Now, I mean a McDojo through and through. One that has neglectful black belts who only bought theirs after 2 or 3 years of "training". One the only option is a three year black belt deal for $7000. One where students are forced to grade asap. You get the idea. Now, do you think learning and training at a place like this would be good? And I'm not just talking about the technique side of it, I'm talking about all aspects of learning and training somewhere. Along hte lines of would it be good to learn from instructers who should only be blue belts at best? Best to train somewhere where some (if not most) people don't know what they are doing? And so on.
You still, I imagine one would pick up a few pointers on technique. The problem would be if you overestimated yourself as a fighter and ended up in a situation you couldn't handle which could be very dangerous.
True, however that can well happen in decent dojos too. I'm not saying that it happens as frequently but there are always people who think that they are better than they really are
Little Training Better Than No Training Greetings! In my opinion, if the instructor of a McDojo has at least learned enough to earn a blue belt, as you assumed, then it would not be a bad idea to learn the basics from one. Most McDojos charge their students a really cheap price to join them and it is not a bad idea to get your feet wet with a lower cost than the average dojo. For example, many karate schools around my area charge about $75 per month. Yet, the McDojos average between $30-$40 per month. So, I would go to a McDojo first and take about 6 months or so learning the basics and switch to better instructors. In those six months, I would have saved at least (6 x ($75 - $40)) $210, which is quite a bit of money. So, for learning the basics, I think that it is a good idea. Also, you can improve your McDojo training by getting together with your friends, purchasing good padding, and sparring full-contact with each other once a week. That would really improve your McDojo training. After all, how do you think streetfighters learn how to fight so well? There is no such thing as a Streetfighter's Academy or anything like that. I had a few high school acquaintances who live in the projects. They got into full contact fist fights ever since they were about five years old. By the time one of them was in high school, he has already learned, solely from experience, how to use footwork, how to execute hip and shoulder throws, how to perform double leg takedowns, and how to pop you with a front snap kick right while you are rushing into him. So, if you and your McDojo pals got together and spar full contact once a week, I'm sure you guys will be even better than these project warriors, considering you already know how to correctly throw punches and kicks. Your brother in the martial arts, Darting Viper
But any increase in stamina and strength, body awareness and overall confidence is better than none. If you could teach some people just to walk around more condfidently then it might stop them getting picked out as a victim. Joining a netball team might have the same effect, mind you.
an old mathematical truth: something is greater than nothing! i agree that if there were other choices around, it would be a bad thing. but then again, sometimes you have to start somewhere. a friend of mine went to a mcdojang at the start. he then ended up in his school's tkd team. he then became aware of other kickboxing schools that were looking out for promising talent. he got into one of those and started doing the underground fight circuit. he then became pretty good at it and so forth and so on. my friend is now one very respected martial artist in out circles (no nasty, you don't know him). very well put!
I don't know. I'm not sorry that I spent a few years in a questionable school. I had some good instructors, but from a business standpoint, the place was far too commercialized. And their priorities were different from mine in the final analysis. But here's the thing: I'm not positive that I would have uncovered my priorities without that exposure. Even bad experiences will teach you something you can use to figure out what would constitute a good experience. Stuart
Interesting question. My first concern would be that you will develop bad habit that will be very very hard to break. Also you will basically be endorsing that kind of school. However, in its own way, training at a school like that is a test. If you know that it is a McDojo and know what you truly want, it is a test in patience, humility and conviction. I suppose we would need more information to give a good answer though. If you are a senior ranking student then it would be just fine because all you really need is a space to workout in and some people to kick
I agree with Andy Cap, you are likely to pick up bad habits and have poor technique, so you would be better off getting good training from the start. As for getting fit, you can do that at your local gym.
I don't know. You're always going to be a bad martial artist before you're a good martial artist. You learn from your mistakes. I think that includes choosing the wrong school. As I said, I might never have determined what I ddid want to do if I hadn't first identified what I didn't want to do.
McDojo training will: 1. Give you a false sense of confidence. 2. Establish a distorted sense of distance. 3. Fill your mind with hundreds of useless techniques which will slow down your reactions. 4. Rob you of every penny you have.
