Does Dojo loco have any bearing on quality of teaching

[Daryl]

There are dojos in schools, churchs, ymcas, mass production studios and who knows where all else. Is there any relationship (as a general observation) between the type of dojo and the quality of the schooling?

What kind of environment is your dojo in?

[sensei8]

That's a fair question, but...

No! Imho, no matter where the venue may or may not be, this is insignificant because the quality of the instructions is by far more important than the surroundings. Some of the greatest schools of the martial arts can be found in the most least likely location.

The Shindokan Hombu where I teach is a free standing 3 story building in a commercial zone.

[isshinryu5toforever]

I'm going to say no as well. The instructor is always the most important thing, and an unfortunate fact is that not all of the best instructors are great businessmen. Their schools don't always stay open, or they're never in a position to make teaching martial arts a full-time job. Others choose not to make it a full-time job. Don't let the appearance of a place scare you off. Let the instructor show you what kind of person he is first.

[Montana]

I also agree..where a class is taught is by far less important than the quality of the instruction.

Myself, I've taught in the local park during nicer weather, several high school and college gyms, churchs, grocery store basement, 2 health clubs, my basement, my garage, my living room, conference room of a phone company, in several commercial locations including a shopping mall, and a few places I'd just as soon forget about! lol

Yeah, I know...a lot of locations. I've been teaching since 1978 in 4 different cities.

[Lupin1]

Remember that in Okinawa when karate there was getting started, the masters taught out of a teeny tiny spare room in their teeny tiny house usually only big enough for one student to be inside at a time while the other students practiced at the makiwara outside. I don't think location has much to do with it. People who own a full time school usually have more time to dedicate towards karate and students usually have more opportunities to train, but people who operate non-profit programs out of church basements don't have to worry about the money aspects and all that, so often times they teach more for the art and less to make money or keep students. But then every school's different. I guess what I'm trying to say is it doesn't usually matter. There are good and bad schools in both situations.

[KarateGeorge]

Some of the greatest martial arts instructors teach out of their basements or garages, and some of the worst teach out of state of the art facilities...and on the flip side, other great instructors also have state of the art facilities, and there are bad instructors teaching from their garage or basement. The person teaching is what makes the difference not the facilities.

[evergrey]

I learn in the basement, in a horse pasture, a parking lot, a city park... the location does not matter. The instructor and being true to the heart of the martial way does.

[bushido_man96]

I say no. You don't want to stereotype a school based on where it is located. Always check it out first. Who knows where you will find some treasure?