This doesn't make a McDojo. But to many experienced martial artists, this reeks of someone coming up the ranks of other McDojos. If it takes 6 years to be a black belt in a reputable school, and you have an instructor who boasts of 6 or 7 degrees in other arts, the person had better be in the seventies.
I wonder about one who would get to 1st degree, and then leaves for another art. This person has learned all of the techniques the art has to offer, and is now a beginner. Now he thinks he's learned enough to go teach it? Oy.
Alternatively, he may be a high degree in one art. In this case, his credentials are now in doubt. Kukkiwon (WTF Taekwondo) sets age restrictions to 15, 16, 18, 21, 25, 30, 36, 44, 53, and 60 years old in order to qualify from 1st through 10th dan. In addition, they must spend 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 years, respectively at the rank of 1st through 9th dan, respectively, in order to qualify for the next dan. Someone who claims to be 5th degree and is 20 years old is a farce.
Oh, but there are odd exceptions in Kukkiwon. Those who start at a very young age, like 3 or 4, they can receive up to 4th poom at 18 years old, and they can have them all converted to 4th dan. They then can become 5th dan at 22.
Additionally, the age restriction is lessened by a year or two if they've won an Olympic event or a world or national event. So in theory, you may find a 20 year old 5th dan black belt, but you'd have to be lucky enough to find one of only 5 people in the world who've legitimately done this.
I'll leave for another discussion as to whether I think this should be allowed. However, it is far more common for you to encounter some 30-year-old 7th dan in this art, and 6th dan in that art. This just isn't feasible, unless the rank was self-awarded or awarded by some surreptitious means.
You may encounter someone in apparent advanced age who proclaims to be 10th dan. In Kukkiwon, there are only about 10 people alive with this rank. I can't speak for other arts, but the rarety suggests you will unlikey encounter such a person. Even 9th dans are relatively rare, and few of them actually teach. You'll find them, but they are not very common.
So if you encounter someone who professes to be 11th dan, you may see a pattern of one-up-manship. I would politely congratulate him or her on their success and then move on. To me, this reeks of narcisissm, despite reports of elderly 14th dans running around in one art or another. Those who admit to being at such an advanced rank, let alone advertises it, is one who probably less deserves it than those of lesser rank.
So absurdly high ranking instructors, or those with many degrees in many arts, is not a sign of a McDojo. It is a sign of someone who may have cut corners to get to where they are, and these types of people will do other things that may qualify their school as a McDojo.
Is there anything wrong with a McDojo?
I hear the term all the time, a label given to a martial art school. According to an unsourced Wikipedia article, it is: "...a pejorative term used by some Western martial artists to describe a martial arts school where image or profit is of a higher importance than technical standards, and in the related use of martial arts franchising."
Yet, a simple perusal of the internet yields blog upon blog of folks further defining what is a McDojo. Typically, they relate to belt factories, contracts, payment structures, and even style.
Martial arts chains are often targets, like Tiger Schulman's and Eagle Martial Arts. Also, organizations (and schools that are part of the organization) are targets, notably American Taekwondo Association and World Taekwondo Federation. Also, schools that teach children are also targets. And schools that charge fees. And schools located in strip malls.
It seems like every school is a target. Indeed, that's becoming more and more common. But just because a school possesses one out of many poor or questionable qualities, it doesn't mean that it is a McDojo.
I prefer a more practical definition of McDojo. The prefix "Mc" suggests a connotation with McDonald's Restaurants. What is relevant is that McDonalds is a chain (it franchises), its goal is to hand out food as fast as possible, with special drivethrough lanes for even speedier service, to accomodate children (see Happy Meals), at a very cheap price ($1 burgers) although one notes that even in the midst of a huge sale, one still pays the same prices regardless (upsell one product, but make more expensive the other products - like sodas and fries).
Wow. We can probably relate to a few martial arts schools who possess qualities of a McDonald's Restaurant, yes? Like the drive through, the schools have clubs for those wanting their black belts. Like the restaurant franchise, some are chains. Like the restaurant's attention to children, the schools have Little Tigers, Little Ninjas, pee-wees, Tiny Dragons, etc. Like the cheap burger-but-pay-through-the-nose-soda-and-fries, schools have cheap monthly or introductory rates, but the equipment, tests, seminars, weapons, and tournaments are very expensive - or at least, they add up.
I think Wikipedia sums it up too much, and the definition seems too sanitized and abbreviated. Had the term "Westernized Dojo" been used instead of "McDojo", I think Wikipedia's definition may fit the bill. But that isn't a catchy name, and so I think "McDojo" (and related terms like "McDojoism") has sprung into everyday usage.
The problem is now everyone who has something negative to say about a school, labels every such school a McDojo. If the school is in a strip mall (aren't many McDonald's?), then it's a McDojo. If the instructor is just a kid with a black belt (haven't you met some newly promoted cocky Fries Manager kid on some power trip?) then it must be a McDojo. If it has birthday parties and kid programs (haven't you seen a climbing pen at most McDonald's?) then it must be a McDojo. If the school is handing out black belts based on tenure, rather than merit (haven't you ever heard the blase phrase, "Who's next...") then it must be a McDojo.
And all of this, as if McDonalds is the epitome of evil? What did McDonald's ever do to you? You WANT McDonalds. You NEED McDonalds. Ever been on a long drive with kids in the back? Fastest thing to shut them up is a quickie trip to McDonald's. Been late to work, and need a coffee? There's a drive-thru with 1 miles of your current location, guaranteed. Need to break a $20? Go buy yourself a $1 burger, get $19 in change.
Alright, let's leave McDonald's alone. And let's leave some of the evil martial arts schools alone, while we're at it. Or not. Should we be weary of McDojos?
Let's see what people are grousing about, and is it enough to make the school a McDojo. And even if it is, is it something to be avoided?
Note that many of the complaints are directed at an organization called "American Taekwondo Assocation", or ATA. The ATA is an organization who started their own flavor of Taekwondo. What they do is market their style, and schools buy a franchise from them. If a school likes their ideals, they buy the marketing stuff, and then uses it to recruit new students.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
The school is a McDojo if it has a number of black belt degrees in different styles
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