This is my sisters current situation. Once upon a time my sister was looking for a get fit class and we got one of those Kick fit posters through the door which said it did some self defence so she decided to go. She found out the guy running it was a black belt in karate and was olympic standard before he had an accident. Anyways she signed up for 6 weeks and was all going well. She also does some baby sitting and got talking to the family who she baby sits with and they said they are also karate instructors and have won various titles so instead of re-joining kick fit she joins the karate. All seems good she said Dave (name of the guy) is a 4th Dans and knows the main guy in Japan so im thinking this seem a good club he's a 4th dan knows the main guy in Japan won some titles, I got a little jealous as my TKD club was having some problems. So I talk to her about what the lessons are like etc I say do you spar she says yes but light contact as she has no sparring equipment. So after about 7 months I said so how many people are in you club she replies 12 I was like is that just the beginners club she said no thats the whole club. So then I asked do the higher grades have sparring equipment she says no. I was like wtf so I asked if they have pads she said no. I said how do you practice kicks etc she said in the air. I have told her to leave as its a MCDOJO but I dont think she will as she baby sits for them and know them quite well. She got her gi at xmas and she had to roll it up twice as it was too long she washed it and now it fits she said it was on the right setting ie no to hot. The make was Blitz. Anyways just thought ill share that with you guys and see what you think.
Maybe it is a Mcdojo, but if your sister likes it and doesn't want to change then there is not much to do.
Maybe a McDojo, maybe not. I tend to think that one should do more than kick air, yes. I tend to think that one should spar to a reasonably hard extent eventually, yes. But maybe the smallness of the club works to her advantage. Maybe she is receiveing direct, intimate instruction from good teachers, and you can learn a lot from that even without hard sparring. I say leave it to her. If she thinks it's good for her, it probably is.
Is your only problem that they dont wear gloves? That doesnt make a McDojo. Just cos the club has no money doesnt mean the instruction is bad. What are the fees like?
Do you see any good improvements on your sister's attitude, philosophy, fitness, etc.? Then her instructor is doing a good job and I'll hold off on calling his club a McDojo. And just a side note...we spar without protective gears either...
Doesn't ring out to me like a Mcdojo, it isn't the size of the club its the quality of the students you're after. A McDojo is generally about making money, if you think about it, after paying out for the hall and petrol money for the instructors will they really have that much to line their pockets with? After all they only have 12 students. Unless of course the price is obscene. Like xoxi said again just because they don't have pads doesnt signify a Mcdojo. The Gi, well i think blitz is crappie anyway the first gi i ever had was blitz and it cost £15 and i had to shrink it absolutely loads. The reasoning behind the cheap gi is probably they dont know if she will stick at it therefore they dont want her wasting £80 - £100 on a custom fit gi. Blitz is good for begginers IMO they offer okish quality for a cheap price. None of this to me rings Mcdojo, if you're still having doubts go watch simple.
You're calling McDojo because they don't have pads?!?!? Quite a lot of martial arts club believe that pads are an artificial way of training and prefer to spar "unburdened".
I think that the amount you are prepared to spend and the quality of the gi are somewhat related. Never had any problems with their white, red or blue diamond range. £15 gi's fall to pieces, that's just the way it is.
Agreed. Whenever I'm sparring outside the Do-Jang I insist on light-contact and unpadded. If only because without pads you get a much better sense for all movements, including finger strikes and better control for your movements. I'd be much happier without sparring equipment. A friend of mine has been in Martial Arts since before I was born, and the best place he ever trained, -according to him- was a Kenpo [sp?] club that had only a dozen members. The instructor didn't have a flashy Dojo, nor did he advertise. He charged about as much as he needed to cover petrol etc. You can't always judge.
You jumped to the Mcdojo answer to quickly you never asked if she was happy, or if she payed a lot of money.
i needed time to sit down and think before relpying to this thread, cos it remindes me of my dojo its a basketball court, at the pcyc (like a YMCA) they charge $3 per lesson but all the money goes to pcyc, all the instructers have day jobs, and the club is cept alive by the instructures service to the pcyc. and the pcyc sells karate equipment, asswell as funding 7 other matial arts cluds in the area: these are, MT, TKD WTF, kendo, judo, ju jitsu, and rings wrestingso the sensai teach for essentially free
Its £6 a lesson. I think the size of the club is a good thing better instruction. But I don't see how sparring by just slapping each other lightly is going to help her if she gets attacked in the street. No no and no has seen no improvements. people normally buy there own gloves. My only problem is I can't see her being able to defend herself any better.
Don't go into a Karate class and expect to see improvements in your attitude unless you are willing to take something from it. If you and your sister look at this class as 'bad' then you won't respect the teacher and probably won't take anything from it. Maybe it is best to move on but I don't see it as being a Mcdojo.
I'm a little confused here... You and you sister were looking to keep fit and happened upon a Karate class. 7 months on, you're worried that you can't defend yourself against all comers. It's only 7 MONTHS! Me - I'm a 1st kyu, planning to go for BB this year. The best defence I've learned so far is to run away (and I knew that anyway). Now, I know I'm far better off than I would've been if I'd just carried on being a couch potato, but no illusions about being able to walk into the toughest neighbourhood in town and call out the meanest SOB for a fight. That just happens in the movies. However, if you are concerned about your progress, you could try taking a look elsewhere and see if you can measure yourselves against what others are doing. (In our style you take 5 belts before you do sparring for gradings.)
$6 a lesson does sound a bit steep? (my keyboard can't do pounds symbol ) Thats about NZ$20, which is 3 weeks instruction at my club (up to 4 lessons a week). But that is cheaper than average, and I have no idea of market rates in the UK. As for defending yourself, well... noone is bullet or blade proof. Definitely not after 7 months. But her fitness should be good by now... Maybe a McDojo after all? I suggest u take her to one of your classes, see what she thinks.
Go and visit her club ....they will either let you train or watch then you can make an informed analysis of the club, instructors and techniques......I would do this with your sisters blessing of course. Then invite her to one of your classes and she can then see things from a different perspective. my advice would be dont try and force your views on your sister ...as this would be unfair of you she is her own individual let her enjoy her martial way . as to the Gi well you get what you pay for ....thats life I hope you both continue in your training no matter which way your paths go . Smurf
I'd like to also note, just because a school has drawbacks in the teaching (sounds like there may be a lack of real world practicality teaching here, i'd have to see a class to be sure though), that doesn't make it a mcdojo per se. Based on what you've said, this sounds more to me like a regular class with a teaching drawback than it does a mcdojo. If you're concerned, see if u can work with her on some self-defense on yours and hers free time.
I don't see how sparring full contact with people who are potentially bigger and stronger would help do anything but expose her to an unnecessary chance of injury and make her not want to continue. I just switched to Muay Thai and even we don't go full out all the time. Some experience in fighting full contact is good if not a necessary part of training. If your description of her abilties is accurate then its a good thing they haven't put her in the situation before she is ready. The first paragraph contains the key word, "if": If you are getting attacked your training has already failed you, it's best not to get yourself in that spot. What if you win the lottery, what if the stock market collapses, what if ... There are a lot of "what if's" you can't base your life around them.
