McDojo or not?

[Cross_Trainer]

Hello. I live in a small town, and my options are very limited. There are only five or six martial arts schools in my area, at least three three are blatant mcdojos ("family friendly" and "get in shape while learning the art of self-defense" type slogans tipped me off to this). Right now I am studying at a Goshin-Jutsu Karate school (the only other arts in the area are judo, jujitsu, and a cardio kickboxing class at the YMCA), and have been for about eight months now. I am unsure of whether it is a mcdojo or not, since it seems to have some characteristics that do match and some that don't. (my goal is self-defense rather than just for the sport) On one hand:

1. It costs money to get new belt rankings, do various seminars, etc.
2. We spend a lot of time doing kata, and need to learn a kata to get a promotion
3. We have many children who are up to purple belt (our ranking goes white, yellow, green, purple, brown, 1st dan) but none higher than this. Several of these children are definitely not qualified.

However, on the other hand:

1. One of the students there fought in the world competition for Goshin Jutsu karate in Russia, and won second place (he beat the guy who played Darth Maul in star wars)
2. Our sensei has been doing this for over thirty years, so he isn't one of those 1st/2nd degree blackbelt teachers
3. Our school always does well in tournaments, for what that's worth (small benefit maybe, but not much)
4. Our blackbelts seem to be generally pretty qualified (the test includes getting hit full-force in the stomach, for instance, and they have been doing it for at least 5-15 years before 1st dan)
5. Promotion is generally slow. I am a whitebelt after eight months (w/ the little yellow stripes on it) and I have progressed much faster than most other people who entered at the same time. The sensei's own son is only green thus far.
6. Our sensei also has taught several other people in other towns with their own Goshin-Jutsu schools
7. He also privately teaches some of the harder-core stuff (like ripping out cheeks, eye gouges, etc.) and things like hand conditioning

From these it seems that the school has turned to the mcdojo aspects to make money, but that there is some promise for those who actually do want to learn rather than just get a pretty-looking belt. Am I correct in this assumption?

Thanks for your help.

[noblenicky]

There is some promise...

Promise for what? You also need to specify what your aim in doing this.

If you want to get some exercise, this school is alright.
If you want to be able to defend yourself, this school is alright to start with, but not adequate. You need to widen your experiences with other MA styles, plus the priceless experiences.
If you want to teach and carry the torch, hmmm.... need more info.

But yeah, basically this school can be right if it suits your needs.

[slideyfoot]

The most important thing is, are you enjoying your training? If you can afford this Goshin-Jutsu place and you like doing it, keep doing it. Don't worry too much about whether or not people think its a McDojo or whatever - worry about whether you like it or not.

Of course, my recommendation would be, as it always is, a class like MMA, boxing, muay thai etc, but they aren't always available and are certainly not for everyone. If you want self-defence, then that isn't about enjoyment; you need a proper self-defence class. My examples are always Dave Turton's SDF and people like Geoff Thompson (both in the UK, however).

[xing_jian108]

One thing I tell people is to not be afraid of smaller schools. Or the appearance of the school. It's not where you train but how you train. A smaller school may give you more one on one time with the main teacher of the school. When looking at a school and students look for quality not quantity. The number of students doesn't make the school good or bad. It's the quality of the teacher and how much they are willing to work with you.

One thing to stay away from is schools with a lot of trophies in the windows. These schools are not promoting themselves in the right way. They are the schools struggling to get more students just for the money. You will probably not be able to learn more from someone who spends so much time trying to be boastful about their school. A more modest school is going to be able to simple show you what they have to offer and are willing to teach you. Not just catch your eye with a lot of trophies and talking themselves up. This is no good at all.

An example of what I'm talking about would be this:

www.bestacademyofmartialarts.com

Even the name is silly. And their words "learn martial arts the BEST way". Stay away from schools like these. The teacher at this particular school is what you'd call a fraud. He doesn't know shit about shit but tries to talk up his school so much. Just look at it.

A mi tuo Fo
-Xing Jian