McDojo
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McDojo is an example of McWords applied to martial arts and 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. A McDojo of Korean martial arts is usually called a McDojang. A McDojo (used as a noun) is a martial arts school of any style that uses specific business practices or principles for the purpose of generating revenue for the school. McDojo as an adjective is applied to indicate that a particular action or practice by a school is motivated primarily by financial gain. While using the term McDojo primarily indicates judgment of a school’s financial or marketing practices, it does somewhat imply that the teaching standards of such school cater towards the lowest common denominator.
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Examples of McDojo Practices
There are no definitive standards for determining if a school is a bonafide McDojo versus having some McDojo tendencies; it is a subjective estimation in the eyes of the beholder.
Contracts
One commonly seen McDojo practice in martial arts schools is the use of long-term contracts (6 months or longer in length) to lock students into a monthly payment, usually by direct deposit from a bank account. These contracts are generally structured so that a student would have to die, be seriously injured, or move a minimum distance away from their current place of residence in order to be released from the terms of the deal. Students who are dissatisfied with their training or unable to continue participating for reasons beyond these usually find themselves forced to continue paying for undesired 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. People against this practice typically reply that if the school's quality was high enough, they wouldn't need to require a contract or monthly payments; that students would want to keep paying of their own accord.
Belt Testing/Ranking Fees
Another frequently seen McDojo practice is charging a fee per belt test or per actual advancement in rank within a particular school. This is frequently combined with creating additional levels of rank within a school, making a school known as a “Belt Factory.” Depending on the type of martial art and the attitudes of the school owner, the number of ranks between a white belt and a black belt can be anywhere from 4 (BJJ – Blue, Purple, Brown, Black) to upwards of 16 ranks (ex. White, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Red, Brown, and Black) with intermediate ranks in between: White, Advanced White; Orange, Advanced Orange; etc. Some schools also use a system of "stripes" to create more ranks/levels, or have even invented new belt colors, such as a "camouflage belt." Given the multiplicity of colored belts in this system, another term for this is “Revenue Rainbow.”
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. 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 then as many as ten people gather from around the region, sometimes traveling hundreds of miles.
Cardio and Children's Classes
Many schools use the popularity of martial arts to run “cardio kickboxing” classes that are devoted to giving a participant an intense workout based on 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, some instructors and schools claim it can also teach martial proficiency[1][2].
While some may deride schools for having these non-martial classes, current trends in running a martial arts school almost always means that schools have to offer a wide variety of classes that appeal to a greater market in order to have enough students to pay the bills. Offering children's and cardio classes means that students who are interested in more martial offerings will not have to pay an exorbitant fee.
Equipment Requirements/Embargos
Some schools, such as those that provide instructions in Krav Maga, 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 from which they originally purchased it. In the case of Krav Maga, all students training in that system are required to only use Revgear-brand merchandise for their sparring gear.
This is a less-likely sign of a McDojo practice, as some sound reasons exist for these requirements/embargos. 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. Also, except for individual wear-and-tear, there is a guaranteed uniformity of equipment among all students in a school. Finally, one of the means by which a school can remain in business is students purchasing the equipment through them.
Opponents of this practice complain that embargos 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. For example, on the Revgear equipment page for handwraps[3], the handwraps explicitly required to train in Krav Maga cost $11.95 when other handwraps are half the cost [4]. 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.
External links
- Bullshido.net A site covering various frauds and scams in the Martial Arts community.
- Are You in A Martial Arts Cult? by Wayne Muromoto
- Real or Fake? Is Your Martial Arts School Legitimate? by Wayne Muromoto
- The Whole Legitimacy Thing by Karl Friday
- Bullshido article reporting on a belt factoryde:McDojo