Putting McDojos out of Business

[Infrazael]

Who's with me??? If I ever become rich or famous (I will actually work very hard towards it), I want to put out all of those crappy McDojos, watered-down, useless beliefs and crap out of business, one by one.

 

They are truly a disgrace to real Martial Arts.

[ncole_91]

How?

[Grenadier]

As much as I agree on the dislike of McDojos, is it really anyone's place to directly ruin them? After all, they're simply running a business, and have a right to exist. I really don't like the idea of badmouthing another dojo, since karma tends to have an odd way of biting one in the rear.

 

I would much rather see the owners of decent dojos flourish to a point, where the positive aspects of their dojo inspires the students at the McDojos to simply leave and come on over. Something like this can certainly be done, without trying anything negative on the McDojos.

[scottnshelly]

I can certainly agree that these people are giving us 'real' Martial Artists a bad name, totally demoralizing and degrading our ranks. in a perfect world, i wouldn't want them around.

 

on the other hand. they have helped me see a new perspective on things. i know that i won't be able to explain it all in detail here, but maybe you can understand my point:

 

ranks don't matter. not to us, not to outsiders, not to other schools. they are simply a way of letting others know your skill level. i think that things should be graded on length and experience of training. instead of 'i'm a 2nd Dan in Moo Duk Kwan Tae Kwon Do', we should say 'i've studied Moo Duk Kwan Tae Kwon Do for 14 years.'

 

So what, who cares what rank you are. Just because someone's a higher rank doesn't necessarily mean that they've more experience than me, or are a better fighter, or a better Martial Artist. Just because i'm a higher rank than someone else, doesn't mean that a lower rank can't beat me in sparring.

 

it has helped to humble me - and others - by realizing that.

 

thirdly, if you're bragging to some outsider (and by outsider i mean someone with no Martial training) about your belt rank and you're worried that he won't think it's that great becuase of these 'McDojo's' then you're not deservant of the Black Belt rank. Being a Black Belt isn't about bragging or showing off. It's not about telling others about it and trying to make yourself look good.

 

If someone finds out that i'm a Black Belt, then i hope that they do think that i'm one of those crappy 'McDojo' guys. I don't want people to think that i'm just the opposite. Anyone that needs to know my training experience should be able to tell it by knowing me, not by the color of belt that i wear.

 

in other words, if someone can't tell that i'm a Black Belt by talking to me, watching me, observing me (in or out of the Dojo) then i don't want them to know that i've ever trained.

 

Two different Black Belts that judged at my first Black Belt test told me afterward that i was a Black Belt for a couple months before the test.

 

In conclusion, Black Belt is not simply a rank that can be bought, it is a state of being. It doesn't matter what the alleged 'McDojos' do because it doesn't affect me.

[Red J]

Two different Black Belts that judged at my first Black Belt test told me afterward that i was a Black Belt for a couple months before the test.

 

In conclusion, Black Belt is not simply a rank that can be bought, it is a state of being. It doesn't matter what the alleged 'McDojos' do because it doesn't affect me.

 

This is how I feel. Black Belt is a state of mind. Once I passed my test, I understood that I had been one for longer than I had thought. It was just not around my waist.

 

But to the original topic, McDojos are annoying. They have a right to exist and if they do good business then they are filling some need or else people wouldn't go there. It's not for me.

[TangSooGuy]

I agree with the idea presented about ranks...

 

More often than not I avoid exprssing my rank unless it is either directly asked of me, or is relevant to the topic at hand.

 

Better questions to ask are always:

 

How long have you been training?

 

or after being told the rank:

 

So what was required of you to get to that rank?

 

I'm always more impressed when people ask me those questions, because I think it shows a better grasp of what the martial arts are about.

 

As for putting Mc Dojos out of business...

 

sure, theoretically it's a good idea, but who gets to define what a McDojo is?

 

To really put them out of business would require legislation of some sort defining what a legitimate martial arts school is, and I am firmly against that, as it can be too easily abused.

[AngelaG]

Some people want to train in a McDojo environment. It is not for me, but who am I to dictate what other people should do?

[HumanTyphoon]

Some people want to train in a McDojo environment. It is not for me, but who am I to dictate what other people should do?

 

Couldn't agree less.

[Sionnagh]

I think most people who train in a McDojo would vehemently argue that theirs is not a McDojo. Just like most people think their first instructor is a karate god regardless of how good they are (at least until they learn otherwise).

 

And there are always people who will train there instead of doing taebo/aeroboxing/whatever because they think it's better or that they're learning something...

 

 

Mick

[Nobody]

Or perhaps we will always train there because 'real styles' show their true colours by mocking and trying to destroy the 'Mcdojo' in which we train. I wouldn't want to train in any style that encourages that sort of judgemental behaviour. That would be more of a disgrace to MA, I think.