May 13, 2008

The Ultimate Martial Arts Insult

It is the ultimate insult if you’re a martial artist, to be told that you attend a "mcdojo." It’s a nasty word in the martial arts, and one that can instantly start a debate. To be accused of spending your time and money on something the equivalent of packaged french fries is just plain infuriating; yet it happens all the time, especially on the internet where computer keyboards can be the equivalent of a seriously nasty sucker punch.

So, what is the official definition of a "McDojo"? According to Wikipedia, the definition of a McDojo is used to "describe a martial arts school where image or profit is of a higher importance than technical standards." It can also be described as this: "While using the term McDojo primarily indicates judgment of a school’s financial or marketing practices, it also implies that the teaching standards of such school may be much lower than that of other martial arts schools, or that the school presents non-martial arts training as martial arts." Finally, a third trait of a "McDojo" is this: "’McDojo’ is also a reference to the proliferation of such schools in many communities in the United States and many other nations, in much the way McDonald’s restaurants have proliferated."

It always amazes me how easily the term "mcdojo" is thrown around the internet. Someone finds a picture or a school website, is feeling insecure themselves, and they decide to start a virtual public stoning amongst their online friends sporting solely internet muscles. Picture of a woman in a gi while pregnant? It has to be a mcdojo. Pictures of kids learning martial arts. Definitely has to be a mcdojo, right?

Wrong.

There are plenty of schools out there who pop up, sign people up to long contracts, and then pack up and move elsewhere. But this isn’t even really a "mcdojo." This is just plain criminal.

The truth about the term "mcdojo" is that it’s subjective, and usually those slinging the mud are the ones who are most insecure about their own training and lineage, or those that have no legitimate training at all. It’s also a common insult among martial artists of differing styles. Personally, I’m not interested in learning grappling and I am thankful that my particular style doesn’t really rely on that as the root of our system. But just because your style is almost 100% grappling doesn’t mean it’s a mcdojo and vice versa. There are different styles for different people. That certainly doesn’t make your style, or mine, wrong.

While more contemporary martial artists might think that old school traditional styles are a lot of hocus pocus and silly spiritual stuff, the truth is that many classical martial artists enjoy this aspect of it. No, we’re not participating in seances to bring back the dead masters and we don’t think we walk on water either. It’s just that the precepts of our styles that centered around humility, respect, and self-analysis make sense to us and compliment what we’re learning in the dojo. A style that teaches a martial art without expressly laying out parameters of when it’s o.k. to use it, especially when teaching kids, is just plain irresponsible. It’s not hocus-pocus; it’s just good old respect, and good martial artists highly value it.

Some of us are learning a martial art for self defense purposes while others just enjoy the martial arts for the peace it brings to their busy lives. But what one person gets out of their martial art doesn’t have to be the exact same thing that another person gets from theirs. It’s truly an individual experience for each person, one that shouldn’t be insulted because it’s not just like the one you do. Sometimes the easiest thing to make oneself feel better is to put others down; but truly the more worth while thing to do would be to figure out why one feels the need to insult other people without knowing anything about them. A little self-discovery never hurt anyone.

Is it frustrating to see 5-year old black belts walking around with bad attitudes to match? Certainly. But if you truly know the value of the belt wrapped around your waist, and more importantly what’s in your head and your heart, then you must know that not all black belts are equivalent. It’s not how hard and fast you kick and punch. It’s not even how many kata you’ve collected in memory, or the color around your waist. It’s knowing that what you’re getting from your dojo is quality, both physically and mentally, and more importantly what that all means to you.

For me, the martial arts has never meant trying to pick apart what’s wrong with everyone else, but rather the ways that I can improve myself whether it’s kata, attitude or something else entirely. How is this different from any other activity that one might do? If you play soccer, you hope to become a better player and you enjoy the good feelings you get from practicing hard or playing a game to the best of your ability. If you’re a musician, you take joy and pleasure in learning a new piece of music and playing it well. With every other activity that’s out there, there is a mental reward for the physical hard work. We don’t think athletes and their post-game endorphins are hokey or silly. The martial arts is really no different.