McDojo 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. A McDojo of Korean martial arts is usually called a McDojang.

Description of McDojo and Usage

A McDojo (used as a noun) is a martial arts school of any style that uses specific business practices or principles for the purpose of generating revenue for the school (ex. “Lee’s Taekwonjitsu is such a McDojo”). McDojo as an adjective is applied to indicate that a particular action or practice by a school is motivated primarily by financial gain (“Lee’s TKJ makes you pay every time you test for a belt; that’s so McDojo”).

While using the term McDojo indicates judgment of a school’s financial or marketing practices, it makes no specific claim on the ability of that school to teach martial arts or the martial proficiency of its students. For example, some might consider Lloyd Irvin’s Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academies to be McDojo because he charges upwards of $1000 an hour for private lessons in BJJ[1]. However, given that students of his have won or competed in prestigious martial arts competitions (including the Olympics), there is little question of the quality of instruction at his schools. In other words, his schools are not bullshido.

However, if Lloyd Irvin hypothetically claimed that his combat BJJ classes could enable an untrained person to simultaneously fight off 3 armed assailants without having to throw a single strike, then such claims would invite the question of his school’s being bullshido.

Many people confuse the two terms or use them interchangeably. There is a very definite distinction between each, and calling a McDojo school “Bullshido” can result in representatives of that school demonstrating how non-Bullshido they actually are!

Examples of McDojo Practices

Contracts

One commonly seen McDojo practice in martial arts schools is the use of long-term contracts (6 months or longer in length) to lock students into a monthly payment, usually by direct deposit from a bank account. These contracts are generally structured so that a student would have to die, be seriously injured, or move a minimum distance away from their current place of residence in order to be released from the terms of the deal. Students who are dissatisfied with their training or unable to continue participating for reasons beyond these usually find themselves forced to continue paying for undesired lessons.

School owners and instructors usually justify this type of payment plan by asserting that such plans are a greater guarantee of revenue for the school than a “pay as you go” approach, and can enable them to offer students standardized fees for training. People against this practice typically reply that if the school's quality was high enough, they wouldn't need to require a contract or monthly payments; that students would want to keep paying of their own accord.

Belt Testing/Ranking Fees

Another frequently seen McDojo practice is charging a fee per belt test or per actual advancement in rank within a particular school. This is frequently combined with creating additional levels of rank within a school, making a school known as a “Belt Factory.” Depending on the type of martial art and the attitudes of the school owner, the number of ranks between a white belt and a black belt can be anywhere from 4 (BJJ – Blue, Purple, Brown, Black) to upwards of 16 ranks (ex. White, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Red, Brown, and Black) with intermediate ranks in between: White, Advanced White; Orange, Advanced Orange; etc. Some schools also use a system of "stripes" to create more ranks/levels, or have even invented new belt colors, such as a "camoflague belt." Given the multiplicity of colored belts in this system, another term for this is “Revenue Rainbow.”

Schools may also charge fees that are proportionately greater in amount as a student advances in rank. Belt fees for White, Orange, and Green belts may only be $20, but testing for a brown belt or a black may cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Depending on how a school evaluates students for assigning rank, this can turn into a bullshido practice if the advancement comes from an ability to pay rather than an ability to perform at the appropriate standard.

Cardio or Kiddie Classes

Many schools use the popularity of martial arts to run “cardio kickboxing” classes that are devoted solely to giving a participant an intense workout based on martial arts training, with no claims of developing martial proficiency (schools that claim to teach martial arts through cardio classes are most likely bullshido; the most that can be taught well is proper form and dynamics).

Schools may also host martial arts classes for children that generally run as an after-school activity. These types of programs vary greatly in terms of their emphasis on learning martial arts, as opposed to giving kids a healthy, fun activity outside of the school system.

While some may deride schools for having these non-martial classes, current trends in running a martial arts school almost always means that schools have to offer a wide variety of classes that appeal to a greater market in order to have enough students to pay the bills. Offering children's and cardio classes means that students who are interested in more martial offerings will not have to pay an exorbitant fee.

There are no definitive standards for determining if a school is a bonafide McDojo versus having some McDojo tendencies; it is a subjective estimation in the eyes of the beholder. Some people will consider a school to be a McDojo because they require 1-year contracts from students, but others will say that it’s just one McDojo feature that doesn’t condemn the whole school as such.

Equipment Requirements/Embargos

Some schools, such as those that provide instructions in Krav Maga, have a requirement that all students must have training equipment from a particular manufacturer and/or must be purchased through the school itself. Additionally, schools may forbid students from using their own gear that may be of a different style or manufacturer. These schools may receive profits from selling equipment by marking it up from the wholesale price from which they originally purchased it. In the case of Krav Maga, all students training in that system are required to only use Revgear-brand merchandise for their sparring gear.

This is a less-likely sign of a McDojo practice, as some sound reasons exist for these requirements/embargos. Insurance companies may limit schools to using certain brands in order to guarantee coverage in the event of injury. School owners/instructors may also have a specific preference based on experience with various brands and deciding that a particular brand is the one best suited for the school's needs. Also, except for individual wear-and-tear , there is a guaranteed uniformity of equipment among all students in a school. Finally, one of the means by which a school can remain in business is students purchasing the equipment through them.

Opponents of this practice complain that embargos can require them to purchase completely new training gear when they may already have high-quality gear from prior study in other schools. Further, even when new gear is needed, the cost of the gear either through the school or suppliers can be excessive for those on a limited budget. For example, on the Revgear equipment page for handwraps[2], the handwraps explicitly required to train in Krav Maga cost $11.95 when other handwraps are half the cost (and likely provide as good of support as the Revgear ones)[3]. To address this latter complaint of high cost, some schools will purchase the gear for the student and allow the student to make payments on it at their own pace so that they can train immediately.

McDojo

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