Hello all! First post on this forum! I would like your opinion on whether or not the Kung Fu organization I go to is a "Mcdojo" or not.I have a deep concern about this because I have deep passion for martial arts and I am on a quest of sorts to find a legitimate martial arts school. The organization that I am a part of is called Yangs Martial arts association (Link to their website included at the bottom) and the styles it teaches are Shaolin Long Fist and Shaolin White Crane . When I joined back in early 2014 it seemed better than the YMCA karate class which I had recently left, but only a slight bit better. YMAA breaks it's students in to three classes, adult, teen and "little dragons" which is for pre-teen. Here are the Mcdojo warning signs that I see: 1: There is no full contact sparring in the teen class and the adult class. I have gone to this place for a whole year now and I have not seen a sparring session except for ONE time between a group of black belts. When I approached my Sifu about this he said that they were of a high enough to spar with each other. This sparring was not dangerous but it seems BS because they had lots of face and hand protection on. 2. There is no structure or organization to the training we receive. Even though I have only been doing Kung Fu for a year or so I am aware that there is a strong level of discipline required to become proficient at or master a martial art. However, there seems to be no structure or organization to the material that we are given in training. Each week is different and the material does not build upon itself. Instead we almost muddle through each week doing different random things. I only remember doing grappling twice since I have started and ground fighting only once. Maybe I am ignorant of how training is supposed to be but I feel that overall it just lacks structure. 3. Pricing and Merchandise The price for 45 min biweekly lessons is 80-100 $ a month and uniforms (includes shirt, pants, and shoes) cost about $25. Is this reasonable? To me it seems suspiciously expensive. I understand that nothing is free but Im only questioning if it is reasonable. 4. No idealogical instruction. Pretty simple. They just never talk about the morals behind Kung Fu. I know that for Shaolin Martial arts, morality is stressed but it has never been brought up once in the entire class. It seems that if you were actually training people to use a potentially deadly martial art, you would want to mix in some morality in with it at least Here is their Website http://ymaa.com What do you guys think?
I know a lot of kf schools generally dont spar. Lots of tough and heavy handed application drills but no sparring. Having gloves and face protection is a good thing, unless youre walking around like an Astronaut. Pricing in Central London is pretty similar. Top MMA clubs charge about £90pcm. For unlimited classes and they usually run 6 days a week 8hrs per day. "Lack of morality". In regards to that, I wouldnt like to have anyone force their morals on me. That's a religion. In my school we follow a "dont be a nasty person" rule and thats about it. The main thing that worries me is the lack of class structure. But then that is also subject to opinion. ? I dont know much about the school and not seen the vids...only basing my answers from your post. To be fair. If you dont like it, look for other schools that fits your needs?
Welcome to MAP! My definition of a McDojo is one that places monetary concerns over quality of MA when advancing students. Giving out belts too easily to keep students, even if they really aren't showing the skill quality. What you describe doesn't fit this. If the overall question is regarding concerns you have about your school........... 1. If you school is claiming they are teaching you how to fight, then yes, not having sparring would be a concern to me. You must spar to really learn how to fight IMO. There is nothing wrong with wearing protective gear when sparring, especially if one is going full power. Saying one must be black belt level before sparring seems wrong to me. One should learn to fight to get to black belt level, not get to black belt level to learn to fight. If your school is only claiming it is a fitness MA, well then ok. I personally believe they are losing something from teaching a complete martial art, but as long as people know this up front. 2. Different people learn different ways. No structure would not work for me, but it might work for others. The question is, does it work for you? 3. Price seems reasonable to me. 4. Again, you don't HAVE to teach this to teach MA. My school espouses things like MA teaching you humility, respect, Hard work to achieve goals, not abusing what you learn by picking fights, etc. Some schools don't. Again to me, it is personal preference. I think it is more a matter of you examining what you want to get out of your MA training and if your current school fits that, rather than a question of if something is wrong with your school.
It doesn't sounds like a McDojo, it just sounds crap. Prices seem reasonable, but lack of sparring sucks. I spar 4-6 times a week (That's not always a good thing, but if you want to turn pro it's necessary). Sparring is not something to be feared. Good luck man
4 to 6 times a week, is that stand up sparring or including grappling as well? [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvZmoaA6LpA"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvZmoaA6LpA[/ame] i agree allot with what Varner says here
4 times stand up, 5 grappling, and 1 MMA sparring a week. Obviously mostly I spar light and fast when striking, and I make a habit of not getting hit.
so 5 times stand up sparring? honestly thats allot from my experience unless its a fight camp, as long as your partners keep it light as well i suppose it cant hurt
If you can figure out the difference between a real restaurant and the one masquerading as one (McDonalds) "If You Can" then you should be able to differentiate between real Martial Arts teachers and fraudulent con jobs.
My Sifu learned Tai Chi directly from Dr. Yang. He has come to our school for a Tai Chi and Chin Na seminar before.
