Introduction
Like most people looking for a school, you’re supposed to determine whether a school is a good one or a poor choice. The only way to do that is to have experience – and therein lies the catch-22.
You can search the internet for lists of things to look for, and things that you should look out for. There’s also a canonical list – several, it seems – each seem to try to outdo the others in terms of the kinds of things that would designate a school as a bad place to go.
I don’t like those lists, if you follow them to a tee, then every school is a poor choice. Most of the complaints have to do with the means by which a school makes money. There are certain realities you must come to terms with, and one of them is this: every school is run by someone who needs to feed a family and pay the bills. Don’t fault the instructor for being in that position. Fault the instructor for the shady business practices, or his disciplinary behavior, or for whatever you want. But money alone is not a reason to skip a school.
McDojo
What to looking out for are the “McDojos” or “McDojangs”. A dojo and a dojang are places where people train in traditional martial arts. The “Mc” prefix is a reference to McDonalds, a place where you get your order quickly without regard to the quality of what you’re buying.
McDojos have the tendency to charge exorbitant rates, advance students quickly, and churn out black belts like an assembly line (giving rise to another term called “black belt mills”). Quality is often exceptionally low.
Expense
McDojos are often expensive because they charge what the market will bear. And they get clever schemes: many are in strip malls where the parents can go shop while their little ones are babysat for an hour. The parents think, “What the hell, they’re learning something, it’s at the time I want to shop, and they take care of the kids.”
They’ll pay $120/month on up. I’ve seen some charge $200/month, a ghastly $2,400 per year. The only places that have any business charging this much or more are those who have exceptional competition quality, in that they compete in world-class tournaments and tend to perform well. Here, you’re getting quality instruction for expensive rates. Not unreasonable.
Assembly Line
This is where tests are scheduled on a periodic basis, for example every 3 months. You test, you advance, and within a couple of years, you’re a black belt. Your testing and advancement has nothing to do with the quality of your performance; you simply paid for your test, you showed up, did your stuff, got your new belt, and went home. Done. Repeat in 3 months. As each person learns and performs differently, what do you think will happen over time?
Yes: those who need more time will be of a higher rank but of poorer quality. Some know this, and then are embarrassed to show up for class, or go to competitions, etc, and they quit. What have they learned?
It’s okay to have a test every period – once a month, for example. Then, when you are ready, you hop onto the test cycle, and test when you are ready. You may not reach black belt as soon as the 17 year old in class might, but you’re not there for the other people: you’re there for you.
Quality
And here’s where things get subjective, like “quality”. Who is to judge the quality? By what standard is quality being applied? It’s not to say quality isn’t important, but it is important to understand the motivation behind the complaint of quality.
An experienced Karate student might look at what appears to be lackluster techniques in a given Taekwondo school; an advanced Taekwondo student might complain about the low kicks seen in the Karate school. By each others’ observations, the other school is of low quality.
Suppose, then, we look more closely at what the goals of each school are. The Taekwondo school might be one of those places that competes all the time, and competes well. The Karate school might be one of the more traditionally taught places that focus on self-defense, and doesn’t compete at all.
If you thus judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, the fish will live out its whole life believing it is stupid. So it is with martial arts. Some people are in it for the sport, some are in it for the self-defense, some are in it for the exercise, and some are in it for the historical context. This is important to understand. It is here where fights break out over “applicability on the street”, etc.
So, let’s take a look at each of these focus points. Know that some schools – many, actually – focus on several of these aspects, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to martial arts.
Niche
Take Taekwondo, for example. 90% of the schools out there are in it for sport. (Ok, full disclosure: I made up that number.) But for Kukkiwon style Taekwondo, this percentage is much higher. The teaching is from the perspective of competition. As such, many techniques are developed with the idea of competition in mind. And in WT, there are rules about what techniques are allowed, and which are not.
This makes many martial arts a niche:
- Taekwondo prefers the kicks above all else, while grappling and weapons are never used.
- Kickboxing prefers an even mix between hand and foot strikes, but like Taekwondo, weapons and grappling are out, and there’s a lot of competitions.
- Depending on the Karate style (there are hundreds) you might find kicks, punches, and small emphasis on grappling and weapons, and competitions are common.
- Judo is no strikes, no weapons, and the only grappling allowed are throws, and competitions are common.
- MMA is all kicks, punches, and grappling – but no weapons, and competitions are everywhere.
- Shutokukan is all about ancient feudal-era Japan and weapons use – no kicking, punching, grappling, or competitions, only weapons.
- Wrestling is no striking or weapons, only grappling, but competitions are everywhere.
- Boxing is only punching, no kicks or weapons, and competition is everywhere.
- And Aikido is all grappling, some strikes, some weapons, and virtually no competitions.
Where Bias Sets In
So, if you are an Aikido-ka, you might have a negative bias toward Taekwondo, because Taekwondo competes and has fancy jumpy twirly kicks. If you’re Karate-ka, you might have negative bias against Aikido, because of the perception of lack of competitions and non-use of strength and pressure points. And on it goes. It’s a lot like rock-paper-scissors – no one is the best.
Decide Your Needs
So you must first weigh in what you want out of martial arts. Self-defense, sport, health? I can tell you, you can find all of these in any style – but not necessarily in any school. As a result, the style itself has less importance than the instructor. It does little good to determine the “best style” only to find out that the only school that teaches the best style is 6 hours away from where you live, or, the school down the block is taught by a schlemiel.
You may even determine that there are several schools near you which teach very differently, but are taught by very respectable instructors.
Watch Out For That Canonical List
It is for this reason that I warn you about those canonical lists of what makes up a McDojo. One of the criteria could be “they teach how to flip and break boards”. Why is that bad? If you’re an athletic teen with that kind of penchant, there’s nothing wrong with that school. A 60 year old may decide that’s not their thing. Who’s right, and who’s wrong? That’s the point I’m trying to make.
So I will cover some talking points common to many McDojo warning lists. Here are a few, in no particular order.
You are not taught applications to your form’s movements 🤬🤬🤬
This is big. This isn’t an indicator of a money grab, but it is an indicator that the instructor doesn’t have knowledge.
Fast track to black belt, leadership programs, pay more advance faster 🤬🤬🤬
This is big. And it’s an indicator of money grabs. Avoid these places, it’s a bet that there are other things where money is pilched, such as videos, books, additional for-pay classes, separate uniforms, separate tests, equipment, patches… the list goes on. Let’s be clear: there is no fast track to learning. YOU may learn faster, and if that’s the case, your instructor will keep up with you. But that your instructor can get you to learn faster by holding a carrot in front of you is preposterous. That doesn’t give you experience, and it doesn’t make you learn more.
There’s nothing wrong with buying the instructor’s books, videos, patches, and uniforms – as long as it is voluntary. The moment you are required to purchase them, or, their purchase is buried in a contract somewhere, the instructor has lost all credibility. You’re there to learn, not be nickel-and-dimed.
Black Belt in Under 4 Years 🤬🤬🤬
This is another biggie. I’ve seen places advertising 1-2 years. Unless you have experience in other styles, you should expect to become experienced in that style in no less than 5 years. Black belt is the universal marker of experience (some say master, but don’t fall for that). It thus becomes reasonable to use this as a gauge. If you earn your black belt in less than 5 years, you’re not learning all that your style can offer. That’s true no matter the style. Some styles don’t have belts, so, there, there’s nothing to advertise here. This ploy is common in Taekwondo, Kung Fu, and Karate schools. Kung Fu traditionally never had a belt system, but to keep up with the Joneses, many schools now have colored sashes.
Also, be aware of places that guarantee a black belt in x-amount of years. Your path to black belt is driven by your effort and the knowledge you retain, not by a marketing gimmick.
Tabs, Stripes, or Stars on Belt 😀
Meh… nothing wrong with this. Unless you have to pay for these tests. Really: you’re ready for the next test or you aren’t. You know your stuff or you don’t. You can do what you’ve been taught, or you can’t. The thing on your belt is a marker for the instructor, not for you.
Se Habla Musical Forms 😀
This is a big complaint in the martial arts community. Personally, I hate them myself. But I’m not going to harbor ill feelings because an instructor teaches them. I won’t do them if I have a choice, and I won’t teach them. The purpose of forms has nothing to do with music, and music has nothing to do with how I teach what forms are for. On the other hand, musical forms make for good competition opportunities, and while not being entirely martial in nature, they’re fine for developing a close relationship between the students – particularly children – and for competition, demonstrations, and exercise. If you have teens who don’t want what traditional martial arts offer, then this is where the trade-off might happen. XMA and Taekwondo commonly have this kind of activity.
Annual Contracts 😐
I’m not going to hold this against an instructor. When you have a job, you always have an idea how much you’ll bring home. That helps plan your bills, your food, and your entertainment. If instructors allowed people to pay month-by-month, they’d have revolving doors and never know how much income they’ll have. That means, they don’t know when to buy equipment, pay bills, or otherwise invest.
Annual contracts are a sort of enticement for the student: you paying month to month is advantageous to the student, but a liability for the instructor. You pay for a year, that’s a liability to the student but advantageous to the instructor. So the middle ground is an annual contract you agree to, but you pay month-to-month. You’re still on the hook for the annual contract amount, but the instructor can at least have more predictable income, and you don’t have to fork over a huge chunk of change.
So what if your circumstances change? You lose your job, you need to move, your daughter decides she doesn’t like martial arts, you get injured, your job changes your hours…
Those are things you negotiate when you join. Some schools will tell you flat out: “No special treatment, this is the price and the risk you take”. This helps the instructor and the student, so one student doesn’t see the other student getting special treatment.
But it’s also not fair to the student who often doesn’t have a choice about not being able to commit to the time-frame. Suddenly discovering you don’t like the style or the instructor is something that can be mitigated by paying month-to-month for, say 3-4 months.
Job issues and injury can’t be anticipated. Ask if you can buy out the contract for, say, 2 months. Let’s say your contract is $1200/year – $100 per month. Month 5 you discover you lose your job and you can’t afford the payments. You’ve paid the current month already, offer to pay the next month or two to stop coming to classes now. The instructor might offer to defer payments, lower payments, refuse, or agree – it’s up to your negotiating skills, and the instructor’s personality. But make sure it’s in the contract, or that you get something in writing.
Martial Art Birthday Parties, Sleepovers, and Movie Nights 😀
Don’t hold this against the instructor. This is for kids. Let it go. Many people see this as a money grab. Who are we kidding: of course it’s a money grab. But it’s got nothing to do with the instruction or the rate of advancement. Let it go.
Nobody Fails Tests 🤔
I think this is poor practice, but I don’t think this necessarily qualifies a place as a McDojo. You have to understand how grading works in order to understand whether this is legitimate or not.
Your instructor should not invite you to test unless you have shown you are ready to test. At that point, you have already demonstrated you are ready for the next belt! The test, then, becomes nothing more than a formality. People will make mistakes – horrible ones. Should that hold someone back? I think if the student has shown enough skill to take the test, then, the “test” should not be the make-or-break event to get to the next belt.
On the other hand, some places have regular testing cycles – say, once a month. If you think you are ready, just show up for the test. Here, people should fail if they do not show competency.
These kinds of tests are unusual, I’ve seen them, but they’re not common. As an instructor, I wouldn’t use them because I can’t gauge who will come and then I can’t prepare with sparring partners, boards, belts, etc. If I had a large inventory of equipment, that’s another story. But otherwise, this makes for unpredictable tests, and can be abused by the students, particularly children, who may try to test to keep up with someone else, or to test before someone else – meaning, it becomes a race. The instructor can throttle this by failing a student, but then you get into issues of preferential treatment, or unfairness, etc and that’s another hassle that instructor’s don’t need.
Crosstraining Prohibited 🤬
This is a tough one. I understand the mentality. Say I join two Taekwondo schools, one because they have a faster belt testing cycle, the other because my friends are there. What’s the motivation for one school to have such a student? You get a black belt / dan certificate in the first school, a certificate issued by an authority no less, should you be allowed to suddenly wear it at the other school? Students try this all the time, unfortunately, and that’s not fair to the students in the second school.
Additionally, joining two schools may be competitors of each other – particularly as they might join the same tournament. Where will your priorities lie? And what if a school teaches things differently – a form, perhaps? You’ll have to struggle to separate them. That could be seen as an extreme annoyance to either school. So I get the rule.
But what about a different kind of style? If I join a Taekwondo school, there should be no reason I can’t take up wrestling, Judo, Aikido, fencing, boxing, etc. Really, what is the overlap? There should be nothing wrong with this.
No-Touch Knockouts Taught 🤬🤬🤬
Stay away.
No Questions Asked! 🤬🤬🤬
Stay away. You should ALWAYS be allowed to ask questions. Just do so privately and politely. Don’t waste class time by talking, that’s not fair to the other students.
Not Allowed to Watch a Class or Take a Few Free Classes 🤬🤬🤬
Stay away. At the least, don’t sign a contract – pay week-to-week or month-to-month if you have to. Don’t invest in a place you may hate.
8 Year old Black Belts 🤔
This is another thing that gets in people’s craw. Look, you’re either there for YOU or you are there to complain about someone ELSE. Choose your priority. If some kid has a black belt and you don’t, it means you haven’t been training as long as that kid. It means you haven’t yet met a standard that the kid did. It means you’re not focusing on yourself. Does it mean the quality of the school is lacking? Maybe. But not necessarily for you. Here’s how it works with kids, particularly young ones.
Johnny is 4 years old. His proud moments are that he goes to the potty by himself, can brush his own teeth, and make his bed. Naturally, Mom and Dad think he’s ready for martial arts. So they enroll him in classes at a nearby school. (By the way, who cares about quality, he’s 4! As long as they keep him active, so what?) He spends the next 4 years learning how to kick and punch (all the while school – and Mom and Dad – tell him never to hit someone else…) and eventually he makes his way to black belt. In 4 years.
Johnny is 8 years old. At some point, he’s going to want to test for the next rank, which is 2nd dan. Most places have a limit that you have to wait a number of years for the next rank, so, he’ll have to wait 2 years to get to 2nd dan – he’ll be 10. For an 8 year old, that’s an eternity. He doesn’t know why he has to wait that long, and Mom and Dad never really considered that when they enrolled him when he was 4. So what’s he to do when he’s 8 and 9 years old? He’ll work on his next rank requirements, of course – but with such a long period, he’ll need some incentives to keep him interested. Otherwise, soccer and baseball are looking a lot more attractive.
Maybe Johnny likes to compete – that’s a great incentive. But if the school doesn’t compete, he’s out of luck. So in that case, Johnny will be coming to class for the next 2 years pretty much doing the exact same thing. If he lasts that long, then he’ll have to wait until he’s 13 before he tests for 3rd dan. If boredom didn’t creep up on him before, it sure will now.
Do you see the issue? Bring in a very young kid, the instructor plays the game in which he knows the kid is outta here as soon as he gets his 1st dan. With a 4 year old you don’t expect much out of them. By the time they turn 7 or 8, you can have coherent conversations with them, and that’s where they start to “get” things, but that means the bulk of their learning happened later rather than earlier.
I’m totally against giving kids this young a black belt. It disenfranchises the kids, and they don’t really learn anything. What’s to happen to the kid 5 or 10 years later and he wants to come back? He’ll likely start all over again – and for what?
There is never a good reason to give a young kid a black belt. Doing do benefits only the instructor.
Expensive Black Belt Tests 🤬🤬🤬
This is a hot button for me. This is how abuse really sets in. Imagine you have a 6 year old just starting in, and he spends the next 5 years working on his journey to black belt. The instructor is extraordinarily friendly, the classes are fun, there’s a lot of competition and changeup in the class that wards off boredom. As a result, Johnny is really happy to be there. Now he’s 11 or 12, and the instructor is dangling a black belt exam in front of him.
Here’s where the abuse sets in: the test is $2000.
Are YOU going to tell your son he can’t test? He’s spent half his life there, and the the only thing standing in his way for his next advancement is a “paltry” $2000. Chump change.
Most parents will cave and spend the money. Few will outright leave. Although to be fair, most schools charge anywhere from $500 to $1000. Not that those rates are reasonable, but they’re better than $2000.
But this happens so frequently that it’s become accepted. What’s more, when you first started shopping for schools, and then asked questions about black belt, the instructor may have gotten indignant about you asking about black belt. He’ll accuse you of shopping for black belts or of being a cheap-skate. Or he might hem and haw about answering, saying things like “it depends”.
Yes, it depends: if you want to add up the costs of all the belts up to and including black, then factor in equipment, etc, you’ll lay out $5000 or more. He’ll never confess that amount. You just want to know how much the exam will cost. “Well, that’s years down the road, and the cost could change.” Great, he can’t even ballpark a number. If it’s $2000 today, that means at a minimum it will be $2000 in 4 or 5 years. Yikes!
On the other hand, if it’s $100, that’s a much more affordable and reasonable price, as Kukkiwon charges $75 for 1st dan certification, so, the school is collecting an additional $25. If the cost goes up by $10 in 4 years, that’s not unreasonable, and anyway, an instructor who charges $100 for a black belt exam will probably be forthcoming about that, as well as warning that the price could go up in 4 years. A shady instructor will likely avoid the subject.
