going to do. This is not something that I will even consider until much later.

Thanks for the tips, SevenStar.

yes, and as everyone seems to be telling you but you seem unable to understand. you are wrong. i think it's time for an analogy. let's say you have a wolf. the wolf is hungry and wants to eat. you ask the wolf nicely to not eat you. the wolf, seeing you are a nice chap decides not to eat you. doesn't change the fact that he is a wolf. now exchange wolf for mcdojo hungry for greedy eat for take money (from) DM, that is an excellent analogy. Coco, I don't want to argue with you, but it seems like everyone is trying to tell you something. I'm the last person that needs to give advice on this board, but think about it. Are you right and everyone else wrong? Or is it the other way around?

If you are truly interested in Aikido, you may try picking up a copy of Aikido for Life by Gaku Homma. It seems to give a basic understanding of Aikido and has a whole chapter on ki/chi. I read this book while searching for a dojo and eventually settled on Shotokan. I'm still interested in Aikido, but could not find a dojo to my liking.

Our school is in a strip mall. If we keep being able to attend unlimited classes per week, we may have to move. Some of the kid's lower rank classes are huge. I would hate it if they started limiting us to so many classes per week.

Check your PM.

Blue of course! Just look at my name.

Well, I'm sort of 1st generation. My three boys and myself are all white belts at the same school.

1. The black belts at our school train with us newbies. They also help teach the kids classes. From what I've seen, I wouldn't want to tangle with any of them. I've seen 2 kids with fairly high ranks. (one was probably 14 and a black belt and was was about the same and a purple or red???) There may be more but I haven't seen them. The largest kid classes are green belt and lower ranks. 2. Testing fees are fairly inexpensive. $25.00 3. Already mentioned that one. Thanks for all the replies. You guys really help us new guys out.

Thanks for your response, DM. I had never heard of a mcdojo before checking this stuff out online. My gut feeling tells me that my school is a good one, but being new to MA, it makes you second guess.

My dojo could very well be considered a mcdojo, but for some reason I like it. Any Shotokan students out there that can shed some light on what to look for in a school? Just for a little more info: 1. It's not a very old school. Maybe 8 years old. 2. It's in suburbia, so there's a ton of kids. 3. The blackbelts appear to be very skilled, but some of the younger ones I have my doubts about. 4. Sometimes I feel they are too lenient with the lower rank belt promotions. Any input would be appreciated.