The "McDojo"

Per reader request, I am going to delve into the concept of the "McDojo." This term was coined about a decade ago. Originally, it had roots stemming from mixed martial arts and Brazilian jiu-jitsu adepts, and was a derogatory term to refer to most traditional martial arts ("TMA's").

Some time back, there was an email distributed in my martial arts organization about McDojos that stirred the pot a bit.

The word "McDojo is a portmanteau of "Dojo" (Japanese for place to study the Way), and "McDonald's" (American epitome of cheap and quick, with the understood concept of suffers in quality). By the strictest definition of the term, a McDojo is a place where anybody might be able to earn a "black belt" in a short time span - most commonly 18-30 months.

There are several ways that one may determine a McDojo:

Rank Issues:
The history of the black belt is one of the main sources of myth and rumor. To make it quick and easy, the whole concept was created bu Jigoro Kano for Judo around the turn of  the 20th Century. Originally, there were only white belts and black belts. Later, degrees of black belt were added, as was the brown belt (an intermediate rank). Later still, other colors were introduced.

Certainly, McDojo's rely on many belts to keep a student's interest and sense of accomplishment. This is not to say that every martial arts school that uses belts is a McDojo. However, if a school uses much more than the standard (white-yellow-orange-green-blue-purple-brown-black), then there is a stronger chance the school is a McDojo.

*Please note that many martial arts schools will have 10 levels below black belt, and 10 degrees of black belt. Schools having more than 10 levels under black belt are the highly suspect schools.

** Many schools do have more rank levels for children, so use this formula:
- If a studio promotes children to black belt, and has more than 10 ranks below black belt, it is absolutely a McDojo. I have yet to see the exception.
- If a studio does not promote children to black belt, it is not likely a McDojo, regardless of how many ranks below black belt there are.
- If a studio promotes children to black belt, but has exactly (or fewer than) 10 ranks below black belt, then move on to other factors to determine whether the school is a McDojo.

*** Particularly - if the quality of the belts or ranks is suspect, that is your chief indicator. 


Commercialization:
Most martial arts schools are run commercially, and depend on a profit to survive. There is nothing inherently wrong in this. However, if the commercialization is run at the expense of quality, then we get into the possibility of McDojo tendencies.

Belt tests, uniforms, monthly dues, and even sparring gear and videos are typical expenses associated with the martial arts. All of these are legitimate revenue streams and are not necessarily indicators of a McDojo. "Black Belt Clubs" and similar programs that add no real value, and are irrespective of quality of instruction, are clear indications of a McDojo.

*** Particularly - if the money aspect is more important than the training, that is your chief indicator.


Training:
More and more schools are offering training in alternate martial arts. I've seen some that claim to offer an art, but really specialize in another.

For example, there is a McDojo near me that advertises "MMA." They claim to offer wrestling, jiu-jitsu, muay-thai, and kenpo karate. When students come in and sign up asking specifically for jiu-jitsu, this studio will tell the student that they have jiu-jitsu. But when the classes start, they will say "let's work on your stand-up first, when you get good at that, then we'll add grappling."

What happens is that the instructor has no real skill in the alternate arts "taught." Another example: I had a jiu-jitsu student (white belt) that just couldn't get it. He kept wondering (sometimes aloud) why he could never beat me in sparring. He even stated he'd never come close (which was true). The problem was that he had beaten in sparring his previous instructor. How? That instructor had a black belt in Taekwondo, and no rank or significant training in grappling.

Now, all this said, there are legitimate schools with legitimate alternate arts being taught by good, well-trained instructors. These folks are never embarrassed to tell you their exact art, their exact rank in that art, how long they've trained, and who their instructor was. Many will even invite you to contact their instructor for proof. Ultimately, these are the folks that are not afraid to prove things on the mat.

*** Again - if the quality of the instruction (or services paid for) is suspect, then that is your chief indicator.


Lineage:
Some martial artists wish to impress you with their lineages. They want to also impress you with ranks and high ranking belts, and other such fluff.

This one is a tricky topic, as most martial arts have a rank structure. There is no reason to have rank, unless you wish to progress. And there are plenty out there with legitimate, higher ranks.

Ultimately, I suggest that this factor would have to accompany other factors to qualify a place as a McDojo.

*** Again - the quality of what you learn will be your chief indicator.


Purpose:
Martial arts can be practiced for self defense, stress relief, sportive purposes, amateur and professional competition, or just for the fun of it. There are many other reasons, too.

You must decide what you want. If you want real self defense, then your art will have a live practice element. Sports with special equipment and rules are good, but can be more limited in scope.

* To be wary of is any art without a live training component (IE - without sparring), that makes claims of being superior for self defense. Equally to be taken with a grain of salt, is any art that is sportive in nature (IE - Olympic Taekwondo) being pushed heavily for self defense. It's like eating ice cream with a fork - it can be done, but it is not the best way to do it.

** Also to be wary of are arts claiming that they are so dangerous that they cannot be practiced at full speed on resisting opponents. The movements may be dangerous, but unless you ever try to do it on somebody who doesn't want you to do it, you never know if you can get it to work.

*** As always - the quality of how you train will be your chief indicator.


Combinations:
Arts that combine any number of these warning factors are at increased risk of McDojo tendencies. They might be perfectly acceptable for training, but keep in mind what purpose the training serves.