McDojo? Against people making a living?

[BKJ1216]

Well I'm pretty sure McDojo was though up from McDonals. They're a multi-million(maybe billion) dollar company but they really could care less about their custormers. In other words any school that does a bad job teaching but has the prices set out rageously high is a McDojo.

[theswarm]

it's a dojo that sells big macs and cheeseburgers, and everytime you pay to go in they say 'would you like fries with that?'

 

It's a good way to negate the health benefits of training at a dojo

[SaiFightsMS]

I have no problem with someone making a living from teaching the martial arts. I do have a problem with someone who teaches in such a way that their students are mislead or misinformed as to how well they will be able to protect themselves should a situation arise when the need to defend themselves to protect their life should arise.

[Red J]

I want my instructor to make a decent living and not have to worry about making rent. That way he can concentrate on teaching. With him sweating it the quality of the instruction would go down. Also I wouldn't want to worry about him closing shop.

 

Switching gears. I think its OK to charge a lot if you get a lot in return (kind of like "you get what you pay for"). Good teachers are in demand and deserve to get paid for their expertise. Just because someone is a Karate Teacher doesn't mean that they should take a vow of poverty. The Jokers that charge a lot and don't deliver are just that, Jokers. They soon find themselves with high turnover in students and not much credibility. They don't last long. Just my opinion.

[Guest]

I agree with Red J. The problem is that karate schools aren't held to the same standard as other businesses are. Somehow they've managed to make themselves the exception, and the people who pay to be members of these clubs end up losing out and keeping their mouths shut about it. They can't leave because then they are weak and just couldn't hack it.

[GreenDragon]

I recently left what I came to realize was a McDojo. They have several locations in my town and are what my new instructor would call a buffet style Dojo. The several locations...seemingly a franchise, like McDonalds would be a good excuse to call them a McDojo. But there is more to it. In trying to be the buffet style, they hop on the bandwagon of the latest "in demand" art that can help them make money. Like McDonalds...hmm big expensive salads are selling well at Wendy's, let's sell them too. This place was teaching Karate, Aikido, cardio kickboxing, and most recently has a guy coming in once a week to teach Krav Maga (probably fresh off of a three day seminar in which he became a certified instructor).

 

McDojo certainly applies to a place where you come in, order something, pay for it and get a product of questionable quality that technically matches what you ordered. "I'll have a burger" - you get one quickly but it ain't that great. "I'll take a blackbelt" - again you get it quickly and it ain't that great...and you may not need to be charged a lot to have gotten ripped off. The dojo I was at had reasonable rates, no contract and no value. I learned at my first belt test that I had not been taught with any care or attention to detail when the head instructor (whom I normally didn't train with) had to teach me the correct way to do most of the basics just so I could get my belt. Seems the other instructor was just giving me the cheap burger that I had paid for, so I was out the door after the first couple bites.

 

GreenDragon

[superleeds]

I want my instructor to make a decent living and not have to worry about making rent. That way he can concentrate on teaching. With him sweating it the quality of the instruction would go down. Also I wouldn't want to worry about him closing shop.

 

Switching gears. I think its OK to charge a lot if you get a lot in return (kind of like "you get what you pay for"). Good teachers are in demand and deserve to get paid for their expertise. Just because someone is a Karate Teacher doesn't mean that they should take a vow of poverty. The Jokers that charge a lot and don't deliver are just that, Jokers. They soon find themselves with high turnover in students and not much credibility. They don't last long. Just my opinion.

 

well said

[hobbitbob]

Mc Dojo:

 

-High pressure sales techniques to push beginners towards expensive 2-5 yr. contracts, that are legally binding, with few-no options for breaking contract.

 

-Promisies of rank for set amount of time: i.e., BBin two years, 2d dan in three, etc...

 

-More expensive contract options: "BB Club, Masters Club."

 

-Higher proportion of students under twelve, vs. over twelve. BB students under twelve. Sr. Yudansha ranks (3d Dan and up) under sixteen.

 

-Little Bunkai/Oyo taught beyond block/punch/kick.

 

-Korean Style (here I go offending people. )

 

-Flashy "Star Trek" uniforms.

 

-Uneven quality of techniqe displayed among senior students.

 

-Office Manager, who has never practiced karate a day in his/her life sits in office in lightweight Gi (From Century) sporting a BB!

 

-Refer to what they practice as "kuh-rotty."

 

-Little-no correction of student's technique, instead focus on "self Esteem," "Teamwork." (I'm a bit old fashioned, If you have low self esteem, build it up by doing something, not getting patted on the back.)

 

-Dojo offers "Birthday parties,...etc..."

 

Enough for now.

[amp]

I think McDojo is a term that isn't reserved for those who make a living off of their dojo. It's more of a term for a school that cares more about making money than teaching, and thus has inferior teaching. If someone can teach very well and make a living off that, that's cool. But it's hard to do.

[omnifinite]

How about school uniforms with so many patches and so much lettering everywhere the students all look like NASCAR drivers. How can they feel respectable in those things?