Am I the only one who notices? (Subjects of Martial Arts Discussions on Social Media)

[Furinkazan]

When on social media, and I look at postings by karate pages on Facebook and videos about karate on YouTube:

-About two-fifths of all postings are about calling out "McDojos."
-Another two-fifths of all postings are about belts.
-And the remaining fifth is actually about the teaching, the training, usage in real life scenarios, dojo politics, etc.

To an extent, I can understand the discussions about belts making up a significant fraction of the discussions.  At any given time, most mudansha are testing within the next three months, so that's where their focus is going to be.  But two-fifths seems kind of high.

The real odd one here are discussions about "McDojos."  What's the obsession?  Sure, we know they're out there.  But why are they living rent-free in our heads?  If we know our training is legit, why not focus on that and forget about McDojos?

*ends rant*

Edited 27 minutes ago by Patrick

[DarthPenguin]

To my mind it is because people see these mcdojo's and then they lower their opinion of the traditional arts accordingly. This then has a knock on impact of lower numbers of people showing interest and declining student numbers. In the UK this is less relevant as most clubs are run in the evenings as more of a hobby so the instructor is not using it to make a living, as long as they cover their costs then it is fine. For somewhere like the USA where there are more people who make it their livelihood then that has a massive impact.

Edited 22 minutes ago by Patrick

[camotheman]

Piggybacking off DarthPenguin here, but, in my opinion, another aspect of the McDojo side is that if the stuff they’re being taught is ineffective, it could potentially be dangerous to them. Say they get into a confrontation and try to use their magic no-touch knock out, they could get injured, or worse. I think that’s the part that really drives it home for me. Some of these people really do believe in it, and it could potentially have pretty severe consequences. I know it’s stereotypical, but I think of the kind of people who would train in these styles, and I worry for them. 

- CS

[Furinkazan]

On 4/30/2026 at 8:25 AM, DarthPenguin said:

To my mind it is because people see these mcdojo's schools and then they lower their opinion of the traditional arts accordingly. This then has a knock on impact of lower numbers of people showing interest and declining student numbers.

In my observation (mostly on the internet), it's mostly karateka that appear to be fixated on McDojos.  I don't see it happening anywhere near as much in BJJ discussions,, unless the context is them referring to all places in which TMA is taught as "McDojos."

 

On 4/30/2026 at 8:25 AM, DarthPenguin said:

In the UK this is less relevant as most clubs are run in the evenings as more of a hobby so the instructor is not using it to make a living, as long as they cover their costs then it is fine. For somewhere like the USA where there are more people who make it their livelihood then that has a massive impact.

If this is happening in the US (I'm not aware of it), I don't know what the profit margin is.  If you look at the maximum number of students that the square footage of the floor in most dojos can fit, I'm not sure the tuition is even covering the rent, much less the reinvestment into the physical dojo via the purchase and replacement of training equipment and the like.

Edited 26 minutes ago by Patrick

[KarateKen]

To me calling out McDojo's is based on a few things.  One, calling out scammers.  Because they deserve it.  Two, letting students know red flags of McD's so they can be aware and not get scammed.  This is especially important for someone looking to join a school for the first time.  Third, scamming and belt factories devalue all martial arts.  Finally, teaching poor technique is dangerous for the students who can get hurt either by practicing the style or because of a false sense of security. 

That being said sometimes people are too quick to judge and call out a style/school without proper information.  It becomes a style debate about who can beat up who.  It is an argument that never goes away.