When a McDojo is close to home

**Rhamma** · Posted On: 3/16/2006 9:16am

Okay, nobody faint, I’m going to post a half assed serious thread.

I’ve been a MA about 15 years. I don’t have a school per se I have about 3 kids I teach and about 4 adults. I don’t have my own building and I really don’t want the headache. I may at some point get a small one just so I can keep all my stuff there, but I don’t want to start a business.

About four years ago I ran across a guy here in the town where I work that has a “kroddy” school. I thought he was a nice guy and he said he wanted to learn the “real stuff”. So, I started teaching him.

He joined the organization that I belong to and after two years I decided that I couldn’t deal with the way he ran his school and I gave him warnings but to no avail and I quit teaching him.

He was supposed to be a 5th degree black belt in his “system” and he sucked. I don’t have a real problem with a person’s ability if they are trying. He found a black belt in another state that was only marginally connected to our organization and “wormed” his way in to test for black belt in our system.

He passed… barely and the head of the organization made it clear he was not pleased.

Now here we are a year later. He has moved his school to a nicer building and is about to the point where MA is all he does for a living. His “school” is a major McDojo. I don’t think he even has any adult students. He is very near a college, and doesn’t have any of the students in his school and doesn’t even try to get any. His whole school is kids.

Now my problem is, I’m the one that originally “let the fox in the hen house”. He doesn’t wear our organizational uniform very much, and I don’t think many adult darken his doorway, but…

He is still part of my organization, and I want to make sure he at least teaches real stuff and not half assed ****. I have agreed to go over and work with him one night a week. Last night was the first night. I had one of my students meet me there and we trained. He (my student) already knew this guy. At any rate the guy looks like ****. It is obvious that he has not been training. He is about 10 years younger than me and he has gotten fat and slow. After we got done training my student called me on my cell on the way home and said “My God, ‘Bob’ looks like ****!” My student is only a blue belt and he could see it.

We have an expression in our organization ‘There are black belts, and then there are black belts, and belts don’t mean ****.” This guy was sucky, but in the past he was at least good enough to squeak by a shodan test (he was supposed to have 20 years experience in his old system).

So now this is where I am. I am trying to decide if I should just totally blow him off, or if I should go over there once per week and “work his dick in the dirt” and get him back in shape and looking at least half assed. At this point I am inclined toward the latter. I would be interested in some comments from you guys.

I usually have the “Kill ‘em all and let God sort ‘em out” mentality, but all that will do is leave him getting suckier, and fatter and walking around in a tee shirt from our organization. I am not a whiner, or a squealer so going up in the organization is not an option for me. Eventually, they may realize how sucky he has gotten, and I’m sure how they would deal with it is to send me over to whip him back into shape anyway.

**PO9** · Posted On: 3/16/2006 9:23am

steal his students after humiliating him in a gong sau.

**Jitsuman** · Posted On: 3/16/2006 9:35am

I'm sorry, but all I could think about while reading your post is:

"so, this guy who sucks got a black belt in your system, therefore your system sucks and is a McDojo itself, what the **** are you bitching about really"

**Rhamma** · Posted On: 3/16/2006 9:45am

Originally Posted by Jitsuman

I'm sorry, but all I could think about while reading your post is:

"so, this guy who sucks got a black belt in your system, therefore your system sucks and is a McDojo itself, what the **** are you bitching about really"

The guy himself busted ass for three years to get to where he could half assed pass a shodan test. Most other systems he would have passed with flying colors. He was a 5th dan in the system he was in. In the organization I belong to there are very few big dojos. Most of us just train ourselves and have maybe 4 or 5 student.

My system is not a McDojo system I assure you. The attitude that one individual represents a whole group is the only reason I even agree to teach him.

The attitude that one individual taints a whole system is like saying I met an Englishman who was an ass hole.... Englishmen are ass holes. The logic doesn't fly. When this guy passed his test, he was better than most 5th dans in most systems.

But, he got his piece of paper and quit training.

A black belt in any system doesn’t mean **** if you stop training.

**Jitsuman** · Posted On: 3/16/2006 9:48am

Whatever you need to tell yourself buddy.

and yeah, one shitty black belt who can't fight but still passes your shitty test taints the whole system. I'd never train at such a shitty school.

**Rhamma** · Posted On: 3/16/2006 9:56am

Originally Posted by Jitsuman

Whatever you need to tell yourself buddy.

and yeah, one shitty black belt who can't fight but still passes your shitty test taints the whole system. I'd never train at such a shitty school.

Okay, I'm not going to get in a debate with you on this.
I didn't say the guy couldn't fight. He can fight, but when I say he “sucks” what I am saying is he is not up to the professional level that is expected of yudansha in my system. He can probably whip most people, but he is not at the level that I feel he should be.

**Coyote** · Posted On: 3/16/2006 9:56am

Jitsuman is mean when he is drunk.
Pay him no regard.

**CanucKyokushin** · Posted On: 3/16/2006 10:06am

I think if you love your art you should continue to train with him and hope he doesn't wussout on you

Also what sort of powers does the head of your org. have over who can wear a patch or be able to call themselves members of the Orginasation ?If fatso quits on you you may want to consider going behind his back to the 'head guy and stab him in the back

**Coyote** · Posted On: 3/16/2006 10:16am

Why would he want to stab the head guy in the back?
It's doctor McDojo that he wants to win against.

**Tom Kagan** · Posted On: 3/16/2006 10:16am

This guy is not your student and you are not his teacher. You have no business affiliation with him, either. Thus, this is not your business but the business of the people who gave him the "Black Belt" affiliation.

Talk to your organization and see whether you can get the go-ahead to either beat him down or build him up. If they won't do/allow anything and/or you won't talk to them, stay the **** out of it. You then have a choice to quit them or grin and bear it. If you quit, you can then beat him down or build him up on your own time.