McDojo of the 21st Century

Definition

The term "McDojo" is a broad-based term used to derogatorily describe a martial arts school that is commercialized to the point as to degrade the value of the art(s) taught therein.

Understand, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a martial arts studio making a profit. Even an "insane" amount of profit is perfectly fine. No, the derogatory part of the term "McDojo" is wrapped up in the concept of the martial arts school offering misleading information with regard to the focus of the school. Specifically, when money matters trump other matters (namely, the sport itself or the self defense aspect), the school is ripe for being termed a McDojo.

To define: there are five broad focuses of a martial arts school:
1. Self-defense/professional use of force
2. Tradition/physical art/self-discipline
3. Spiritual/health
4. Sport/tournament
5. Demonstration

As an example, Spirit Martial Arts, where my kids study Olympic Taekwondo, has a clear focus on #4 - sportive aspects. Taekwondo is an Olympic sport, and Mr. Smith teaches Taekwondo as such. 

So, when money matters trump the school's clear focus, then you have a McDojo.

-----

Introduction

There is a martial art out there which has a clear primary focus as a sporting art. Competitions are commonplace, and are a main avenue of entertainment, as well as advancement in this art. Schools carry a great amount of pride when they win, and have multiple wins. However, matters of money are paramount in this art broadly speaking. Also, the self defense aspects of this art are often overstated.


Allegation

However, this art is replete with schools that frequently charge much more than most martial arts schools in their respective areas. It is not uncommon to see these schools charge $150-$200 per month or more when other martial arts in the same area charge $90-$120 for comparable amounts of classes.

Frequently, the schools in this art have serious problems with students purchasing their own uniforms - rather, they want students to "be part of the team" and students must, therefore, purchase this specialized equipment.

In a demented turn of events, this art does not have too many belts, or children as black belts. Instead, they drag out the obtaining of a black belt far too long, extracting exorbitant amounts of tuition during this intentionally drawn-out process. Typically speaking, the time to black belt is 12-15 years, with the student needing to attend 4+ times per week in order to make black belt in only 12 years. Most martial arts, by comparison, award a black belt after 3-6 years of consistent study where a student attends 2-3 times per week.

Self defense in this art is modest, but is often overplayed. Specifically, this art specializes in sportive competition in a traditional gi (uniform). However, it has a lot of gi-dependent  techniques which are completely useless in actual self defense. Black Belts in this art are frequently defeated in routine fashion in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) competition. Without a doubt, the techniques which do not rely on the uniform can be quite useful for self defense, but they are not often taught separately as such.

As with other McDojo arts, this art has a high turnover rate. Specifically, the turnover largely rests with the novice ranks.

A frequent indicator of McDojo operations is unqualified instruction. The art we are discussing here has a plethora of schools run by lower and middle belt ranks (blue and purple). While rarely is there a situation when these practitioners mislead students about their rank, the fact that there is not a qualified black belt to teach and / or even promote students in a timely manner should be warning enough.

Contracts are a common requirement in this art. Even schools that offer "no-contract" setups charge so very much for the non-contractual student that the price becomes prohibitive. There is nothing wrong with a martial arts school requiring a contract, but when combined with these other factors, the result is a clear bent towards McDojoism.


Summary

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), the art mentioned in this article, is the McDojo of the 21st Century.


.