ik liep op een amerikaanse sites tegen een aantal opzienbarende artikelen aan ;
ik wilde jullie een aantal ervan zeker niet onthouden.
Fictie en feiten lopen wat door elkaar maar de ondertoon heeft wel iets...
noot: het begrip mcdojo moet je zien als een soort nepdojo ( site heeft daar een aparte benaming voor )
*****
We haven't really pinned down what a McDojo is yet. Not exactly. We know that belts are not what they used to be. Belts are no longer even an indication of knowledge or ability. I think we all agreed that even Black Belts are seldom what we would expect them to be. I personally know a man who tested for his black belt in Okinawa Karate while weighing in at just under 400 lbs and had to stop frequently for long swigs from a 2 liter bottle of soda before stepping outside for a cigarette. Laugh if you want to, that's a true story.
This is America guys, and EVERYONE wants to make a buck. Chances are if I "Want it" then there is someone willing to sell it to me. And I KNOW that if there is someone willing to sell it to me than there are 3 more who are willing to sell it to me FASTER than the other guy. And for every 3 willing to sell it to me faster than the other guy there are 10 who sell it to me just as fast and cheaper too. We're able to buy Cheese in a spray can folks. And electronic dogs for our kids to play with....are you really going to sit there and tell me you find it hard to believe that someone can put a price tag on a strip of black cloth?
Money hungry baztards will do everything from fake rank(Whos Who of Martial Arts has people that claim to be as high as fifteenth degree black belt) to phtsically intimidate their competition. There are martial arts programs that would require a 5 year old to sign up for 3 1/2 years worth of lessons. Pay up front and recieve a NEW UNIFORM!! They really dont care WHAT your looking for, because whatever it is their program can give it to you. Just sign on the dotted line. You can trust them...
But I dont want to spend fifteen hundred dollars a year on a martial arts program....
If you use anything we teach you to defend your life JUST ONCE, than our classes were worth TEN TIMES that. Just sign here please.
But what if my Johnny wants to quit AFTER we sign the 3 year contract?
Well, what if your Johnny wanted to quit High School? Would you let him? We try and instill the attitude in our students to NEVER quit. We want them to start learning that at a young age. Please sign here.
Well what if we sign up for the 2 years and my daughter ends up not liking it after 6 months, are we still held to our contract?
Ma'am, we make sure ALL of our classes are ACTION PACKED. The kids are learning something ber EACH and EVERY day. There's always new material so the kids never get bored. And if the excersises get a little too repetitive we can always move your daughter up to LEVEL 2. A more advanced class.
Well, does that class cost more money or does it make me purchase even MORE classes?
Of COURSE! We cannot expose your daughter to SO many techniques without her having the adequate time to LEARN thos techniques. You cannot sign up for a Masters degree with a 1 year study course. To teach those things correctly we need a specific amount of TIME with your daughter, our programs are designed perfectly for that.
Man I've heard em all. And these guys NEVER stop to think that if their programs werent so damn expensive they would HAVE TO sound like snakeoil salesman to make a living. They'll tell you whatever their charging is PEANUTS because you cant charge ENOUGH for something that SAVES LIVES. According to these guys a doctor charging a million for an appendix opperation is justified.
Now I'm not saying this is a McDojo. If you want to run your school like a used car lot thats fine with me. This is America. I DO think its rather unethical to make someone pay for 100 or 200 or even 500 lessons upfront, or pay for a years worth of lessons in 3 or 4 months, and then if the student is unsatisfied he gets no refund. Or if the student can no longer keep up with the contract, excuuuse me...AGREEMENT, then the student gets SUED. We are supposedly teaching something rooted in Honor, Respect, Compassion, Loyalty etc.. How are you showing that by SUEING a student if he or she cannot pay. I wonder if Jigaro Kano ever went to anyones home with the town guard and DEMANDED money for his services because a student became poor? In most cases these students have paid much of their tuition in advance. If they can no longer pay they most likely have given the instructor MORE money than they should have. And this STILL isnt enough. Just picture a really nerdy guy in a suit with buck teeth:
quote:You signed an agreement and now you have to abide by it.
They will try and justify it with every sales technique in the book. And most gullible people will fall for it. They may be teaching a VERY solid style, but they contradict themselves when they speak about Honor and respect and loyalty. Where is your respect for your students monetary situation? Shouldnt you be LOYAL to your student? Where is your honor when a person says they do not enjoy your manner of teaching or your school? Sueing them is more like a little child yelling:
quote:Oh YEAH! FINE!!
If people want to pay ridiculous prices for something then thats their business. A McDojo isnt about the way you run a business. Running your business this way does not mean that you are not an ecellent instructor with fantastic classes. Commercial does not mean BAD. In FACT commecial schools have advantages over smaller, less professional schools. A commercial school will often be the instructor's full time job. This gives him the opportunity to dedicate his LIFE to teaching. A school that is fairly expensive will not have the problems of keeping the dorrs open in hard months while bigger classes mean that you will always have a wide range of partners to work with. A school that makes money will always have well kept and modern equipment.
Thats not the thing that makes a good %80 of all commercial schools McDojos. Im sure they start off with good intentions. Sooner or later though, the dollar signs win out. In order to make MORE money they have to compromise a bit. Pass a couple of kids belts to keep their interest. Raise the tuiton not because its hard to keep the lights on but bucause people dont MIND paying $13/class so they wouldnt mind paying 15/class now would they? Add a martial arts program for 2 year olds. 2 YEAR OLD?!? What the F##K can a 2 year old do that has ANYTHING to do with martial arts? Basically you make a tiny tots gymnastic program and give the kids Karate belts. THATS going to make people respect your art. If you want to have a little class for kids that age then do EVERYONE a favor and DON'T call it martial arts. Call it Tumbling Tots or Early Excersises but PLEASE dont convince these people that a 2 year old can be a martial artist. How about the fee for that black belt? A thousand? Two? Hell thats a HONOR! These people will pay whatever you ask after waiting 3 years. To them 3 years seems like a lifetime. And THEN we can hit them woth a big contract that they MUST sign AFTER they hit black belt! Whos NOT going to sign it? You're telling me after YEARS of training their not going to want to come in and SHOW OFF that belt?
Ahhhhh and NOW the good part! These guys have been training almost 2 years and now their black belts. they are SURELY able to teach some classes! These guys do the work of the instructor, dont get paid for it, and ENJOY IT! I've seen schools where 12 year old girls were teaching adults. Excuse me but a grown person is NOT going to respect the authority of a child. And the adults that are now black belts....were they taught to TEACH? Did someone show these people how to break down and explain techniques? Was someone watching them to see if they could command a classroom and gets their points across strongly? Most of the time, the answer is no. After 2 years the schools style is already watered down and has instructors who have been training under 3 years teaching.
Dojo means
A place to study the way.
So I guess a McDojo would be
A place to study the false way.
Who CARES if hes not really good enough yet? If I dont let him test for his black belt he's going to QUIT!
We might as well move that kid into a higher level class. I know he doesnt have the techniques from the OTHER class mastered yet, but he's gettting BORED!
Compromising your art just to satisfy your pocket.
Thats a McDojo.
© bullshido crew
