I say about 90%
Sorry but while I was reading a different thread this is what I was thinking.
I do 
Seriously, it is a pretty silly question.
LOL, I bet it was one of the threads started by me wasn’t it?
Mcdojo
I think since there are so many it is hard not to train at one. My first experience was at one but after a while I caught on and left for a more appropriate school for the training I wanted.
I think this is the general path. The McDojo’s serve the main stream public who are not really serious enough to eveer go really far. Thoses who are destined to persue the arts for life eventually find the good stuff and gravitate to those clubs.
I allways thought what was needed was a school that offeres both General public classes (Mc Classess Ha Ha!), and a program for the serious hard core lifers as well. This serves the full range of people’s needs.
I would need a school with two rooms, one faceing the front, and a back room where the big boys can play.
so…what about you?
In college, I trained in White Dragon Kung Fu and this is how the place was run. It was in a college town and the sifu, on any given month, had probably 20-30 new students sign up. Beginner classes were large but offered a great workout and a good environment for recreational students to get a good workout and learn some basic kung fu. After 6-9 months, most of these people would quit and were replaced by another batch of newcomers looking for generalyl the same thing.
Needless to say, this establishment was NOT a McDojo. After the first 2-3 tests a student could join the intermediate class and beyond, where a set of very serious students resided. Some were on a teaching path and would spend many hours every day in the kwoon with a variety of different training aids. Others were just simply always training, in the kwoon and out. There were some pretty “hard” people in that group.
A nice setup for a sifu that teaches kung fu full-time. Gives people a good workout to pay the bills (this particular sifu was raking it in…) while also allowing him to have a set of “disciples” that he can really flesh things out with…
What is your definition of a McDojo?
In simple terms I think of a McDojo as a money grubbing black belt factory with sub par martial arts.
i avoid them like the plague.
we have a few here in Canada, and an inordinate amount in the city I live in.
The daycare aspect is what makes bread and butter for schools though.
Serious martial artists with hardcore goals and realistice training wants are few and far between.
so, daycare karate schools are everywhere because people can’t be bothered to , or don’t know how to bring discipline into tehir childs like and through presupposition put that on the shoulders of some tkd, judo, karate or kungfu instructor et al.
It’s probably not all that bad of a starter environment for a little kid anyway, kind of like a montessori with a gi. lol
adults who stay in them are …well, not very intelligent people to begin with, or they are happy with what they have and aren’t looking for anything more out of it. they want the three foot trophy for screaming loud. They want their ofice mates to think they’re bad ass because they are in a school that people see in tv ads. etc etc etc.
mcdojos serve a purpose. They are a filter mesh for real martial artists. THey are daycares with a difference and they are confidence building hidy holes for adults who will never be in a encounter in their lives. they let mice roar like lions. There’s some good in having them.
I dont train at a McDojo
My definition of a McDojo is a school where an untrained athletic 18 year old ex high school football player could beat up most of the school as well as the intructors.
The reason I think 90% of the people on this forum train at a McDojo is because the above would happen to most of you.
Thems fightin’ words!
beep beep beep TROLL ALERT beep beep beep TROLL ALERT beep beep beep TROLL ALERT
Sorry Ou Ji,
didnt mean to hurt your feelings
Im not trying to insult anybody, I know everyone thinks that all the schools around them are McDojo’s except their school.
But just ask yourself honostly, can an athletic 18 year old ex-football player kick my arse and my instructors?
If you’re not sure abouth the answer, you probably train at a McDojo.
Just because you get beat up by osme guy 2x your size doesn’t mean you train at a McDojo. There’s so much more to Martial Arts than just judging whether you would win a fight or not, and people need t orealize that.
My definition of a McDojo is the kind where the more you pay the quicker you get your black belt. And being as how the school I atend doesn’t have any ranks or belts, and we don’t even worry about who’s better or things like that I’d say we’re not a McDojo, and it’s not a very public oriented school (could be a slight misfortune) our school is sort of like a tight group of friends or family. I wish we would do some freaking Si chao though.
Good point Syn
It’s not just being able to fight that counts.
But you should be able to defend yourself at least against a guy your own weight if you have been training for a long period of time.
I love when people make grand sweeping statements like “90% of the people here train at a mcdojo”. I’m sure you don’t realize this but you sound really ignorant when you say stuff like that.
The fact is, you have no idea where, how or at what intensity the people here train at. So instead of making a grand sweeping statement maybe you should start a thread that questions how people train.
That might actually lead to some decent disscussion instead of basically attacking 90% of the people here.
My kids and I train at a McDojo.
I didn’t think I’d do it, but they were the only place that let me do a lot of sparring right away, and we do takedowns now because you get more points for takedowns in karate sparring than just punches or kicks.
The hours are convenient, the owner/sensei is a great guy, and his daughter is great with my kids. My kids both love the place.
What can I say? Every school should be like that.
here’s a pic of the McDojo I learned in (since apparently I’m a McDojo)
It seems like McDojo should be a complimentary term rather than have bad connotations.
Because, what was McDonalds famous for? Why was it and is it so popular? It focuses on the desires of the consumer, and how to provide that desire in a large scale.
Attention to speed and service and quality in their franchising.
So yes, I belong to a McDojo. Why? Because like at McDonalds, the dojo serves me. It serves my kids. It provides an environment to learn and practice martial arts that is fun, is clean, is pretty safe, provides a set way to gauge progress through the curriculum (belts), a set way to gauge progress in fighting (sparring and tournaments), it gives me a place where I can train with my kids (in fact my kids went to my first seminar which was a riot … teaching kids, teens and soccer moms how to take each other down safely).
Basically I don’t know why anybody’s putting down McDojos. I admit I used to do it but really they are just giving people what they want. Not everybody wants to fight like a UFC fighter.
And in my estimation most so-called non-McDojo schools don’t teach anything more or better. If you want to train to be a UFC fighter go to Team Quest or something like that.
DR-The smell of black bean and garlic must have driven you crazy! lol
I know it used to drive me nuts if i was hungry. 
Would you say that Sport Karate = McDojo?
I say, maybe not.
We all know that Sport Karate is not the UFC or Pride. But it is a venue to test skills with a minimal amount of risk. Do those skills translate into effective self defense on the street? I would say, most times no. But in many cases a sport Karate school will offere defense classes that are effective in the real world. Also, any good martial art teaches awareness and being aware of your surroundings is your first, best defense.
So, while Sport Karate may not be the best thing for overall self defense in a real world situation, that doesn’t make it a McDojo. As long as they’re being honest in what they are teaching.