If you’ve noticed your daycare provider isn’t providing the best quality of care for your students, it’s essential to do something about it.
In worst-case scenarios, your students might experience some adverse effects. Signs to watch for include too many troublemakers on the premises, a lack of supervision, and accidents waiting to happen.
So, what are the warning signs of a McDojo? A Mcdojo is a martial arts school that focuses exclusively on teaching children martial arts and little else.
As a result, a McDojo is a bad place to learn martial arts. Here are three warning signs of a McDojo.
First, a Mcdojo usually doesn’t have a clear philosophy for how it teaches martial arts to children. Second, a Mcdojo usually doesn’t develop children’s character through martial arts or build self-discipline.
Third, a McDojo usually doesn’t help children develop confidence and self-esteem. By keeping kids from being well-rounded martial artists, a Mcdojo often makes them unhealthy and unhappy.
In other words, a Mcdojo is a school you should avoid.
What Is A Mcdojo?
A Mcdojo is a mixed martial arts gym where you practice martial arts for little to no money.
These gyms usually provide mats and space for clients to train in, but they usually don’t have other equipment, such as weights or punching bags. Many Mcdojos also charge a small fee to join, but the fee is usually less than $50.
Mcdojos are great for people who are interested in martial arts but don’t have enough money to buy a membership at a traditional martial arts gym.
However, Mcdojos aren’t a substitute for a real martial arts gym; you should practice martial arts at a real school, too.
How Does A McDojo Works?
A McDojo operates much like a martial arts school.
McDojos usually don’t focus on teaching martial arts but rather train their students to be ambassadors for their school.
The main goal of a McDojo is to sell students more lessons, which leads to more revenue for the McDojo.
When students join, they sign an “agreement” with a certain number of lessons. After they complete these lessons, they sign a new agreement for even more lessons.
Some McDojos even have students sign a blank document when they join, so they can fill the document out with more lessons when they return for more training.
The McDojos also have students sign a contract promising not to tell other students about their experience or to stop training at the McDojo.
Warning Signs Of A McDojo
Everyone Gets Promoted Somehow
Everyone gets promoted somehow, and that usually means you know people who are good at what they do but shouldn’t be promoted.
Furthermore, these “promotees” often try to usurp their superiors. For example, they might ask their boss for promotions and leadership roles even though they aren’t qualified.
Even worse, they often work against their team’s best interests. Overall, promoting people despite their incompetence or maliciousness is a warning sign of a McDojo.
Unclear Vision Of Sensei
Sensei is the most important person in a dojo.
Without a good sensei, a dojo is doomed to fail. However, some dojos lack a clear vision of what they want to accomplish.
This can be a problem because a clear sensei needs a clear vision. Furthermore, without a vision, sensei will be confused, which may lead to poor decisions.
Even worse, unclear vision can lead to poor treatment of students. Therefore, dojos need a good vision to succeed.
No Combat Records
Many dojos call themselves “Mcdojos.” A McDojo is a martial arts school that focuses on selling products and making a profit rather than teaching martial arts.
A common sign of a Mcdojo is that they don’t keep any combat records. It’s impossible to teach martial arts without keeping records, but Mcdojos don’t care about that.
They don’t want their students to get hurt or injured because it will harm their reputation and business.This lack of combat records is a dead giveaway that you’re in a McDojo.
Made-up Belt Ratings To Make Money
At McDojos, trainers sometimes use made-up ranks to make more money from their students.
For example, a trainer might simply tell a student that they’re a black belt even though they haven’t actually learned any martial arts. This fake belt means the student can charge more for private lessons and seminars.
Another warning sign is if an instructor claims to be a “master” or a “grandmaster.” Neither of these titles exists in the martial arts world, so instructors who use them are most likely lying. A third warning sign is if an instructor claims to have a black belt in more than one style.
This simply isn’t possible, as black belts can only belong to one style at a time. Overall, beware of any instructor who claims to be a black belt in multiple styles or claims to be a master or grandmaster.
Music And Martial Arts
Most martial arts schools teach self-defense and discipline.
However, some schools teach martial arts as a way to make money. These are called mcdojos.
Mcdojos teach martial arts for things like fitness, weight loss, and discipline. They don’t teach self-defense or focus much on the actual techniques of the martial arts.
Often, mcdojos teach a mix of different martial arts styles, such as karate and taekwondo. Unfortunately, mcdojos can be dangerous because they teach students the wrong techniques.
In addition, mcdojos often have shady business practices and aren’t regulated, making them untrustworthy. Mcdojos should be avoided because they are dangerous and ineffective at teaching martial arts.
Avoiding Real Competition
One warning sign of a potential mcdojo is avoiding real competition.
For example, if your potential mcdojo only competes against students in its own gym, that’s a warning sign that it’s trying to avoid real competition. When the McDojo competes against multiple gyms, it enters into true competition.
If you’re not competing against other schools, you’re essentially training your students to become members of a mcdojo.
No Sparring
In Okinawan martial arts, there are no “sparring” sessions between students.
Instead, there are “no sparring” sessions where everyone practices together without fighting each other. This is done so that everyone can practice and improve their skills without getting hurt.
Another warning sign of a mcdojo is no uniforms or belts.
Sensei’s Lineage
When sensei has a lineage that goes back decades, that’s a red flag. It’s a sign that sensei hasn’t been training that long and isn’t very experienced.
Also, if sensei has a long lineage, it’s a sign that he’s not a good teacher. A sensei with a long line should be teaching those who want to learn, not those who want to make money and hurt other people.
Finally, if sensei has a long lineage, it’s likely that his dojo has a lot of mediocre students, which is bad for the students and bad for the dojo as a whole.
Getting Black Belt Is Easier Than Ever
Getting your black belt is easy today because there’s plenty of information online about what it takes to get that belt.
There’s no shortage of videos on martial arts techniques and styles. You can also find plenty of instructional books online.
Furthermore, there’s plenty of martial arts schools offering classes online, so you can learn from the comfort of your home.
Finally, there’s plenty of martial arts competitions online where you can learn martial arts from some of the best martial artists in the world.
All of this makes it easy to get your black belt today.
High Fee And Payments
A Mcdojo is a martial arts school that uses unethical business practices and takes advantage of its customers.
A Mcdojo typically charges high fees and offers low value for the money you pay. Additionally, Mcdojos often make their customers pay monthly.
These fees and payments make it nearly impossible to get a refund and will leave you in debt to the Mcdojo if you go there for months or even years. Other common warning signs of a Mcdojo are unsophisticated teaching styles, poor customer service, and high attrition rates.
These red flags are signs that you should look elsewhere for a martial arts school.
The Bad Effects Of Going To A McDojo
Failures In Real Fights
Going to a McDojo is one of the bad effects of going to a dojo.
A McDojo is a school where students learn how to fight using martial arts such as Karate or Jiu-Jitsu. However, McDojo schools often fail to teach their students how to punch properly or how to throw a kick without hurting themselves.
As a result, students are frequently injured in a McDojo following their first fight.Furthermore, many McDojo instructors are unqualified to teach martial arts.
As a result, they don’t know how to teach their students properly and often teach them techniques that aren’t safe or effective for fighting.
Unfortunately, this causes many people to get injured in their first fight at a McDojo.
These injuries can be severe and permanent. As a result, going to a McDojo is a very bad idea.
Elimination Of Self Development And Mental Teachings
A McDojo is often thought of as a “dojo” or karate school, but it’s no dojo at all.
A typical McDojo teaches karate or kung fu with almost no education. These schools teach their students how to win fights rather than how to fight.
They teach their students to develop their fighting skills by going to the gym and kicking the snot out of each other. Students are often encouraged to fight each other until one of them is unconscious or beaten to a pulp.
There are even “sparring” classes where students are allowed to fight each other under the supervision of an instructor.
This teaches students to become more aggressive and to lose themselves.
How Do You Spot a Bjj Mcdojo?
BJJ or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a martial arts discipline that focuses on grappling and ground fighting.
BJJ practitioners use grappling and ground fighting techniques in street fights, self-defense situations, and other martial arts competitions. However, there are bad BJJ academies out there.
These are known as bjj dojos, and they are easy to find.First and foremost, bjj mcdojos do not have a gym.
Most martial arts schools have gyms where they train their students and hire professional instructors. However, because there are no students, bjj mcdojos do not have gyms.
Second, bjj mcdojos do not instruct in self-defense.BJJ teaches self-defense techniques, such as choke holds, joint locks, and takedowns.
However, because they are useless in street fights, bjj mcdojos do not teach them.Third, bjj mcdojos don’t have professional instructors.
Most martial arts schools hire professional instructors who have years of experience in martial arts. However, bjj mcdojos do not hire professionals because it is too costly.
Fourth, bjj mcdojos don’t teach kids. BJJ is great for kids because it teaches them discipline and respect.
However, bjj mcdojos don’t teach kids because BJJ isn’t relevant to kids.
Is BJJ 2 Times aWeek Enough?
Training twice a week, every week, is a good start for learning how to defend yourself against an attacker.
Training twice a week is sufficient for beginners and advanced students alike.
Who Runs Mcdojo Life?
Rob Ingram, the man behind the famed McDojoLife Instagram account, discovered his passion for BJJ after moving to Brazil in 2011.
Ingram has traveled to Brazil many times since then to continue his training and learn about Brazilian culture. He currently lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Ingram, however, has been getting a lot of attention lately for the Instagram account that he started back in 2013.
McDojoLife uses photos of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in action to highlight bad examples of BJJ schools from around the world.
Why Is Taekwondo Not Respected?
Taekwondo is reviled in martial arts circles because it glorifies violence.
In Taekwondo, the young students are taught that kicking and punching their opponents is an effective means of defeating an enemy.
Furthermore, Taekwondo classes often teach young students fighting techniques that are too dangerous and ineffective for real life situations.
Because of these reasons, Taekwondo isn’t well respected in the world of martial arts.
Also Read: What Is Karate Dojo Etiquette?
Final Words
Martial arts are widely practiced throughout the world because of how useful they are in real life situations.
People from all around the world use martial arts to defend themselves against attackers and get in shape at the same time.
However, the rising number of fake MMA fighters has caused many people to lose respect for this popular sport.
This is why distinguishing between real MMA schools and fake ones is so important today.
Traditional martial arts may have lost popularity because of how slowly they move, but modern MMA fighters who train in classic Muay Thai are still highly respected because of their dedication to the art.
Nonetheless, it serves to strengthen people’s resolve to do their research before enrolling in a martial arts school of any kind.
It also includes a disciplined lifestyle that can have positive effects on your life overall.
