McDojo

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McDojo is a pejorative term used by some Western martial artists to describe a martial arts school where image or profit is of a higher importance than technical standards. The term is an example of McWords applied to Japanese martial arts dojo.[1] A McDojo of Korean martial arts may be referred to as a McDojang but the term McDojo is used for various arts regardless of origin. While using the term McDojo primarily indicates judgement of a school’s financial or marketing practices, it also implies that the teaching standards of such school may be much lower than that of other martial arts schools, or that the school presents non-martial arts training as martial arts. Where a McDojo's practices may border on fraud, this can be referred to as bullshido.

Standards for a McDojo are largely opinion, but there are commonly seen practices that may be widely regarded as questionable and are indicators that a school is a McDojo, though these practices may not necessarily be exclusive to McDojos. Schools that would not generally be classified as such, have adopted some of these practices to varying degrees, the line being the difference between profit and profiteering. Practices that cause concern include exaggerated or fake qualifications, the use of exploitative contracts and fees, advertising of training that only has a martial arts 'flavour' as actual instruction in fighting, equipment monopolies and restriction on activities outside the school. While the practice of exploiting the mysticism of martial arts is not new it is perceived as having become more prevalent in modern times.

"McDojo" is also a reference to the proliferation of such schools in many communities in the United States and many other nations, in much the way McDonald's restaurants have proliferated. Many practitioners of martial arts with serious combative, cultural, educational or therapeutic value regard such proliferation of recreational, business-oriented, or absurd martial arts schools as derogatory or defamatory to the proper presentation of the martial arts.


Contents

[edit] Qualifications

An individual that runs a McDojo will often have inflated or self-awarded black belt rankings or will belong to a certifying organization that cannot be traced to a known legitimate school or organization of recognized good standing. Frequently these people will be much younger than other instructors that hold similar or higher rank, and will hold rankings in a large variety of styles or arts.

It is common for such fraudulent instructors to "cross-certify" each other. Additionally, they will frequently take titles that imply very high levels of skill and several decades of experience, such as Shihan, Kyoshi, Renshi soke or grandmaster, without having been granted them by any accrediting body. Some even create their own "school" and declare themselves grandmaster of it.

Another frequent tactic is to claim to have been trained in some non-specific place by an unknown "master". Any claims of having journeyed to Asia to train with secretive monks/ninjas/fighting masters are highly questionable and can be generally assumed to be false, particularly if they claim to have learned secret arts that are superior to all other forms. Some instructors will also advertise claims that they are former members of the special forces (e.g. United States Navy SEALs), these claims are also suspect and organisations of ex-service personnel can often refute fraudulent ones.

[edit] Contracts

One common McDojo practice in martial arts schools is the use of long-term contracts (more than 12 months in length) to lock students into a monthly payment, frequently by direct debit/deposit from a bank account. These contracts are generally structured so that a student can only be released from the contract under extraordinary circumstances, such as moving residency a considerable distance, death, or severe illness. Students who are dissatisfied with their training or are unable to continue participating for reasons beyond these can find themselves needing permission to discontinue training or be forced to continue paying for unwanted lessons.

School owners and instructors usually justify this type of payment plan by asserting that such plans are a greater guarantee of revenue for the school than a pay-as-you-go approach, and can enable them to offer students standardized fees for training and can provide more financial stability. Some schools with contracts will also accommodate students' individual circumstances; in the case of a student with a minor injury that prevents training for two months, the school may "bank" the time for that student, allowing the student to "make up" the two months at the end of the contract. Although the student will still pay during the time they are not training, that two months will be available for them when their contract expires.

Opponents of contracts typically rebut that if the school's quality of instruction was high enough, they would not need to require a contract or monthly payments; that students would want to keep paying of their own accord. The prospect of someone being forced to pay for unused training, even if it's being "banked" by the school, is also objectionable for some.

Some schools use contracts and direct debit/credit card payments as an attempt to keep the school a place of learning instead of a place of business. Since the financial component is automatic, the exchange of cash or checks in the school is less frequent, and thus not a distraction from learning.

[edit] Black belt clubs

Black belt ranks, such as those shown above, are normally held in high regard in martial arts. However, McDojo classes may advertise a guaranteed black belt in a fixed time.
Black belt ranks, such as those shown above, are normally held in high regard in martial arts. However, McDojo classes may advertise a guaranteed black belt in a fixed time.

Sometimes a special kind of contract, and sometimes a motivation tool, a McDojo will often put beginners in a "black belt club" of some sort. Contractual black belt clubs will generally require the student pay tuition for a certain amount of time (multiple years), after which he or she is guaranteed to receive a black belt. Non-contractual black belt clubs will often require a student to pay a higher tuition rate to be fast-tracked to receiving a black belt, without the guarantee or the long-term contract.

A key distinction between McDojo black belt clubs and those of legitimate dojos or dojangs is the "guarantee" for a black belt, either in a shorter time period or at all. In a legitimate dojo a black belt club typically is merely restricted to the higher level low belts (and the black belts) and involves additional and/or different training. There may or may not be an additional fee, if there is one it would be expected to be nominal to cover the additional instructor time and facility overhead. But in no case should there be any guarantee of a black belt within a certain time to club members.

[edit] Belts and testing fees

It is a common practice to charge a fee per belt test or per actual advancement in rank within a particular school — this defrays the cost of testing, which can include the actual purchase of the belt, the time and overhead for instructors to attend the testing, costs for administrative processing of certificates within a national or international federation, and travel expenses for higher-ranked visiting instructors and examiners.

Colored belts ranks are often used in excess in McDojos
Colored belts ranks are often used in excess in McDojos

McDojos often charge much higher fees or fees that escalate with rank. This is frequently combined with creating additional levels of rank within a school, making a school known as a “Belt Factory.”[2] While Japanese martial arts traditionally have ten ranks (kyu) before black belt (dan) depending on the type of martial art and the attitudes of the school owner, the number of ranks from a white belt to a black belt can be anywhere from 5 (BJJ – White, Blue, Purple, Brown, Black) or fewer to upwards of 16 ranks with intermediate ranks in between (White, Advanced White; Orange, Advanced Orange; etc). Some schools also use a system of "stripes" to create more ranks or levels, or have even invented new belt colors, such as a "camouflage belt."[3] However, since the use of colored belts is a relatively recent invention (within the past hundred years), there are no universally accepted standards for belt ranks. Some martial artists compare this use of reinforcement to make people stay to the manner of casinos. Given the multiplicity of colored belts in this system, another term for this is “Revenue Rainbow.” Many schools and organizations charge for gradings, but generally without grade inflation within color-belt ranks. A higher fee for black belt gradings is justified if it involves additional expenses, such as those noted above. Another McDojo type practice is to simplify gradings, such as only requiring students demonstrate just one Kata or minimal series of moves to gain a grade.

Schools may also charge fees that are proportionately greater in amount as a student advances in rank. Belt fees for White, Orange, and Green belts may only be $20, but testing for a brown belt or a black may cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. These higher costs are sometimes not divulged until the student has invested a good deal of time and effort. Depending on how a school evaluates students for assigning rank, this can turn into a "bullshido" practice if the advancement comes from an ability to pay rather than an ability to perform at the appropriate standard. Some feel these fees are justified, however, as testing for a black belt may require multiple people to gather from around the region, sometimes traveling hundreds of miles. By contrast, other Schools will only charge once per grading, allowing students to attempt as many times as it takes for them to pass.

[edit] Cardio and children's classes

Many schools use the popularity of martial arts to run "cardio-kickboxing" classes that are devoted to giving adult participants an intense workout based on movements from martial arts training. Schools may also host martial arts classes for children that generally run as an after-school activity. These types of programs vary greatly in terms of their emphasis on learning martial arts, as opposed to giving kids a healthy, fun activity outside of the school system. Although most cardio kickboxing is advertised as exercise-only, McDojos often claim it can also teach martial proficiency.[4] Children's programs at McDojos sometimes include bussing from school, and are more or less overtly run as day-care programs with only a superficial focus on martial arts activities. However, cardio classes that are advertised as exercise only, rather than martial arts, and children's classes that focus on actual techniques, should not be considered characteristic of McDojos.

[edit] Equipment requirements/embargos

Equipment may have to be a specific brand to be used
Equipment may have to be a specific brand to be used

Some schools have a requirement that all students must have training equipment from a particular manufacturer and/or must be purchased through the school itself. Additionally, schools may forbid students from using their own gear that may be of a different style or manufacturer. These schools may receive profits from selling equipment by marking it up from the wholesale price at which they originally purchased it.

This is a less-likely sign of a McDojo practice, as some reasons exist for these requirements/embargoes. Insurance companies may limit schools to using certain brands in order to guarantee coverage in the event of injury. School owners/instructors may also have a specific preference based on experience with various brands and deciding that a particular brand is the one best suited for the school's needs or by using certain styles and colors of gear, instructors can add to the uniformity of their classes. Also, except for individual wear-and-tear, there is a guaranteed uniformity of equipment among all students in a school. Finally, one way a school can remain in business is by selling equipment to students. Most Schools offer the ability to buy equipment since they can buy in bulk and save the students money. Also, because the school has a relationship with the vendor, it usually has more leverage to exchange faulty or mis-sized gear.

Opponents of this practice complain that embargoes can require them to purchase completely new training gear when they may already have high-quality gear from prior study in other schools. Further, even when new gear is needed, the cost of the gear either through the school or suppliers can be excessive for those on a limited budget. To address this latter complaint of high cost, some schools will purchase the gear for the student and allow the student to make payments on it at their own pace so that they can train immediately.

[edit] Style Restrictions

Often, McDojos will forbid their students from studying other martial arts, or with other people citing the "secret" nature of the training in the McDojo, critics claim that this is to avoid comparison in training between different schools, and exploits that after an individual has dedicated time to training in one art and achieve promotions they may be unwilling to start from scratch in a new one. This is in contrast to many well regarded instructors such as Kano Jigoro, Gichin Funakoshi or Bruce Lee (and sometimes the claimed background of founders of the school in question) who cross-trained in several arts, and often used their wide knowledge to improve and refine their primary art. In his autobiography, Funakoshi tells the reader to train with as many people as possible.

Proponents of style restrictions argue that it is best for students to learn one style at a time. Because techniques can vary from style to style, they emphasize that trying to learn multiple styles simultaneously leads to technical problems. Due to the increasing popularity of mixing styles, many instructors are now training in multiple styles, allowing them to teach in a variety of fields in a way that the styles do not confuse the student.

[edit] In history

“ As I see society, people make the arts into commercial products; they think of themselves as commodities, and also make implements as items of commerce. Distinguishing the superficial and the substantial, I find this attitude has less reality than decoration.

The field of martial arts is particularly rife with flamboyant showmanship, with commercial popularization and profiteering on the part of both those who teach the science and those who study it. The result of this must be, as someone said, that "amateuristic martial arts are a source of serious wounds."

 ”

—Miyamoto Musashi, 1643 A.D.[5]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Cotroneo, Christian. (November 26, 2006) Toronto Star. Kicking it up at the McDojo. Section: News; Page A12.
  2. ^ Cook, Ron. (March 1, 2006) Cairns Sun (Australia). Eight year old exceeds all black belt expectations. Section: News1; Page 6. (Rod Cook, 5th dan master instructor, Family Black Belt Academy, Smithfield, Australia, writing, "I lose more students than I keep in my schools, because we're not just a "belt factory" or "McDojo" (as some are commonly called).")
  3. ^ American Taekwondo Association Belts
  4. ^ Fight Like a Girl - " A Woman’s Guide to Transforming Cardio Kickboxing into Effective Self-Defense" by Addy Hernandez
  5. ^ Miyamoto Musashi - "The Book of Five Rings/Spheres"

[edit] External links