McDojo

McDojo is a term used by some 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. McDojos are often part of a franchise. Although not exclusive to the West, such schools tend to prey on people relatively unfamiliar with Asian (especially Confucian) culture.

Indications that a school may be a McDojo include:

• Binding contracts when you join, with high up front training fees, high testing fees and the use of collection agencies to collect any remaining fees if a student quits before the contract term is up.
• Promises of obtaining a black belt within a given timeframe.
• Very young (i.e. under 15 year old) black belts.
• Flashy advertising, laden with boasts about the art's "effectiveness".
• Questionable credentials of instructor:
  • Not from a known school or ryū
  • The instructor looks to be about 30, but claims a title of shihan, sōke (soke), hanshi, hachidan, Great Grandmaster, or other designation of senior status.
  • Claims to be a synthesis of many arts (very few of these "hybrids" are legitimate); especially if one instructor claims to hold high rank in multiple arts.

A McDojo falls under the category of disreputable/dishonorable martial arts described by some as Bullshido.

Belt Factory

Belt factory is a derogatory term for a Martial Arts school where there are a relatively large number of grades or belt ranks for students to progress through compared to most traditional schools. Actual martial ability is not a requirement for progression through the ranks in a belt factory, only a willingness to pay the high testing, grading or grade registration fees. Chinese martial arts have until recently not awarded grades as such, but lately some schools influenced by the financial success of the Japanese martial arts' belt systems have been instituting similar programmes.

See also

• Bullshido

External links

• Bullshido.com: Exposing Fraud in the Martial Arts A site devoted to identifying 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