eeek!!! is my school a mcdojo???

[IloveTKD]

how do you know if your tkd school is a mcdojo because im becoming worried...

[Patrick]

The generally agreed upon qualification in my experience is that they simply give recognition away for money, there is no/little real qualification going on, it doesn't really matter how you test, you are getting your belt, rank, etc. anyway.

There are other things that people say, but they are more aguable. Like, if you charge a "lot" of money, you are one. But, good schools can charge a lot, so that isn't a particularly good indicator.

[Aodhan]

how do you know if your tkd school is a mcdojo because im becoming worried...

Warning signs:

1) Tons of white/orange/yellow belts running around, very few middle to high color belts and black belts. (Although, if this is a new school, that may not be true)

2) Mandatory 18+ month contracts with no escape clauses

3) Advancement PURELY on if you make it to 12 classes. You could suck your thumb during the test and still pass

4) Check the business with the BBB. See if they are a member of the BBB and/or chamber of commerce. The more legitimate schools will join these orgs.

5) Heavy emphasis on money over training. It's okay if good training costs a lot, but bad training at a high cost is a terrible waste.

6) Won't allow you to talk to current students or observe/take an intro class until you sign a contract.

These are a few of the warning signs.

If I may ask, what is worrying you about your current training school? What prompts you to ask the question?

Aodhan

[Shui Tora]

Excuse my "ignorrance" but what is a "Mc Dojo"?

[Aodhan]

Excuse my "ignorrance" but what is a "Mc Dojo"?

A school that promotes solely on if your account is current. You know, "5,000 black belts served and counting!"

It's a term of derision applied to schools that are perceived to be belt factories, that don't have or just pay lip service to actual physical requirements.

Aodhan

[Shui Tora]

Oh... So basically a Dojo that hands out belts on money, without seeing if the student has an understanding of the kata, techniques and discipline...

Thanks for that!

[IloveTKD]

i only was worried because it is rather big. About 300 students. But no, they dont hand out belts like candy...my 1sy dan bb test was hard as hell...so i dont think it is... heres the website:

https://www.unitedtkd.com

[bushido_man96]

If you feel that you and everyone else is working hard, but not getting cut slack, and you feel good about your progession, and the instructor points out errors and helps to improve them, you should not be worried.

[Patrick]

Hello,

We removed a post in error. It is quoted below. It went right before Aodhan's second post. Thanks.

Excuse my "ignorrance" but what is a "Mc Dojo"?

Basically a school that ranks money more important than quality, and serves to the masses.

[aefibird]

i only was worried because it is rather big. About 300 students. But no, they dont hand out belts like candy...my 1sy dan bb test was hard as hell...so i dont think it is... heres the website:

https://www.unitedtkd.com

Size isn't necessarily an indicator of quality. I train in a small karate school and a large (considering I live in a semi-rural area) TKD school. Just because my TKD school is large (almost 150 members compared to about 30 members at karate) doesn't mean that it is a McDojo. The SBN at TKD does a lot of marketing - he wants people to train at his school because it is his job. The karate club is marketed mainly on word-of-mouth and therefore doesn't have as many members (plus the karate dojo is about 3x smaller than the TKD dojang). However, I wouldn't say that either of my schools is a McDojo - I feel that I am getting quality instruction and am being charged a fair, realistic price.

If you feel that you are getting good teaching and are not being ripped off then chances are your school isn not a "McDojo". I don't like the term anyway - what is one persons McDojo is anothers legitimate school. People often forget that teaching full time is the only job that many instructors have. Obviously, they want to ensure people come to their club so that they can afford to feed their families. Many students doesn't automatically equal bad school. People are happy to pay high prices to join a gym or have tennis lessons or pay to see a sports match but often feel that an instructor which charges for lessons is a "rip off" and a McDojo". People will happily pay £70, £80, £90 or more a month to be a member of a gym or a health club but moan at paying half that price for karate lessons, even if the instructor is Funakoshi himself!!