Because I do research before I sign up at a dojo and that includes watching classes and seeing how the students perform. Having been in the martial arts for most of my life I know a few things about what to look for and about how to do such research.
Calling Somebody's Dojo A McDojo Is Offensive
- Thread starter PhotonGuy
- Start date
What makes you so sure itās not a mcdojo? Why would people call it a mcdojo otherwise?
No my instructor wasnāt from āthe orientā whatever that means to you.
Thatās like the biggest non-answer Iāve seen in awhile.
Students from said dojo, including myself, have been able to use what we learned to defend ourselves in real life altercations, and it wasn't an uncommon occurrence. Also, belts were not just handed out. One of the most defining characteristics of mcdojo is when they just hand out belts of rank even when the students do terrible. At the dojo I went to belts had to be earned.
As for why some of the people on this forum were calling my dojo a mcdojo was because students could sign up for belt tests at their own discretion, although that wouldn't mean you would pass. That was just the system that my instructor had in place, belt tests were held about every four months and it was up to the student if they wanted to sign up and test for their next belt or rank whenever a test came up although just signing up and testing did not mean you would get your next belt or rank. You had to perform well enough on the test and it wasn't easy, especially if you were testing for a high rank.
From my observations, instructors that are from the orient usually don't run mcdojos. With mcdojos it's usually American instructors that run them. Now obviously not all American instructors run mcdojos and Im training under an American instructor right now and he's really good and he certainly does not run a mcdojo, its just that when you find a mcdojo it usually will not be run by an Asian instructor.
That was a very offensive post.
Stop getting offended so easily.
What are the students in this dojo doing that students needing to defend themselves is common?
Violent crime (im assuming youāre in the US) is extremely rare.
Many of the students in my dojo had been in situations where they successfully defended themselves while being attacked. I could go into more detail but that would take too long and it would be getting off track of the point. Aside from that you seem to have ignored the rest of what I said at post #405
So why are you calling my response a non answer?
You could also say that anyone can chase off an assailant with a gun, most assailants are familiar with guns and will run when confronted by somebody whose got a gun (unless the assailant has a gun of their own) regardless of whether or not the person with the gun has any training with it.My teacher sometimes says that anyone can kill with a sword and without any training: itās a 72cmish razor blade after all! Iād suggested anyone can chase off an assailant with a bokuto, without any training as itās essentially a large club!
Anyone can kill with a gun and without any training, but training can sure help. Same thing with a sword or a bokuto.
From my own experience I can tell you this much, you don't want to argue with Dirty Dog.
Is it a belt factory?
Because you didnāt answer the question.
Your entire response boils down to āitās not a mcdojo because I donāt think it isā
A problem that keeps plaguing this thread, and others like it, is the definition of "McDojo". If McDojo is simply taken to mean a large franchised operation with a lot of branches run the same way, then the term McDojo does not equal poor quality instruction and your answer quoted above makes perfect sense.
And you know what, you also can get a decent cup of coffee for a good price at McDonalds. A better deal than Starbuck's IMO.
...and Photon is exactly right since everybody interprets the term "McDojo" differently. If he doesn't think his school is a "McDojo" and he's happy with his instruction ...well, I don't see the problem.
I'll admit I've been skipping around and I didn't read those specific comments. But if that was the reason people were calling the school a McDojo, they are really dumb! Having a system in place where the students can sign up to test has nothing to do with the quality of instruction.
I find this "observation" to be an ubsubstantiated racial generalization that could be considered offensive ...although I don't believe you intended it that way.
If you look around, I think you will find plenty of people of all ethnic groups who are sincere, dedicated and ethical instructors and, sadly, a great many more who are not!
I teach kung fu after 44 years of practice. I know what's good and not. I see others teaching my style where they not only changed movements, they do them overly fast, incorrect and sloppy. I would say these teachers, perpetuating bad kung fu, run McDojos. Buyer beware. It's hard to be truthful without hurting someone's feelings.
Run McDojos? Only if they have a big operation copying the fast-food model based on streamlined production, maximizing profits at the expense of quality.
...Otherwise they are simply bad instructors!
Hey, BTW, "kfman", I see that you joined this forum back in '07, same as me. Great to see you still checking in. But you know, 44 posts in 15 years comes down to only about 3 posts a year.
With 44 years of Kung-fu experience, it would be great to get more frequent input. Don't keep all that experience to yourself. Post some more!
